Perhaps…he should cease worrying, as it was too late to think of a backup plan. He was here now. He would have to make the most out of the situation.
Cadmus thought of Micah’s loathsome, sneering face. That was exactly the motivation he needed, to keep going.
* * *
Col was deliberately avoiding her. Lily knew it, because a few times when she moved near him, he increased the distance between them. They were all seated in the common eating area in the outdoor Royal Court of Food. It was starting to border on the comical, but fortunately Aylwyn came to her rescue. Even though the boys in general had initially seemed quieter than usual, Aylwyn as always was quick to speak with her, to put her at ease. Even Simon was now more comfortable with her, after their time baking cookies together. It made her confident that his idea to go on individual dinners with the boys was the right idea. And even more grateful that Col would not be the first one, given how he was acting.
He wouldn’t even meet her eyes, studiously looking everywhere but at her. It was a marked contrast to Barric, who had joined Aylwyn in asking her questions like how her day was going.
Questions you’d expect from a man who had kissed you in a way that made your heart sing, who said such panty-dropping things like “how would an American male tell an American female that he would worship her if she wouldst but allow it?”
Instead, it was the crankiest one of them all who inquired about her morning, who seemed to genuinely care about her answer.
Well, screw Col. He was doing her a goddamn favor, acting like a six year old who had just discovered she had cooties. She didn’t need this —whatever the hellthiswas. She was just passing through, remember? She wasn’t supposed to get involved with anyone, even if against all odds she managed to meet someone who made her feel alive, vibrant, capable of love.
Wait,love? Where did that come from? No wonder he was running away as fast as he could. He probably sensed the clinginess coming off of her in waves. She had warned him that she was damaged goods after all, and maybe it finally sank in. Especially since apparently she was one kiss away from boiling bunnies.
How could she blame him for shying away from her, then? She blinked back the tears that were threatening to spill out of her eyes, and turned with a brittle smile towards Aylwyn, who was regaling everyone with a scene he had watched on one of theLove & Hip Hops. It somehow involved demonstration with a meat pie and a wheel of cheese.
Lily hoped that if anyone noticed her glittering eyes, they would simply think she was laughing at Aylwyn’s antics. And not think of how close her laughs sounded to sobbing.
