Chapter 26 - Girl talk

Sarah arrived few minutes before lesson started.

When Vivian saw Sarah come to class, she was relieved, "I thought you got kidnapped again."

"Almost", Sarah responded with an shy smile.

Vivian observed Sarah curiously, "Looks like things are progressing well."

Sarah nodded. She was not able to stop smiling. "How are things on your side?"

At that time Professor entered the classroom.

Vivian lowered her eyes. "Let's talk after class", she said with a whisper.

…

After class, Vivian and Sarah were having lunch at a restaurant downtown.

"So... how are things going with you and Aiden?", Vivian was curious.

"Fine... but I will not tell you any details until you tell me how are things on your side. I see you are not limping anymore. It seems your sprained ankle is healed?", Sarah teased.

"Yes. There is no more need for that", Vivian grinned for a second before her face dropped.

"Please, do tell", Sarah was curious.

"I think you could say we are a couple", Vivian didn't sound very convincing.

"You think? Hmm... how far did you go?"

"We kissed. Once", Vivian said bashfully.

"Kissed? If that's the case, why is that you seem to be unsure?", Sarah was puzzled.

"Since then I haven't seen him or heard from him", Vivian said, with a small voice.

"When was that?", Sarah asked.

"Three days ago."

"You didn't see him in class?"

"He didn't show up to classes we are taking together. I don't know about other ones", Vivian said.

Sarah thought about it before speaking, "Yesterday afternoon... I believe that Gabriel is taking the same class as me. He was not there. Did you contact him?"

Vivian shook her head.

Sarah thought about it, "What if something happened to him?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that", Vivian was in a mix of surprise and worry.

"Text him now!", Sarah commanded.

Vivian pulled out her phone out of her bag. "Huh, what should I say?"

"Just ask him if he is OK and see what he says back."

"OK", Vivian thought for a moment before typing on her phone and reluctantly sending a text. She kept her phone on the table, next to her and stared at it.

"Now you just need to wait for his response. But don't keep looking at the phone if you can help it. What if he is not able to respond for some reason?", Sarah was trying to comfort her obviously nervous friend.

"I just hope he is OK." Vivian looked at Sarah, took a deep breath to get her nerves calmed. "OK. Your turn. How far did you go?"

"We slept together", Sarah said with a straight face.

"What!!? Isn't that too fast?", Vivian was shocked.

"Well, yes, but it was out of my control. I slept off and it just happened."

"So, he took advantage of you? Bastard! Why do you sound like you are defending him? And how can you be so calm?", Vivian was fuming.

Sarah was looking at Vivian with a confused face. 'Why is she so upset?' Then she understood. "Wait, wait... it's not what you are thinking. We slept together, but nothing happened."

Vivian was looking at Sarah suspiciously.

"We watched a movie at his place last night, and I slept off. So, he didn't wake me up and we ended up sleeping together... I mean next to each other. But nothing more than that.", Sarah quickly explained.

Vivian breathed out, "You should be more careful what words you use. You can cause misunderstandings."

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Sarah's face turned serious... she thought for some time before speaking. "You know the incident with Philip from yesterday..."

Vivian nodded and waited for Sarah to continue. Sarah told her in detail how Philip is persistent even though she is refusing him.

"Do you think that there is more to it than just an overconfident classmate?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes. I have a strong feeling that there is more to it. I suspect it's related to Aiden... But I don't want to get him involved. At least not until I find out more about this."

Sarah didn't want to tell Vivian that she knows that Philip and Mimi are working together. If she says that, then she will need to explain how she found out. And that is something that Sarah does not want to talk about. Her hacking around other people's devices to get data is nothing that should be widely known.

"I think you should tell Aiden.", Vivian was serious.

Sarah was carefully picking which words to use, "I know I should... but you didn't see him yesterday. He was so angry when Philip held me back. I want to understand the situation better before I tell him anything."

"Maybe he is just a possessive boyfriend."

"I have a feeling it's more than that", Sarah said with a concerned expression.

Vivian raised her eyebrows, "You want to prevent him from getting upset? Do you think he needs such protection?"

"At this point, I can only hope that I have the ability to protect him", Sarah said while her eyes lost focus and drifted into distance.

Vivian observed Sarah, before saying with quiet voice, "You really are in love with him."

Sarah looked Vivian in the eyes, "I'm not sure what love is. But I never felt this way before... When he is not next to me, it feels that a piece of me is missing, and thought of him being hurt makes my heart ache. In a way... by protecting him, I'm protecting myself."

Vivian looked at Sarah and helplessly shook her head.

When they finished lunch, Vivian asked, "We are done with lunch, where are we going and what are we buying?"

Sarah was excited, "There is a store I want to check out. I need to buy a Christmas present for Aiden."

"Oho! What are you getting him?", Vivian was curious.

"I'm still not sure. I hope to get inspired in that store. It sells antiques and various other things... by the way, did you get something for Gabriel?"

"Hmm, no.", Vivian said in a quiet voice. Seeing that Sarah is just looking at her in disbelief, she added, "With the current situation between us, I'm not sure if I should get him a present."

Sarah held Vivian's hand, and said seriously, "I think you should have more faith in him. My impression is that he is a good man, and not someone to disappear without a reason after starting a relationship. Or do you really think that he will go to such lengths to avoid coming to lessons just because he wants to avoid you?"

Vivian checked her phone and saw that Gabriel still didn't reply to her text. She shook her head absentmindedly, and then she snapped out of it. "Maybe I will find something for him in that store", she said with a smile. "Let's go."

...

The shopping trip was successful. Both Sarah and Vivian found presents.

Sarah was in her room, contently looking at the gift she got for Aiden. She pulled out her phone and texted him:

[Sarah]: "Done with Vivian."

After few seconds she got a response.

[Aiden]: "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

[Sarah]: "No"

[Aiden]: "Be ready at 7 AM with your passport."

[Sarah]: "For what?"

[Aiden]: "A date"

Sarah was a bit surprised, but she still responded with "OK". She always has with her documents needed for international travel which included her passport, various visas and international driver's license.

She was excited about tomorrow. Where are they going that she needs her passport?

Then suddenly her mood dropped, 'It seems I will not see him tonight...' She shook her head, 'When did my mood became so dependent on his presence?' ... she remembered Vivian's words "You really are in love with him."

Sarah wanted to work on the project, but soon found out that she can't focus. She was absentminded. 'It seems this is happening often lately' , she thought. She gave up on working and logged in to play "Age of Legends" after few rounds, she found that she is not enjoying the game, so she logged off. 'It does not matter what I do, I can't focus. I can't even enjoy my favorite game.' Sarah realized that it's all connected to Aiden. When he is not around it seems that world does not have any colors. 'I should not allow one person to have such a strong impact on my emotions. But what can I do? He is like a sun, I was not supposed to look at him, but I did, and now I can't look away.'

Sarah remembered that in few days she is going home for holidays and realized that she is not looking forward to it. 'I hope Sophia and JoAnna can keep my mood up. It will be fun spending time with them, right? We will be able to catch up...' Then she panicked, 'Sisters? I can't tell them about Aiden, otherwise they will tease me until my ears bleed!' , Sarah reminded herself.

Sarah took a deep breath, 'It's going to be a very long winter break.' She is missing Aiden like crazy, and she knows that she will see him in the morning. What will she do during a long winter break? It will be a torture.