"There's nothing to talk about."
"There's everything to talk about. What happened?—"
The door opens again. Tyler, cheerful smile dying when he sees the tension crackling between us. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." Calder turns. "I need to go."
"Calder, wait?—"
But he's already gone, door swinging shut behind him.
Tyler looks at me. "What happened?"
I explain Calder's reaction when I asked him to talk to me, how he refused.
"He's spiraling," Tyler says grimly. "He thinks his worst fear came true, that he’s like them."
"He's not?—"
"I know that. You know that. But he doesn't believe it right now."
Tyler finds Calder by the lake that evening.
I know because he texts me after:Tried talking to him. Won't listen. Says he needs space to think. I'm worried.
I wait an hour. Then I go looking..
I catch him outside the greenhouse as dusk grows heavy. "Calder, wait."
He stops. Doesn't turn.
"Please talk to me."
"There's nothing to say."
"There's everything to say. This morning?—"
"Was a mistake. I made a mistake."
He finally turns to face me. The distance in his eyes steals my breath. Not fiery anger— cold fear, raw and consuming.
"You're afraid, I get it."
"I'm realistic."
"What happened this morning doesn't change anything."
"It changes everything." His jaw works. "I proved I can't control myself around you."
"But you held back. You didn't hurt him."
"I wanted to. For a second, I wanted to." The admission comes out rough. "You looked afraid, Elowen. Of me."
My breath catches. "I wasn't?—"
"Don't lie. I saw your face."
"I was surprised, not afraid of you. Never afraid of you."
