Page 74 of Never Feed a Dragon

“You can leave it outside my door. Thanks.”

I breathed through another wave of frustration. “I was thinking we could eat outside on the porch. The weather won’t be good for much longer.”

“I’m too busy, sorry.”

My jaw clenched.

I counted to ten to calm myself before speaking again.

“I’m not leaving, Spaghetti. I’ve barely seen you all week.”

Maybe I hadn’t calmed myself down as much as I thought.

She made me wait a long moment before answering. “I’m not in the mood for a picnic and conversation, E.”

So she was avoiding me.

Fantastic.

“I’m not taking no for an answer this time. Open the door, or I’ll break the damn thing down.”

I heard her huff.

Another two minutes passed before she finally unlocked the door and opened it just a crack.

Fuck me, she was wearing more of those thin little sleep clothes.

I missed her body.

I missed her smile.

I missed her laugh.

“You’re hiding from me,” I said.

She scowled. “I’m not hiding.”

“This started after the first time we slept apart. Why?”

“It’s nothing. I’m not even really hungry.” She started closing the door, but I caught it and stepped into the room.

“I’m not leaving.”

She shook her head at me, and retreated back to her bed.

I’d never seen Viola retreat before. I wasn’t sure what to think about it.

Something was clearly wrong.

I carried the food to the edge of her bed, then set it on the ground before I sat down by her feet. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t tell me to leave.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

I lifted an eyebrow.

She stared at me for a long moment. “You really want to do this now?”

---