Page 32 of Somnium

It wasn’t technically a lie.

Zoe’s shoulders dipped, the grin fading from her face as she turned back to her monitor. “Oh.”

Cadi’s brows drew together at the disappointment in Zoe’s tone. It was almost as if she had been expecting something a bit more scandalous. “Why?”

Zoe shrugged and let out a dramatic sigh. “Oh, just from what Celine told me I thought … you know what, never mind.”

Cadi’s muscles went stiff. She knew she wouldn’t like whatever story Celine had decided to spin, but if she didn’t find out now, she would go insane. “And what exactly did she tell you?”

Zoe looked at her from the corner of her eye, that same smirk slipping back into place. “Oh, not much. Just that she saw you and Damon getting pretty hot and heavy then leaving together!” She spun back around, beaming as she lunged forward to grip Cadi’s hand. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! Celine was definitely not happy, but she’ll get over it. Oh gods, you have to tell me everything.”

Cadi’s mouth fell open. She wasn’t sure if it was because of her injury or if her brain was physically trying to reject what she had just heard, but her head felt like she had just stepped off one of those sketchy carnival rides that passed through the city every summer.

There was no way she would be able to function the rest of the day knowing that Zoe thought she had willingly left with that man, workplace propriety be damned.

“Zoe … no. That’s not—he wouldn’t stop grabbing me. I pushed him off and he got mad and then—Zoe, he followed me to my car.”

Zoe stilled, her eyes going wide for a moment before her brows drew together in confusion, clearly struggling to understand what Cadi had just told her.

“Wait, what? That doesn’t—are you sure he followed you? I mean, we were all pretty drunk that night, maybe he thought you were leaving together?”

Cadi stared at her, any response she had prepared sputtering out into a slew of barely audible squeaks. Heat crept over her body, spreading through her limbs, up her neck, and across her shoulders. She had replayed the moment over and over, telling herself there was nothing that she had done wrong, nothing that would have changed the choices he’d made, but … what if she’d missed something? A subtle look that got misinterpreted, or a fleeting touch she hadn’t noticed. Maybe if she had just⁠—

She sat up straight, working a firmness into her tone that she hoped left no room for question. “No. I told him to stop and he followed me regardless. That isn’t my fault, Zoe.”

Zoe tilted her head in a gesture that Cadi assumed was intended to be comforting, but seriously missed its mark. “I’m not saying it’s your fault, it’s just—I don’t know, maybe he misunderstood?”

The flush of heat searing beneath Cadi’s skin flared brighter as she jabbed a finger at her forehead, to the bandage and the deep purple bruise that still tinged her skin despite the layers of makeup. Zoe flinched back at the sudden movement.

“The cut on my forehead and my pounding headache from where he slammed me into my car would suggest otherwise,” Cadi said, trying hard to control the tremble in her voice. “This wasn’t a misunderstanding.”

Zoe pulled in a soft gasp, her gaze returning to the spot above Cadi’s eye. “Cadi … gods …” she said softly, reaching out to take her hand. “I—are you okay?”

Cadi made a gesture that was halfway between a nod and a shrug. “If Elias hadn’t stopped him⁠—”

Zoe stiffened, her expression of concern wavering. “Wait, Elias was there?”

Cadi pulled in a deep breath through her nose. Of all the things she had just said, that was what Zoe chose to focus on?

“That doesn’t matter, the point is, if he hadn’t been there, things could have been a lot worse. It feels like you aren’t fully hearing me right now.”

Zoe’s grip on her hand tightened. “Cadi, I am hearing you, it’s just … this is a lot, and I—Damon is really active in the Order. He wouldn’t—he couldn’t …” Her words trailed off as a hint of uncertainty began to creep into her voice. “I guess I just don’t know what to think.”

Cadi’s eyes dropped to her lap as she slid her hand from Zoe’s and picked at her nail polish, trying to temper the storm raging in her mind. It would be easy to just stay silent, nod, and let Zoe go about her day while she quietly distanced herself, fading back into the shadows and leaving this whole mess behind. But something new stirred deep in her chest. A part of her that had been sleeping was finally awake, and it urged her to push into the fight instead of running from it, refusing to let someone else control the narrative of her life. Something that made her whisper, “You could believe me.”

Zoe stayed quiet, and when Cadi lifted her head, she found Zoe staring at her, pain and conflict swimming in her blue eyes.

“A friend would believe me,” Cadi pressed.

Zoe’s mouth hung open, whether to apologize or argue, Cadi didn’t know, because before she could speak a single syllable, Cadi was on her feet and striding toward the door.

“I have work to do,” she said, though her voice was so quiet she couldn’t be certain Zoe actually heard her as she stepped out of the charting room and into the empty hallway.

She wove through the corridors, looking into every open room until she found one that was empty, then slipped inside and eased the door shut behind her. Her head tipped back against the smooth wood, the edges of her eyes burning with the tears she refused to let herself shed.

A shaky breath slid from between her lips as she pulled her phone from her pocket, fully intending to look up cute animal videos to try to lighten her mood when she saw Sera’s name flash across her screen.

Hey! Lunch?