Angel's Veil

Chapter 8

Naomi had called everyone down for breakfast, so Eve and Luca only had a few more moments to talk about what all of this meant.

By the time they made it downstairs, Naomi and Jonathan were already making a beeline for Luca, eager to check in, since it had been a while since they'd last seen him.

Now, everyone was seated around the table, quietly digging into their plates.

Not much was being said as the food was just that good. I mean, Naomi made it. Of course it was.

Jonathan sat at the head of the table with Naomi on his right. Across from her was Eve, and beside Naomi sat Jayden. Luca was next to Eve, and Eli took the seat beside him.

The only sound was the gentle clinking of forks against plates.

The silence was eventually broken by Jonathan who placed his fork down, sitting back slightly in his chair.

"I was watching the news before you all came down," he began, his voice steady but grim.

"They found a young woman's body in an alley not too far from here, just outside the CBD. Looked like a violent attack. The reporter said there were signs of a struggle, but they haven't identified her yet."

Eve stayed quiet, her fingers curling slightly around the edge of her plate.

She glanced at Luca. He was already looking at her.

They didn't say anything, but something unspoken passed between them.

"Oh my..." Naomi murmured, shaking her head.

"That's why I'm saying," Jonathan continued, glancing around the table, "I don't want any of you walking around alone at night. I don't care if it's a five minute walk. If you need to go somewhere after dark, you call me or your mum. You understand?"

Everyone nodded except Jayden, who hadn't reacted at all.

He stared down at his food like it was the most fascinating thing in the world, completely absent from the moment.

Naomi noticed. "Jay?" she said softly. "You hear your dad?"

Jayden blinked and finally looked up, like surfacing from deep water.

"Huh? Yeah, yeah. I heard. I'm just... tired. Exam season, y'know?"

He forced a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Elias watched him silently from the side, his spoon frozen in midair. He didn't say anything, but his gaze lingered on Jayden for a few seconds too long.

The tension thinned slightly as Naomi tried to steer the mood.

"Well, on a brighter note, your Aunt Mara's birthday dinner is next weekend. We're heading to Mornington for that, so cancel your teenage plans."

Jonathan smirked. "Yeah. And while we're talking about the future... you lot need to start thinking seriously about university. Applications open soon."

Eve exhaled. "Can't we survive midterms first?"

"We just want to know where your heads are," Naomi said. "No pressure."

Luca leaned back, arms crossed. "Law's the plan. But I might switch it up last minute just to mess with my parents."

That got a few tired chuckles.

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫･━━━━━━ ❜

After breakfast, Luca and Eve found themselves sprawled on her bed, the morning light pooling on the floor as they tried to make sense of what had happened.

"How did she come back?" Luca muttered, rubbing his temples like he could squeeze the answers out. "This whole thing feels...off."

"Yeah," Eve murmured, sitting cross-legged beside him. "Like, cosmically wrong."

A long silence stretched between them.

"Do you think we should tell the others?" Luca finally asked, voice muffled as he buried his face in his hands.

"I honestly don't know..." Eve said, her voice low with uncertainty. "We don't even know what this is. I mean, I believe you-because, well, after the day I've had..." She trailed off, the memory of him flickering in her mind.

Callaem. Wings. Eyes that looked like starlight and regret.

And also... stupidly hot.

Wait. Hot?

"You're drooling," Luca drawled, lifting his head just enough to squint at her. "Who's the guy? Wow, that sounded weirder than I meant it to. But seriously... when was the last time you even looked at a guy like he wasn't just a human-shaped disappointment?"

Eve snorted. "Not my fault all the hot guys are either gay, taken, or unfaithful."

Luca rolled his eyes. "Wow, that's the exact same thing you said when we asked why you weren't dating."

"What? It's true," Eve shrugged, arms crossed.

He tilted his head. "Okay, but what about David? He's neither of those things. And come on, he's definitely hot." He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Just saying."

"Yeah, he is..." she admitted, trailing off with a sigh. "But it would've been weird. Everyone wants him. Guys are lowkey gay for him-including you, by the way-and girls basically melt when he walks by."

Luca didn't even deny it. "Exactly why you should've taken him up on it when he was desperately asking you to go out with him!"

His voice cracked slightly in frustration, the words hitting a little too close.

Eve raised a brow. "Wait. Are you mad at me for rejecting David?"

"No," he said, a bit too fast. "I'm mad you always act like you're not allowed to want things. Like you have to be above it all or you'll break some invisible rule."

Eve blinked at him, surprised. The silence between them stretched, heavier now.

"...It wasn't about being above it," she finally said, voice softer. "I just-I knew it wouldn't feel right."

Luca watched her closely, then nodded, quietly letting it go.

A shrill ringtone cut through the silence, and Eve reached for her phone. The screen lit up with an incoming group video call.

She answered, and Jordan, Sage, and Quinn's faces filled the screen.

A second later, Milo popped up beside Jordan, confirming he was still hanging out at his place.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Milo greeted with a wide grin.

"Well, you can probably tell from how I look right now," Sage muttered as he dipped a rusk into what was most likely hot chocolate.

If you knew Sage, you knew about his borderline obsession with the stuff.

He was shirtless, hair a chaotic mess, and looked like he hadn't slept in days. His face said it all, he was drained and barely functioning.

"This is the perfect chance for you to sleep in. Why aren't you?" Luca asked, genuinely confused as he raised a brow.

"Yeah, why?" Milo echoed, leaning a little more into Jordan with a curious look.

"Well, I had this weird dream and couldn't go back to sleep. Then, just as I was finally starting to drift off again, my parents started fighting. You know... the usual," he said, sounding completely done with life.

"I'm honestly so over it. Can we meet up? I just really need to get out of here," he added, slumping over the kitchen table in defeat.

"Yeah sure, we could meet at our usual spot. But what will we do for the rest of the day?" Jordan let out, basking in the warmth of Milo.

As if those two couldn't be any more obvious.

Quinn finally spoke up. "Okay, is it just me or is Luca literally with Eve right now? And where's Jayden? This isn't like him. Also, did you guys hear about Ava? Wait... did you see the news?" She said it all in one breath, barely pausing between thoughts.

Everyone went quiet.

Eve and Luca exchanged a quick look.

Sage paused mid-sip, eyes narrowing like he was trying to piece something together.

Milo straightened up a little. Even Jordan finally looked up from his phone.

"Okay, wait. One thing at a time," Luca said, raising his hands. "Yeah, I'm with Eve. Chill."

"That's not even what I'm freaking out about!" Quinn said, practically tripping over her words.

"The news, Luca. The girl they found. Did you guys see it? The body? And the stuff on the wall- tell me I'm not the only one who saw that."

"What stuff?" Eve asked, her voice low.

"There were markings," Quinn said. "Like, on the wall behind her. They blurred most of it, but if you paused the video-"

"I saw it," Milo said quietly. "It didn't look normal."

"Exactly," Quinn said. "Not random. Not graffiti. It looked like... symbols. Creepy ones."

Nobody spoke for a second.

Luca leaned forward, jaw tense as he glanced at Eve. "There were no markings before," he said, just above a whisper.

Eve met his eyes. "You're sure?"

He gave a slow nod and that only seemed to unsettle her more.

Sage set his mug down, suddenly alert. "Wait-why were you even there?"

"Yeah, Luca, what's going on?" Jordan asked, more serious now. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

Luca glanced at Eve. Something passed between them, silent, heavy. The others caught it, but no one spoke.

"Wait," Milo said, eyes wide. "What happened to Ava? You mentioned her before. What did you mean?"

Quinn looked up sharply. "She sent me a message. Just one word 'HELP'. I texted her back immediately, but... she went offline."

The room went still. The weight of it hung over them like fog.

Just as Eve opened her mouth to say something, a soft tapping interrupted. Light, quick, and steady.

Luca and Eve turned toward the window.

Luca stood up to check, pushing the curtain aside and blinked.

"Eve," he said, turning slowly, "why is there a hot guy throwing stones at your window-and why does he look like he knows you?"