Was Nicholas Hurt?

Virgil.

I scrolled through my phone and found his cell number. He answered after only one ring.

"Mrs. Rowe?"

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Willow?" I smiled at his insistence on propriety.

He chuckled. "You're going to have to get used to it." I shook my head and sat down on the edge of the bed with a sigh. "Virgil, I think I need your help."

"What's wrong? Where are you?" He was immediately on alert.

"I'm at home. Is there any way you could come over here? I need to talk to you about something."

"Yeah, sure. Are you staying there today? No classes?"

"Well, that was part of what I want to talk to you about."

"Are you okay? Do I need to be there immediately?"

"I'm okay. Everything is fine here. Just come over when you can."

He was silent for a minute. "I'll be over around noon. Does Mr. Rowe know you're calling me?"

"No. Not yet. I didn't have time to talk to him this morning."

"All right. I'll be over in a couple of hours."

"Thank you, Virgil."

I felt better after hanging up. If I knew anything about Virgil, it was that he would help me figure out who H was and what he wanted.

I made my way downstairs, finding Laura in the kitchen.

"Willow, are you okay? You aren't dressed for school." She was by my side in an instant, her hand brushing my cheeks and forehead. "You're flushed. Sit down."

I smiled at her concern. "I'm just feeling a little nauseous this morning. I think I'm going to skip classes today."

She nodded and hurried over to put a kettle on the burner. It wasn't long before I had a steaming cup of tea in front of me as well as toast and crackers. My stomach calmed a bit after eating my breakfast.

Before I finished, Laura set something else in front of me.

"Happy Birthday," she said.

I grinned at her before opening up the gift. She'd gotten me a journal. "I thought maybe you could use this while you're pregnant. Keep a daily record of everything before and after the baby's born. That way, one day you can share it with him or her."

I stood up and hugged her. "Thank you, Laura. It's perfect."

I spent the next couple of hours in the library, using the time to study until Virgil showed up a little before noon. I glanced up as he made his way over to take a seat in the chair next to the couch I was on.

"Thanks for coming."

He nodded. "It's no problem. What's going on?"

I set my book aside and fiddled with my fingers nervously. "Last week, on the way to class, John dropped me off at a cafe. I was walking in and not paying attention, and I ran into some guy. Like literally ran into him. I almost fell down, but he held me up. It was weird. It was like I got a funny vibe from him or something, and I backed away so he couldn't touch me anymore. He looked normal and everything, but I still got a weird feeling."

Virgil's face was stony as he took in my words. "When you say he looked normal, what do you mean? What did he look like?"

"He... um... he had a suit on. Like something Nicholas would wear every day. He was tall, with tanned skin, and dark hair. He smiled at me and tried to start a conversation. He told me his name was H, and he wanted to buy my coffee. I told him no and left as soon as I had my order."

"Okay. Where was John?"

"He was sitting out in the car waiting for me."

He nodded. "Don't ever ignore those intuitive feelings you get. They're usually right, and it's always better to be safe than sorry."

I bit my lip. "Yeah. There's more."

"I figured."

"On Monday, I was hungry and walked to a deli close to campus for a sandwich. I was sitting at a small table they had set up outside, eating my lunch, when the same guy showed up all of a sudden." I paused and shuddered as I remembered. "He put his hand on my shoulder and then asked if he could join me. He sat down before I could say a word. I was really freaked out. I wrapped up my lunch and got out of there."

"Did he say anything else?"

"He asked if I was scared, why was I running away. And... um... I think he said something as I was leaving, but it may have just been my imagination."

Virgil leaned forward. "What do you think he said?"

"My name… and that he would be seeing me soon."

"Damn it." Virgil took out his phone, his fingers flying over the buttons. "You never told him your name?"

I shook my head. "No. Do you think he's following me?"

"Yes." He didn't even hesitate. "Why have you not told Mr. Rowe?"

"It wasn't on purpose. When I got home on Monday, we had to deal with other things. His father was here and it slipped my mind. Then yesterday we were busy. I just forgot."

He kept texting away before finally looking up again. "Are those two times the only contact? Anything else that stood out about him?"

"Those are the only two times I've seen him. Nothing else really stood out, except the uneasy feeling I got from being near him. What should I do?"

He stood up. "I want you to stay right here. I'll contact you in a little bit. You did the right thing by telling me. We'll get this taken care of in no time. Don’t worry, okay?"

I stood up when he started walking toward the door. "Where are you going?"

"Back to the office. I'll call you soon." He rushed out before I could say another word.

I frowned and sat back down, trying Nicholas' phone again. He still wasn't picking up, nor had he answered any of my texts. It was starting to worry me a little. I knew he had an early meeting, but he shouldn't have still been in it. It also wasn't like him not to sneak me a few romantic texts even during a meeting.

Especially since it was my birthday.

I tried not to dwell on my disappointment and eventually made my way upstairs, deciding to nap and then take my time getting ready for dinner. Courtney and Lory both called during the afternoon, wishing me a happy birthday and making sure I was ready for them to take me out to celebrate on Saturday.

Another girls' day of shopping and pampering. I was looking forward to it.

By the time six o'clock rolled around, I was dressed and ready, sitting downstairs in the kitchen. Nicholas hadn't specified where he was taking me, but I wore a sexy dress and heels, knowing he'd like it. I still hadn't heard from him or from Virgil, and it was stressing me out.

Nicholas had promised me he'd be home early, and I had not gotten one call, message, or word from him since he left. Laura kept hovering, concerned I was worrying myself into an ulcer.

I couldn't help it. Something was off. Something wasn't right. Laura wouldn't keep me in the dark like this unless something was wrong.

I jumped when my phone finally rang, my hands shaking as I answered.

"Virgil? What's going on? Have you seen Nicholas?"

"He's not there?"

My stomach fell and my eyes immediately teared up. "No, he's not here!" My words were coming out almost like shrieks, but I couldn't help it. "Have you seen or talked to him at all today?"

"I haven't been able to get a hold of him. I've been trying. When I came back here, he'd already left for the day, and I figured he went home to meet you for your birthday."

I almost couldn't breathe as my brain flooded with thoughts I wasn't prepared to handle. Was Nicholas hurt? Was he in an accident? Did something happen to his parents? His brother?

All I knew was that it had to be something major for him to ignore me all day. Especially today of all days.

"Virgil, there's something really wrong. Something's happened to him." I sobbed and Laura handed me some tissues. "Please, can you find him?"

"Calm down, Willow. I'll try to find him and let you know immediately. Call me back if he shows up before I find him." It was the first time he'd used my first name.

As soon as I hung up, I called Geoffrey, who told me he hadn't seen Nicholas since the morning meeting. Francis said the same thing when I dialed him next. I was about to call Clara when the sound of a door slamming echoed through the house. Laura and I both turned our heads toward the sound, and I jumped out of my seat.