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It took a second for my brain to override the insistent, desperate desire to go back to Lukas.
“June, um,” Lukas cleared his throat and started again. “June was waiting for you to meet her until we gave her a name.”
My stomach dropped.
“I have a surprise for you.” Lukas looked like he could barely contain his excitement.
I smiled brightly at him. “Well, I would hope so. I want a birthday present.”
“Come on,” he said, grabbing my hand to pull me behind him. “You’ll love them.”
As was so common since I’d been back, the memories punched me in the gut. Lukas gifting me June for my twentieth birthday. The reminder that she couldn’t fully understand why I’d left.
I smiled at June, fighting the tears welling in my eyes. I knelt down, extending my hand so that the foal could get comfortable.
She was beautiful, her scales a vivid purple that reflected green under the moonlight.
June nudged her forward and she floated uneasily into my hand. She was still a little unsteady, bobbing sideways before righting herself.
While she sniffed around my hand, I turned to Lukas. I hadn’t felt him leave. Sure enough, he was still standing there, a noticeably safe distance away, watching the interaction with a hard expression.
I couldn’t take the look in his eyes. “Did you have a name in mind?”
“No.”
“Do you want to name her?”
“I don’t care.”
“Do you want me to name her?”
“If you want.”
I ground my teeth together. These stunted conversations were so beyond the realm of normal for us. It ached, hitting deeper than the rejection still stinging my skin.
I just stared at Lukas for a second. I wished I knew what he was thinking. What I could do to get back to what we were, even if it meant ignoring what made me leave.
But like he’d said in this very spot, he had no interest in being my friend.
June’s foal pressed her nose into my palm, drawing my attention back. I stroked down her mane, muttering compliments under my breath. I also sent another wave of apology to June, who seemed to brush it off.
Her foal blew a breath full of bubbles then spun around in a tight circle.
There was nothing to do but laugh while she chased her tail like that.
“What about July?” I asked. It made sense, something in between June and August. And it fit her. She was light and happy, the embodiment of long days in the sun.
Lukas let out a low sound, something close to a grunt.
My head whipped around. “What?”
Lukas shook his head. Guess that was all I was getting.
He stepped close. Right next to me, before leaning down, stroking the foal’s mane, and subjecting me to a close up of his hands.
That was the second time he’d done that tonight. Taken the path closest to me even if it was more inconvenient. That only made me more frustrated.
Lukas stopped petting the foal but didn’t stand. He looked at me, anger or something close to it swimming in his eyes. “I’m running a perimeter check in the morning. Then we’ll do the…”
