“It’s fine, Julian,” Wren says in a rush as she stumbles up from the couch, nearly tripping herself on her blanket in her haste. The second she gets there, she moves between them, a hand on Julian’s chest, her back to Gavin, her presence just enough to make him step back as if he might get cooties if he touched her.
I watch as Julian takes a breath, and I feel the air stutter and stir before he takes another, deeper breath, settling him down just enough to keep his form.
If any other mortal stood before him, I wouldn’t be worried about a momentary slip, but Wren isn’t normal, and I doubt she would miss it, even if it only lasted a second or two.
“You're so fast to defend her, but you don’t even know her. She’s probably out sleeping with some guy, whoring it up the same way her brother always was. Somehow she’s got you blinded…” Gavin shakes his head, stepping back as if in disbelief.
It happens fast, so fast that I nearly miss it, but Julian doesn’t. Wren stands before him, the only thing he sees as her face collapses and her eyes fill with tears.
Her hand comes up, slapping across her mouth, but not before the most heartbreaking whimper escapes her.
And then she’s gone. She turns and runs, shoving past Gavin, still in just her pajama pants and a tank top, no shoes or the bag she always carries with her.
Gavin looks confused for a moment before it transforms into something smug, and I feel like the Gavin I knew is gone.
Julian is on him before I can make it across the room to stop him, but if I’m being honest, I’m not in that big of a hurry. He kind of deserves a little something for that. I mean, I don’t even like the girl, and I feel bad.
The pain on her face wasn’t just hurt feelings.
Julian grips his shirt, slamming Gavin’s back into the wall as he snarls down at him.
“Since when are we proud of making girls cry?” he spits the question in Gavin’s face, and his smirk melts away.
“Cry?” he asks as if he can’t comprehend what Julian just said.
“Yeah, cry. You went too far,” I tell him, coming up to stand behind Julian. He glances my way, and while he doesn’t seem super happy with me either, at least I’m not Gavin.
“Wren isn’t the crying type,” Gavin says as if we’d lie about that.
“Well, maybe next time she says she’s out at the library late studying, you should fucking believe her and stop being such a dick about it.” Julian lets Gavin drop, and he stumbles but remains upright.
“Next time you make her cry, I’ll drop you in the unseelie court and see how you fare.” Julian turns and walks out the door, no doubt wanting to find Wren, and for once, I don’t follow him.
If I ever thought she might actually need him, it’s now, and if I’m right, like I think I am, I need to at the very least get used to him giving her time, too.
I don’t have to like her to tolerate her, for Julian.
Though as I make my way into the kitchen to start breakfast, I can’t stop thinking about her spending late nights in the library.
Most know better than to be there alone or late; I ensure they're warned away, but I’d never done that with her, and I’m not sure anyone else would, given where she rooms.
I make a mental note to check in on her later to ensure she’s not about to go missing.
If I don’t, Julian might never forgive me.
Ididn’t mean to run, but I wasn’t sure what else to do. Standing there to let them see me cry was out of the question.
I could handle a lot of things, but Jordan was my weakness, the same way I had once been his.
The only problem with running is that you typically need somewhere to go, and I don’t.
I’m running blindly until I stop in front of a door, and suddenly, I’m not sure if this is a good idea or not.
Actually, I know it’s not.
I take a step back as I try to think of somewhere else, but I come up mostly blank.
Usually I’d run to the library, but I don’t want Felix to see me like this. I don’t want anyone to see me like this, so why I came here in the first place makes no sense.
