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I nodded, said my goodbyes, and left the office. Deciding to take a brief walk along the beach, I exited via the rear of the mansion. The last thing I’d expected to find was Maya sitting on one of the rattan loungers, staring out at the azure blue sea as it gently swept ashore and dissolved into foam.
Surprised she’d be out here alone, I crossed to her. When she glanced my way, my stomach dropped. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Maya always had a sort of … fire in her eyes. A light. Right then, they were flat. She looked … lost. Sad. Alone. Like she’d pulled inward.
“You look tired,” she said to me, her voice just as flat.
“I am,” I admitted, because if I blew her off, she’d likely do the same to me. “Want to tell me what has you sitting out here by yourself?”
“I just wanted to be alone for a little while.”
“Has someone upset you?” If they had, I’d smack the piss out of them.
Her brow furrowed slightly. “No.”
I heard the ring of truth in her voice. “Then why do you look like you just lost your best friend?”
Her gaze slid back to the ocean. “Nothing you’d find interesting.”
“You’re wrong there. I find everything about you interesting.”
She cast me a sideways look of disbelief. “If you say so.”
I did say so. And I meant it. But I couldn’t blame her for doubting it. “Have you eaten yet?”
She shook her head.
I held out my hand. “Come on.”
She eyed my hand like she’d never seen one before and was expecting it to bite her or something.
I sighed. “It’s a hand, not a grenade. I’m not coaxing you to my home so I can have my wicked way with you. I don’t want to leave you on your own. You don’t look like you’re in a good mental place right now, and I don’t like it. Let me take you to my apartment and get some food down you. Then I’ll walk you home.”
Maya rubbed at her forehead. “I don’t know, Ryder. I wouldn’t make good company right now.”
“I’m not expecting you to entertain me. Honestly, I wouldn’t make good company either. My brain’s feeling a little fried right now.”
She looked up at me, her face lined with concern. “Are you taking enough breaks throughout the evening? You don’t want to have some sort of psychic burn out.”
Warmed by her concern, I said, “I’m taking enough breaks. Doesn’t stop my head from hurting by the time I’m done each night. I’ll feel better once I’ve eaten. But I’m not moving from this spot unless you’re coming with me.”
She threw me an exasperated look.
“If the situation was reversed and you found me sitting here like this, would you leave me out here alone?”
She hesitated to answer, and then a long sigh slipped out of her. “No.”
My chest squeezed. “Then come with me.”
She blew out a long breath. “All right.” She put her hand in mine.
Hiding my satisfaction, I gently pulled her to her feet. Good girl. I didn’t speak the words aloud, because I had the distinct feeling she’d have told me to fuck off.
I kept possession of her hand as we walked to our complex. Although I wasn’t part of the legion, Sam and Jared had allocated me an apartment in the legion’s Residence Hall as I was in the Grand High Pair’s service. I lived a few floors above Maya, so we took the elevator up to my level. Inside my apartment, I ushered her into the kitchen and invited her to sit at the small, circular dining table.
Wanting her to relax, I didn’t pressure her to talk. I just set a soda-flavoured NST in front of her and then went about making us dinner. Recalling that her favourite comfort food was mac and cheese, I tossed some in the microwave. When I later put two bowls of it on the table, her mouth curved.
“You remembered,” she said.
I took the seat opposite her. “Of course I remembered.” Not wanting to fuck with her appetite, I waited until she’d finished her meal before asking, “Want to tell me what’s wrong?”
“You’ll think I’m cold.”
I frowned. “I would never think that of you.”
“I’m thinking it of me.”
“Yeah, I see that. So tell me what’s going on up there in your head, and then I can point out that you’re wrong to be beating yourself up.”
Her head tipped to the side. “You’re so sure you’ll be able to do the latter?”
“Yes.” I lifted my beer-flavoured NST. “But feel free to prove me wrong.”
She drew in a long breath. “It was my brother’s birthday yesterday. I didn’t even remember until an hour ago. An hour ago. It’s not like we weren’t close. We were. Very. And yet, it went right out of my head. How much of a shitty sister am I?”
