DARKSIDE

30 | Darkside

The sunlight that found its way between her blue curtains always was the reason Nova woke up - that or the smell of wonderful cooking. But that day, it was neither.

Opening an eye, it seemed that the sun hadn't even made an appearance in the clouds yet, which made her worry even more about the blank space beside her.

Where could he have gone? Was he okay? Was he not comfortable with her? But it didn't seem like that the night before if the way they slept so soundly through the night with their limbs tangled together was of any indication. But then, why wasn't he here?

As the thoughts surrounded her, she flicked her gaze to the clock on her bedside table. It read it was still just five in the morning.

Nova decided to look around her once she sat up on the bed, blanket wrapped around her body to keep her warm, and that was when she noticed the light under the doors of her bathroom.

So he was in there, she sighed in relief.

As she awoke completely from her delirious state, she strained her ears in order to hear the sound of the water running but she didn't hear anything. And that alarmed her. She decided to wait a minute, two, and then three, but when it had been ten minutes already and there still was no noise whatsoever that's when Nova decided to stand up and investigate the matter.

It was very cold outside of the warmth that the blanket provided, being the middle of December. And although her room was warm because of the room heater, she still felt the hair on her body stand up. The pajama shorts she wore didn't do much help either; her silk nightshirt however, was providing warmth to her torso.

Before she could call out, she decided to wait a few more seconds. But when that eerie silence continued to consume the space around her, she decided to take matters in her own hands. The whole ordeal was making her nervous, and Nova didn't know what to do. She was afraid she would scare him if she acted out too hastily if he was actually in there. And so, she decided to check whether the door to the bathroom was locked or not.

It wasn't.

Taking a deep breath in she made her way towards the door and closing her eyes briefly she began to open the door slowly. When she saw no one near the washbasin, she decided to walk in. But there was no one in here. When that was clear and she felt her nerves trying to take over, she took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Going over to the washbasin and looking at her reflection in the mirror, she began to control herself. She decided to brush her teeth in order to get a bit more clearance in her head.

As she brushed her teeth, she pondered over all the possibilities that could be the reason behind her being the only one in her room and the man that should be with her missing at five in the morning.

One simple reason could be that Derek went home. After all, his house was just across from hers, it wouldn't be much problematic to go there. Maybe he just wanted to check how his house was...at Five A.M.

Or maybe he got some urgent call from work and had to leave. But then Nova was his assistant, she was bound to come wherever he was needed.

Sighing to herself she spit out the waste and began to rinse her mouth clean. Putting the toothbrush back at its place she saw another toothbrush there. The one that she'd given to Derek to use the night before. It was still wet - which meant it was used not a while ago.

And with that she thought of a new possibility and swinging the door to her bathroom open, she went downstairs to check. And she was right because there he was, standing near the window that gave the perfect view of the Apple Tree.

Slowing down her pace, she softly made her way towards him and when she reached him she stood beside him maintaining a distance. Maybe he would need some space.