Pain. Electricity. My whole body seizes.
And—
Darkness.
RAGNAR
Sun doesn’t show up at the gazebo that day. Or the next. Then two more days pass. And now it’s getting weird.
Even from afar, I haven’t seen him on the patio. Haven’t seen him at his window.
Each day, the tension builds in my gut. That irrational need to see him grows stronger. What happened? Where the hell did he go? Did Anzo kill him? Send him away?
I think about it so much I start to lose focus. I should be working on finding a way to pass Summer the crucial details, but instead my mind keeps spiraling back to that boy.
It’s not like I care about him in any special way, right? It’s just… basic human decency. I feel sorry for him. Really, truly sorry. That’s all it is. I’m sure of it.
After my workday, when I leave The Sun, I get on my bike and ride around the city until late at night, because it’s the only way that helps me forget about the tension.
Then I’m back at my tiny apartment, and the unease returns.
But when the fifth day comes and I still haven’t seen Sun, something inside me starts to churn. My restlessness grows into a sharp and rough sensation. I can’t sit still. Out of nowhere, I start getting hit with waves of fear, something that’s never reallybeen a part of me before. I throw myself into work, staying hours past what I’m paid for, sometimes twelve hours a day, just hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
No luck.
By the morning of the sixth day, I feel like I’m going to lose my mind if I don’t see him soon. The pressure building in my chest is unbearable, and I can’t even explain it. Why the hell do I care so much? Why does this bother me so damn deeply?
That day, while I’m in the garden, I spot Mauro walking from the main hall toward the kitchen.
I wait for the right moment, when he’s on his way back, and approach him quickly.
He stops when he sees me, but his face barely changes. He just stares at me, blank as ever.
I already know the only way to communicate with him is by text. He won’t respond otherwise. So I pull out my phone and type:
"Do you know what happened to Sun? I haven’t seen him anywhere."
He stares at the screen for a moment, then reluctantly reaches out and types back:
"Sun is in the black room. In the basement."
I swallow hard.
"Why?"
"Rocco claims Sun tried to seduce him."
My knees go weak. I’ve never felt a sensation like this in my life, a cold wave rushing through every inch of me. I know it’s a lie.
"I really doubt that. At the last party, Rocco was all over him, and Sun ran away. I saw it with my own eyes."
"That’s why I said ‘claims’."
I just stand there, staring at Mauro, and once again that feeling of helplessness starts closing in on me like a noose.
"There’s nothing you can do to help him?"
Mauro shakes his head. Then he turns and walks away.
