Page 11 of Klaus

Finally, I couldn’t take it any longer. My eyes snapped open in the hopes that I’d catch him before he could look away.

And he was watching. I knew it. My instincts were still sharp enough that I could sense something like that.

Only he didn’t look away. He continued staring, eyes searing me as they held my gaze. What was he thinking? What was special enough about me to warrant his stare?

Something about it stirred me to anger. Perhaps it wasn’t even anger at him, really, I had no reason to be angry. He was merely curious. Or simply ignorant. Either way, there was no need for the flash of teeth-grinding irritation which forced me to speak up.

“Your manners leave a little to be desired,” I decided aloud. “First, you insisted on remaining on the beach when you must have known I wished to be left alone. You undressed in front of me and behaved as though it were a joke. And now, I open my eyes to find you staring at me while I sleep.”

I expected him to defend himself, or at least, to throw a well-worded jab my way. Irritating or not, I did enjoy our wordplay. Over time, most of the clan had begun dismissing my incessant talking, rather than attempting to keep up with the rapid-fire stream of thoughts constantly barraging my brain.

Instead of a defense, he offered what sounded like an accusation. “You weren’t asleep.”

There was nothing I could say to that, so I turned my focus back to my magazine and prayed for a quick flight with no further interruptions.

How stupid of me, thinking that he might be a potential friend.

The more distance I could put between us, the better.

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