Page 96 of Forever Cursed

I free my phone from my shorts pocket and see a number pop up that I’m not familiar with.

Hey Rome, this is Raina. You met me in the conference room on the first day. Are you at the cat café?

I am. Why?

Chrissy and I will be there shortly.

Why is Raina accompanying Chrissy to our session? Why hasn’t Chrissy texted or called me? Nothing is making sense, and it’s causing a pit the size of a meteor to form in my stomach.

Gwen finished gathering the items and brought them to me. An assortment of cat food, toys, a cat bed, and a box of litter are ready for me. With Korra still snuggled against my chest, I fill out the paperwork in order to take her home. I don’t know if I want to adopt her or not, pretty sure I’m not going to have a say in the matter. But Gwen has been completing the foster form just in case.

The bell above the café door chimes, and I feel her presence before I see her. She’s warm like sunshine, but something is off. I don’t have to turn around to guess that her nose is crinkled upward and that her brow is wrinkled. Chrissy is preparing herself to face the storm, and I wish I could say that storm wasn’t me.

“Rome?” Raina asks as she comes into my line of sight.

Glancing up at her, I give her a small smirk and nod. “That’s me. Are you going to say hi as well, Chrissy?”

And there’s the eye roll. I can feel it like a soldering iron.

“You don’t have to be so snarky about it.” She sighs, and my heart shatters into a million tiny pieces.

Her eyes are tired, subtle, deep bags resting underneath them. Her hair is pulled back and free from frizz. Even her complexion is off; her normally rosy cheeks are nowhere to be found. What happened within these last two days? Do I look the same way she does? Because I can safely say I’ve missed her.

“Care to explain why Malik threw the ball to me during practice today?” But that doesn’t mean she didn’t cross a line.

“Raina and I are switching partners. You will be working with her, and I will be mentoring Malik Chen” is all she says.

With an irritated click of my tongue, I drop the pen I was holding and look at her head-on. “I told you it was out of the question.”

“And I told you I wasn’t going to let you ruin your future for me. It’s an easy solution?—”

“You fed the snake, and now he won’t stop. He knows you’re my weakness, you just gave him fuel. You think this will be his first demand? You’re wrong?—”

“Rome, let’s just take a moment,” Raina interjects.

“No, I won’t take a moment. Chrissy, there was more than one reason why his demand was out of the question. And you just gave himeverythinghe wanted.”

Raina’s shoulders drop in defeat. She’s been working with Malik, so I’m sure she knows what he’s capable of.

“I’m doing this for you?—”

“I didn’t ask you to!” My voice raises, and Korra stirs in my arms and leaps onto the floor.

“I’m doing this on my own volition. I’m doing this to secure your future. I will doanythingfor you because Iloveyou. Why can’t you understand that?”

“Because you love falling in love!” I shout and slam my hand on the table. “How many hearts have you broken? How many times have you fallen only to run away? Love isn’t enough, Chrissy. It doesn’t stop people from leaving others behind. You don’t love me; you just don’t want to be alone.”

The words sting when they leave my mouth, but it feels good. They’ve been corrosive in my throat for far longer than I realized. And now that they’re free, I don’t bother sugarcoating it.

Chrissy stares at me like she’s trying to dissect my brain. Her cheeks are bright red, and she presses her lips together while taking a step back. Raina observes us, probably wondering if we need couple’s therapy.

It was bound to happen. Chrissy and I are both energetic, stand-by-our-beliefs, hardheaded people. An argument was unavoidable, whether we wanted it or not.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean, Rome,” Chrissy tells me, sounding a little too calm. “I know things too, and I’d rather not have this conversation here.”

“Then why have you been avoiding me?”

“I could ask you the same question. The phone works both ways.”

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