Relieved didn't even begin to cover how I felt when the final class ended.
I practically bolted out of Caroline Wickburn's room, desperate to put distance between me and her icy smile. More than that, I needed to see Theo.
The craving had sharpened throughout the day, tightening in my chest until it felt hard to breathe.
I just had to find him.
I wasn't sure whether his last class had been in the Descendants' House or the Crescents', but I hurried out of the Crescents' building anyway. The place still gave me that eerie, haunted-house feeling, like something dark lingered in the walls.
Theo and I were bound to cross paths eventually.
We did.
I was halfway across the quad, heading toward my dorm, when I spotted him from behind. We hadn't known each other long, but I would've recognized him anywhere, dark hair shorter in the back, longer in the front, broad shoulders stretching the fabric of his shirt.
"Theo!" I called.
He glanced over his shoulder.
Those intense blue eyes locked onto mine.
For a second, just a second, it felt like everything stilled. Like the world paused between us.
I started toward him.
He didn't move.
He just stood there, watching me approach.
Then he turned away.
I slowed, confused, as he headed toward the faculty parking lot. My steps faltered as he reached a navy-blue sports car, opened the door, and slid inside.
The engine roared to life.
"No..." I whispered under my breath.
He didn't look back.
I stood there, frozen, as the car pulled out of the lot, passed through the school gates, and disappeared down the road.
What the hell had just happened?
"Don't take it personally."
I spun around.
Rhys stood a few feet behind me, hands in his pockets, sympathy softening his sharp features.
"What was that?" I demanded.
"Theo," Rhys said carefully, "does this sometimes."
"Does what?"
He hesitated, clearly choosing his words. "When things start going right… he runs. He sabotages his own happiness."
I stared at the empty road where Theo had vanished. "Where is he going?"
"I don't know."
"Will he come back?" My throat tightened around the question. The idea of him being gone, of that connection snapping, made my chest ache.
"He has to," Rhys said gently. "He's under contract to teach here for a year. And Theo would never deliberately cross Headmaster Black. He'll be back." His dark blue eyes met mine. "He probably just needs space. Somewhere to clear his head."
"Did I cause this?" The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Rhys stepped closer and rested a warm hand on my shoulder. "No. This isn't about you. It's about him. Trust me."
I wanted to believe him.
I really did.
But as I stood there staring at the empty stretch of road, the wind brushing against my skin where Theo's presence should have been, I couldn't shake the feeling that somehow, I had pushed him away.