Chapter 21

"Let's go to the nurse's office," Sage worriedly told Eve. Sage felt pity for him but couldn't tell him that River was the reason for his bruises. 

"No it's alright, I'm fine," Eve smiles weakly, and though he appreciates Sage's concern he doesn't want to bother him. 

"I'll give you some ointments after the class?" Sage sighed because he knew Eve's gonna need them for many upcoming events. 

He wanted to warn Eve about River, but his heart wouldn't let him since Sage was supposed to do the same as Alpha had ordered him to investigate Eve.

He was perplexed as to what had piqued Alpha's interest in Eve. Sage looked at Eve with trembling eyes. He hoped Alpha hadn't set his eye on Eve as the target for this month's sacrifice.

That ritual still gives Sage the creeps. Even though it has been two years and he has witnessed more than 24 deaths.

That's why he wants to warn Eve ahead of time, but he's afraid of Alpha.

All eyes turned to them as they made their way to their first class. Everyone already knows who Sage is because he lives under River's protection 24/7. As for Eve, he has also gained fame for having a black batch hanging on his shirt and for getting into a beef with the most dangerous student in the school out of disrespect.

And also because he's the second most powerful man of the Sunford. 

But that's if anybody gives a fuck, because who'll be scared of a skinny 5'9 tall boy who can't even look into others' eyes without having a panic attack. 

Most of the classes were empty, because what kind of education can you get in a school like Sunford? There weren't many students, to begin with, and those who were there only seemed to be hitting or bullying their friends. 

"Let's sit there," Sage took him to the last desk so no one could hear them and he could start his mission of interrogating Eve with ease. 

Eve nodded without any suspect and sat beside him. 

"I can't believe it's already 22 today," They heard a group of guys howling from the other line. 

"Me too, bro. I'm about to shit myself," Other guy hugged himself while shuddering. 

"I just hope that it's not me, I'm too pretty to die," cried out a third red batch. 

"Me too bro, Who do you think Alpha will kill this time?" 

"I don't know but I hope it's you," 

"Me to- wait what?! Hey, why does it have to be me?"

"Don't you want to die, you have tried to commit suicide three times. And As your homie, I hope your every dream comes true," 

"That's different, I want a quick, painless death instead of having every body part chopped off."

"Oh, is that so," he pats his shoulder with a pitiful look. 

"Yeah, bro," 

"What are they talking about?" Eve cringed and asked out of curiosity. 

"They're discussing the monthly ritual. We named it Month's Sacrifice," Sage explained nervously. While an elderly lady who appeared to be about to faint entered the classroom and placed her books on the lecture stand. She's just simply exhausted with these grown kids.

"Does he really kill them?" Eve shrank in his seat, his gaze fixed on the open notebook in front of him. He stared at the blank pages.

"I'm not sure, but there's a good chance it's him. Who has the guts to do something like that and get away with it? According to rumours, he has connections with school owners and is being trained for something. And he's doing it on their orders," Sage explained while reading Eve's emotions.

The screaming and laughing tenfolds. 

"Do you also believe that?" Eve asked. And though Sage could see Eve's hands trembling, his eyes remained blank.

"Stop making noise or I'll tie your hair with a pink ribbon," the teacher yelled, slamming the books on the desk but unfortunately this went unheard by the delinquents. 

"I like pink, does that make me gay?" One boy gasped, ignoring her threat. 

"Of course, that's gay colour, Ira," his deskmate with a red batch smirked, resting his head on Ira's shoulder, who's a yellow batch. 

They're a perfect example that a red batch and a yellow batch can form a friendship. 

"But you also like me, so you're gay too, Jaxton," Ira asked excitedly, patting Jaxton's head. 

"No, I'm not. Liking your homie is not gay," Jaxton slapped his hand away. 

"Please get off of Jaxton, Ira. This is a classroom at least, have some etiquettes," the teacher sighed helplessly. 

"Why can't I sit in my homie's lap, do you think we're gay, are you discriminating?" Ira feigned crying, hiding his face in his deskmate's neck who rubbed his back and looked at the teacher in utter disappointment. 

"What- no it's because you're disturbing the class," The poor teacher didn't at all understand their acting. 

"Wow, didn't know you're homophobic Mrs. Gray," Jax snapped, hugging Ira tightly to comfort him. 

So, tightly that all they wanted to do was go to their dorms and fuck all day while yelling no homo. 

"Did you just stand up for me, you tried to stab me two days ago," Ira pouts, dramatically clutching his heart and looking at Jax with hearts in his eyes.

"That's because you tryna fuck some other dude that's not me," Jax scoffed, pinching Ira's ass who yelled in response. 

Sage shook his head and continued. 

"Everyone knows he is a serial killer. Every month on the 25th, someone goes missing, and the next day their body is discovered hanging from that tree," He pointed to the tree, which already appeared to be haunted. "Nobody knows who killed them, but believes it was Alpha. Because the murders only began after he arrived here, it's only natural to have doubts about him. However, no one ever saw him kill them, and no one knows when he did it. When the principal confronted him in front of the entire school, he neither denied nor accepted the accusations. I tried to question River about it, but he always avoided the question, which raised my suspicions."

Eve draws line after line, swapping his pencil on the now not-so-empty page, he has lost connection with his surroundings in the hope that if he doesn't hear what Sage is saying, it's not true.

"But you asked if I believed the rumour or not, didn't you? I do, because Alpha mysteriously vanished for a week after each death." Sage turned to face Eve and told him quietly. "Again, nobody knows where did he disappear." 

He frowned as Eve nodded, he was expecting him to cry out of nervousness because just explaining was giving him chills, so how could Eve be able to keep it together? Sage reasoned that he might be trying not to show it on his face.

Sage mumbled quietly when Eve didn't react. "Do you have any questions? Don't you find it strange?"

For some reason, he was curious about Eve's reaction.

"Does it make a difference?" Sage frowned in surprise as Eve let out a weak sigh. Eve eventually stopped sketching, taking one last look at his random drawings. He raised his eyes to him. "I'm referring to my thoughts. Is anything going to change if I give my thoughts on this matter, or do you want me to hyperventilate because I'm good at it?"

Sage's eyes widen in shock and embarrassment, and his cheeks flush. Shocked because this was the first time he had heard such a sharp tone in Eve's voice. He interpreted that Eve took it as if Sage was mocking his sensitivity.

"No, that's not what I meant," he stuttered, but doesn't know why he still finds Eve strange today. Did something happen between him and Alpha this morning?

"I know it's a stupid question but How was your life before coming here? You don't have to tell if you feel uncomfortable telling?" He tried to change the topic. Narrowing his eyes, he waited for Eve to answer. 

"Tiring," Eve hushed out without any emotion. 

"What?" Sage frowned. 

"It was tiring, maybe more tiring than being here," Eve said, dead serious this time. 

More tiring than here? That's Impossible.

Sage didn't quite get him, but it made him wonder what kind of life Eve had before coming here. And if it was more tiring than here.

"Would you listen to me as your friend if I asked you for something?" Sage inquired, sympathetically, and Eve nodded, happy that he got real friends here. "Don't put your trust in anyone here, not even River. No one cares about anyone here if not for their own greed." He doesn't want River to trick him again. 

"I don't," Eve let out, shocking him. 

"What?"

"I know River isn't as simple and goofy as he makes himself to be from the outside. I can read people, and he's more difficult and twisted than that. But I could tell you genuinely care about me," Eve kept looking directly into Sage's eyes deeply, raising Sage's heart rate. Sage forgot what he had even asked Eve for a moment, as if he couldn't tell who was reading whom and couldn't take his gaze away no matter how hard he tried. "Why are you caring for me?" Eve tilts his head, eyes empty and faces expressionless and Sage feels hypnotized. "Do you also have any intention like River?"

"No, it's just I feel guilty for investigating yo-" Shit! Sage quickly slapped his mouth. 

Fuck! I almost gave myself away. It was supposed to be Sage investigating him, but why does he feel like it turned the other way around? 

"How did you do that?" Sage blinked at him suspiciously, and for the first time, he felt stunned looking at Eve. 

"Do w-what?" Eve stuttered again, innocence taking over his face again, scared that he had offended Sage somehow. 

 [Back Building.]

"Why did you do that?" River inquired, scoffing at Alpha, he was really angry today. 

Alpha calmly glared at the oak tree out of the window, as if he wanted to burn it down. 

"I'm gonna need more than that," he sighed, turning around to face River with a bored face. 

"I'm talking about Eve. Why did you make those guys beat him?" River recalled the furious face of Sage which made him more upset. 

"Just because," Alpha let out, walking to a desk and sitting, spreading his thick thighs. He scowled at River. "Or what were you expecting, sending me after him? You really think you can over-smart me, huh?"

River's eyes widened, he walked over to him as well and plopped on a desk in front of him. He chuckled, "You know it was me?" 

"Nothing can hide from me," Alpha said as he took out the tiny bottle, which instantly reminded him of a certain trembling face that looked so appealing while crying that he wanted to see it again. 

"That's right," River agreed, making Alpha raise a brow. "Actually, I have a favor as well." 

"What?" 

"Don't kill him," He blurted out.

"Why, took a liking to my property?" Alpha shot him a death glare, not happy for some reason. 

"No, it's not like that," River wanted to say that he finds Eve really innocent but doesn't want to rage Alpha. "I mean what's the harm in keeping him around for some time more." 

"There's no gain either," Alpha suddenly remembered Eve telling him how Alpha asked him to call him by his real name. That Alpha was certain he had never revealed this to anyone before. So, why Eve? "But don't worry. It is not his time yet."

Fat cheeks humph! He looked down at his palm, there was a long scar there, it seemed pretty old, and it looked as if it was sculpted with a pointed object. 

"What happened to your hand? This looks old but I never noticed it," River asked out of interest. 

Alpha stared at the cut, deep in thought. 

"I don't know, I don't remember how I got it." 

"How come you don't remember one more thing about yourself?" River asked curiously. 

Since they're friends and partners in crime, somehow he always gets the pleasure of getting Alpha to share a few details of his life.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out myself," Alpha sighed heavily. The more he tried to force his mind to recall his memories, the more his head hurt. 

For some reason, he doesn't remember half of his life. For example, he doesn't have any memories of his childhood, doesn't have any memories of his teenage life, he only ever remembers being trained for years in the best fucked up way by his fucked up family and send here to implicate that training. 

But he has different plans. He can feel in his guts that what he has forgotten was something his family was trying to hide from him. 

"I'll find out soon. And I know who will tell me about this," He rasped in a low voice. "I want to find out who Lia is?" 

He gets up and leaves the room to hunt down a certain boy who he remembered he told this name, leaving River shocked.