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“Hey.” He glanced up from his notebooks spread out in front of him.
“Hi.” I carried my backpack over and sat on the floor a few feet from him and pulled out my textbooks.
“Do you want to ignore things and study, or do you want to talk?” He didn’t look up as he scrawled something in his small, blocky writing.
One was the easy way out. I could suppress my emotions and thoughts and focus on where I should be spending my energy, but that wouldn’t make the bad go away.
“I did a video call with my family. I don’t think Brielle recognized me.”
He lay down his pen and turned to face me, resting one elbow on the table and the other on the couch. “How old is she?”
“Two.”
“That’s pretty little, but I doubt she didn’t recognize you. She probably doesn’t understand why you’re not there. She probably misses you and seeing you confused her.”
That still hurt.
“It sucks.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine what it would be like to have little siblings at home to worry about.”
I swallowed a lump in my throat, not wanting to cry again. “I miss them so much. I miss playing with them and snuggling with them and reading to them at night. I miss Aiden sneaking into my room when he had a nightmare. I miss their hugs. Bri was just starting to talk, and I’m going to miss all of that.”
He didn’t move to comfort me or waste his breath on platitudes. “It’s hard being away from our families, but you’re not just here to learn. You’re here to protect yourself and them. One day away from here, and you ended up cursed. Do you want to involve any of them in whatever's going on?”
“No. I don’t.” I pulled my knees to my chest and hugged them.
“Then anytime you start to feel like this, you have to remind yourself of all the reasons you’re here. In the end, it will be worth it if they’re all safe and blissfully unaware of the potential dangers,” he declared.
I would give anything to keep this world from Aiden and Brielle.
“Thanks.”
Niall wasn’t usually the best at pep talks or being sympathetic, but he was direct, which was what I needed tonight.
“Now, do you want to explain to me what happened in science today?” The corner of his lips curved.
I dropped my forehead to my knees. “You already know. Everyone told you.”
“Yeah, they were pretty impressed.” He nudged my shoulder, and I lifted my head. “But how did you do it?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I knew I couldn’t give up in front of Ms. Sharrinton. I focused on everything we talked about in class and the things you’ve taught me, and the portal appeared. When she told me to transport the beaker to my desk, I had no idea what to do, but I focused on visualizing what I wanted and forcing my intent. It worked.”
His grin grew, and he rubbed my shoulder. “That’s amazing. I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks. It’s a relief to know it wasn’t me before. Like I wasn’t trying hard enough.”
“The bond? You think it unlocked things?” He dragged his fingers away from me, and I immediately missed the causal touch.
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. I doubt the curse helped me.”
“I haven’t noticed a change.” He clenched his hand, then opened it to reveal a small orb of water hovering over his palm. With pure concentration etched across his face, he made it slowly expand to the size of a softball, then a basketball.
I started to giggle, wondering how much bigger he was going to let it get when the front door slammed open.
“Shit!” Niall jumped, and the orb exploded, drenching his arm and my entire front.
I lost it, falling over and laughing on the soaked floor as Niall mumbled a stream of curses.
