He gestured with his eyes and I followed their direction to my knee, leaking drops of crimson blood.
“Shit.” The skin must have split when I fell.
He released his grip on my wrist. I held my shirt down with one hand and used the palm of my other to apply pressure to the wound.
“Thanks,” I muttered, looking behind me to avoid eye contact and noticing the trail of blood I’d left.
“Sure,” he said under his breath. “Do you want a bandage or?—”
“I’m fine.”
In silence, I held the broken skin until a clot formed, then stood up straight, pausing briefly to let the pounding in my head cease before trying to walk away. My legs trembled when they started to move, but the concern in Sebastian’s voice stopped me from proceeding.
“Are you okay?” His wide eyes looked me up and down. “You look…notokay.”
Weeks ago, I would have told him the truth. But tonight I lied. “Yup,” I quipped and brushed past him with nonchalance.
“You're making yourself sick,” he called out after me.
“Why do you care?” I didn't think he heard me, but his response told me otherwise.
“Because I care about you.”
Raising a brow, I turned my body halfway to look at him. “Really? You have a strange way of showing it.”
He frowned, and though I wanted to release the fortress of anger and frustration that had built inside of me ever since the gala, I didn't. It wasn't worth it. It was not like anything would change.
He bit the inside of his cheek then whispered, "Goodnight,” before stuffing his hands in his pockets and leaving me in the darkness of the corridor.
Back in my room, I dug my nails into my palm until it bled, grief making my veins swell. I hated this. I hated being so angry with him. Actually, I didn't know if it was even anger I felt towards him anymore. Maybe I was just sad. Disappointed. I didn't know what I felt aside from the fact that I missed him, which was the worst part of all.
Chapter
Twenty-Seven
“Willawood, get up and put your combat uniform on. Now!” Sawyer’s voice screamed through my door, jolting me awake and inducing anxiety all at once.
I flew upright and to the side, falling out of my bed with only the sheet wrapped around me as a cushion. Moaning in pain, I glanced up at the clock. “Fuck, Sawyer, it’s five in the morning. What happened to training at night?”
“This isn't for training. Get up and meet me in the hall.”
Normally I would argue, but the severity of his tone told me not to.
Wiping the crust from my eyes, I fumbled around in the darkness for my uniform, pulling it on along with my boots. I searched for my cloak, but still half asleep, had no luck in retrieving it.
When I had fulfilled his request, I met Sawyer in the hall, slamming my door behind me. “What could you possibly want from me at five in the morning?” I sneered, a blatant scowl residing across my face.
“I don't want anything. The trials are today.”
“Trials?” I asked mid-yawn.
“Soldier trials for the first years.”
“First I’m hearing of this.”
“Yeah, that's the point.Surprise.” He waved his fingers in the air.
“Pretty shitty surprise,” I grumbled, shaking my body loose and then following Sawyer's heavy strides.
