Page 28 of Novice Girlfriend

“Where did you get this, girl?” she bellowed in my face before roughly grabbing me. She’d set it down because she had both hands on me.

I’d missed it, too shocked to see this side of Nina and this anger focused at me. I think I said to stop, but she didn’t. She shoved me into the wall and demanded that I tell her and who I was in contact with to get what was taken from her?

It didn’t make any sense, but one thought broke past my fear, and that was what made the tears fall. They weren’t for me… But her.

Because I was pretty sure Nina was failing whatever test this was about.

“Nina, let her go!” Rita demanded from the other side of the kitchen, and I was never so glad they were living together. “It’s Bevin. Sweet Bevin!”

Nina bared her teeth at me and then shoved me away so I hit the wall before turning and rattling off in Russian.

Rita didn’t hesitate and went right to me, pulling me away even as I stumbled over my own feet, and then we were circling out of there. She cupped my face and searched my eyes. “Can you tell me what happened?” She swallowed loudly when I shook my head. “Because you’re in shock or because it’s something you can’t tell me?”

I didn’t know how to answer that. “Both?”

Rita gave me a sad look. “I was afraid of that. Okay, is there anyone you can tell?” She hugged me when I didn’t answer. “Sorry, sorry, take a minute. I just need to know if you’re hurt.”

“No?” I didn’t think so, but it really did come out more as a question which wasn’t helpful at all and I knew that. I felt her magic and nodded when she said I would bruise, but I was fine. “I’m sorry.”

“You are never to apologize for the reactions of others,” she whispered, flinching when I started crying. “Oh, Bevin.”

When I calmed down, I explained that Nina had said the same thing before she’d blown up at me. I wasn’t sure what to do next or how to handle this, but Tracey circled in with Taylor and a few other people, and they froze when they saw me there with Rita.

Tracey instantly put it together. “I’ll fucking kill her.”

“No, wait,” I started to argue, but Tracey had already thrown down the circle and was gone before I could say more.

Taylor blew out a harsh breath and moved his hands to his hips. “She’s going to be the death of me.” He shook his head when his parents couldn’t hide their reactions. “I don’t have the magic to follow her like that, and she goes back and forth between thanking me for stepping in and reminding me she can handle it. So I never know the right response.”

I realized I had the answer, and just like others gave them to me, it was my turn. “You have parents that would sell their souls to protect you and only messed up because they tried to help too many others too. Hers would have sold her if the chance ever came up before dying, and no other family cared what happened to her.”

“Nina’s house?” Mrs. Reid checked, as she laid down a circle. She’d been there and was giving Taylor the answer.

“Yes,” I confirmed.

If that wasn’t clear enough, his father gave him a slight shove into the circle, amusing several people. I would find it funny later, but right then I was too upset.

“I’m sorry, I can’t talk about it, and I need some space,” I whispered when Taylor was gone. I thanked Rita and went inside with the apples I was still carrying.

Clare froze when she saw. “How bad? I thought—the thing with the familiars was super cool—what’s up with the apples? I meant to ask earlier.” She nodded when I did a great impression of a fish. “Just tell me you’re fine and we can talk later.”

I said that exactly and thanked her before going up to my room. I worked for a bit—actual CEO work stuff and approving some of the stuff for the expansions. Tracey had looked it all over, and really it was done, but we were making sure we were on the same page.

So really it was stuff she’d approved and I was making sure I was caught up? Okay, it was a chicken-egg situation but either way, I was handling Familiar Treasures things when I realized I’d forgotten to give Wyatt his flowers.

I’d showered after my run that morning, but I did again, and it wasn’t about seeing Wyatt. I realized it was about what happened with Nina. I just needed to wash it off and change my clothes to something comfy.

The guard gave me a worried look when I came downstairs and asked for him to bring me to Wyatt. I simply reached for the flowers and told him it was fine, just a quick drop-off because I forgot. Tracey wasn’t back yet and people were tense.

I needed less tense.

So instead I was an idiot.

Again.

Wyatt was one of the few people my guards could always circle to no matter what for obvious reasons. It wasn’t remotely his fault for not checking. Anyone with a brain would have thought I would have talked to Wyatt before just showing up.

I simply didn’t have a fucking brain some days.