When Heart Collide

~~ Chapter Ten ~~

The ride back to campus felt longer than the trip to the port.

The bus was filled with quiet conversations, nervous laughter, and the constant glow of phone screens as students searched for news about the explosion.

Janessa sat by the window beside Riley, her arms folded as she stared outside.

“I still can’t believe that actually happened,” Riley said, shaking her head. “Like… we were right there.”

Janessa nodded slowly. “It didn’t even sound real at first. I thought something just fell.”

“Same,” Riley replied. “Then the second explosion happened and everyone started running.”

Janessa rubbed her temples. “I just want to sleep for a week.”

A few rows behind them, Enzo sat near the back of the bus.

He hadn’t joined any of the conversations.

His gaze stayed fixed on the window as buildings passed by outside, but his mind was nowhere near the city streets.

His phone vibrated quietly in his hand.

He checked the message quickly.

UNKNOWN NUMBER:

You got lucky today.

His jaw tightened.

Another message appeared seconds later.

That blast wasn’t supposed to happen while students were there.

Enzo locked his phone immediately.

Across the aisle, Winter noticed.

She had been watching him for most of the ride.

At first, she told herself she was imagining things.

But the more she thought about what happened at the port, the more something felt… off.

When the first explosion happened, everyone else had reacted the same way.

Confusion.

Shock.

Fear.

But Enzo hadn’t.

He had already been looking toward the container yard before the blast even echoed through the port.

Winter remembered it clearly now.

The way his head snapped toward a specific row of containers.

The way he stood up before anyone else moved.

The way his eyes scanned the area like he knew exactly where to look.

It didn’t look like panic.

It looked like awareness.

The bus slowed as it turned onto campus.

Students started gathering their backpacks and jackets.

The professor stood near the front. “Remember, classes are suspended for the next two days while the university reviews the situation. Please stay updated through your email.”

Students murmured quietly.

Some sounded relieved about the break.

Others still looked shaken.

Janessa stood up with Riley.

“I’m going home,” she said. “Today was too much.”

“Same,” Riley replied. “I’m definitely not doing homework tonight.”

They stepped off the bus together, continuing their conversation as they walked toward the main path across campus.

Neither of them looked back.

Enzo stepped off the bus a moment later.

Winter followed.

He started walking toward the campus gates without saying anything.

“Enzo,” Winter called.

He stopped and turned slightly. “Yeah?”

She walked up beside him.

“That was scary back there.”

“Yeah,” he said simply.

Winter studied his face carefully.

He looked calm now.

Too calm.

“Everyone was panicking,” she continued. “But you didn’t.”

Enzo frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

“When the explosion happened,” she said slowly, “everyone else froze. Or ran in the wrong direction.”

She paused.

“You didn’t.”

Enzo shrugged lightly. “Instinct, I guess.”

Winter didn’t respond immediately.

She remembered the phone lighting up in his hand on the bus.

The message she had partially seen.

"shouldn’t have happened while you were there".

Her curiosity sharpened.

“You were already looking toward the containers before the explosion,” she said.

Enzo’s eyes flickered for just a second.

“I heard something,” he replied. “Probably the same as everyone else.”

Winter nodded slowly, though she didn’t look convinced.

“Maybe.”

They walked in silence for a few steps.

Students passed them on the path, still talking about the explosion.

Sirens could be heard faintly in the distance.

Winter glanced at Enzo again.

For weeks, she had thought she understood him.

Quiet.

Mysterious.

But still normal.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

Because today, for a brief moment, Enzo hadn’t looked like a university student caught in a dangerous situation.

He had looked like someone who had seen situations like that before.

Someone who knew how they worked.

Someone who belonged in that world more than he should.

Winter said nothing more.

But as Enzo walked away toward the dorm buildings, she watched him carefully.

And for the first time since meeting him, a new thought formed in her mind.

Enzo Steel was hiding something.

And Winter had just become very interested in finding out what it was.