"Which one was her locker"? Julian asked Martha.
Martha walked to a locker and pointed at it. "This, sir."
Julian stood before Elara's locker. His fingers shook as he opened it.
The door opened, and he saw a spare uniform, an empty bottle of ibuprofen, and a hair ruffle.
"Nothing," he whispered, his shoulders sagging.
He reached to pull the metal door shut when a leather-bound notebook fell out from a hidden corner of the locker.
Julian picked it up. The pages were filled with frantic writings.
As he flipped through, he suddenly saw two words.
July 14th: 'Don't go.'
Julian swallowed hard. He remembered the delirium of that night.
Tucked into the back cover was a real estate agent's card.
Julian took it and rushed out.
"Jules, where the hell are you going?' Caleb yelled as Julian rushed past him.
"I'm coming," Julian yelled back.
"I'm going to find you, Elara, and this time, you won't see me coming," he thought to himself.
The real estate agent's office was a few streets away from Silver Towers.
"I'm looking for her", Julian said, dropping Elara's ID on the table.
The agent looked up from his paperwork and saw Julian Vance.
Recognition showed in his eyes immediately, and he smiled.
"Mr Silver, welcome".
"Thank you. Now give me her address, I know you got her apartment for her."
"With all due respect, sir, I can't do that. Is she in trouble?" the agent responded, voice trembling.
"I see. Well, she's going to be in bigger trouble if I don't get her address".
The agent quickly scribbled on a piece of paper and handed it to Julian.
"Good," Julian said with a tight smile as he exited the office.
Julian drove to the address, his heart beating fast. At first, it was just about appreciating her. But now, he wanted to know why she was running from him.
He climbed the stairs and rang the doorbell to a tiny studio apartment.
Elara stood up sleepily and walked to the door. She opened it slowly and saw Julian Silver.
"Julian?" She called his name in shock.
"Elara, wait—"
She slammed her weight against the door, trying to bolt it, but Julian was faster.
"Stop! Please!" he pleaded, bracing his foot against the frame.
"I just want to talk. I know you're, Elara. Just tell me why you're running!"
The door swung open, and Elara stumbled back.
"Sit," she said softly, pointing to the only sofa in her living room.
Julian looked around but did not sit.
"Why have you been running from me?" He asked.
"I haven't been running from you. Life has just been pushing me around a lot."
"And today, why did you resign suddenly?''
" I was never supposed to be there in the first place," she responded.
Julian looks at her, confused.
" Why have you been looking for me?" Elara asked.
"At first, I just wanted to thank you for saving my life, but now, I don't even know why I'm here."
Elara shook her head.
"You don't need to thank me. I did what anybody would have done," Elara replied.
Julian looked at her, his heart suddenly beating fast again.
" You've thanked me, now you can leave," Elara added.
"I don't know how, but I know I'm going to spend the rest of my life thanking you," he said in a soft voice.
He turned to leave but paused.
"Please don't run again, but if you decide to, just know that wherever you go, I'll find you." He added.
Julian left, and Elara leaned on the door and slid to the floor, tears rolling down her face.
Why was her heart beating so fast? Why did she feel sad? What was this feeling in her heart?
Julian drove to the office feeling both happy and sad. He had found Elara, but he didn't feel the fulfilment he expected.
"I found her," he said, walking into Caleb's office.
"Finally, we can focus on important things," Caleb responded.
Caleb observed Julian's face. "Shouldn't you be excited?"
"That's the problem, "she's being… mean."
"I think I judged her wrong; she's different," Caleb said.
Marcus walks in holding a file. "Who is different?"
Caleb and Julian do not answer.
"Don't tell me it's the Elara girl," Marcus added.
Caleb nodded.
Marcus slammed the file on the table angrily, "Don't you listen? I've warned you about this girl."
"Hell no, Marcus. You can not dictate my life to me. What on earth did she do to you? You don't even know her," Julian responded angrily.
"I don't need to know her, gadamit. She's poor, and poor people are the same everywhere. I don't want her staining our legacy."
"Both of you stop it already. We're in the office," Caleb yelled angrily.
"Does that even make sense?" Julian screamed and walked out of the office.
Julian drove back to Elara's apartment, assuring himself she won't run again.
He got there and rang the doorbell.
No response.
He rang it again. Still no response.
He rang it repeatedly in quick succession, frustrated. He banged the door hard.
A neighbour came outside to see what was happening.
"Everything good?" The neighbour asked him?
"I'm looking for the girl who lives here. I've been ringing the bell, but there's no response," Julian responded, frustrated.
The neighbour looked confused. She should be in. We met at the staircase and came up at the same time, barely five minutes ago."
Julian's eyes widened.
"So why isn't she answering?"
"That's weird", the neighbour responded.
Julian rang the doorbell again.
Still no response.
"I'll get the security guys, I'm sure she's in there," the neighbour said and went off.
Julian banged the door harder.
The security man came with a toolbox. He took out a hammer and screwdriver to spoil the door.
He hammered the screwdriver in the keyhole.
"Can you be any faster, dammit?" Julian asked impatiently.
"Relax, it's almost done," the security man responded.
The door opened.
There, Elara was sprawled on the floor, unconscious.