Page 78 of Twisted Gift

“I’ve just been doing my best to be there for him. If he wants to talk, I’ll listen. If he doesn’t want to talk, that’s okay, too.”

“You’re good at this, being there for people,” he comments, stepping closer and lowering his voice. “I’m worried aboutyou, Aurora. You’ve been through a lot in the last couple of weeks. You—”

“I’m alive, Nik,” I cut him off in a hoarse voice.

“You’ve gone from being a human to being a fae—and the leader of the light—to being human again. None of which was by any choice of your own.”

I offer a curt nod. “Thank you for that reminder.” I haven’t stopped thinking about it since the moment I realized I was no longer fae—that I would die and Tristan wouldn’t. That thought alone makes my blood run cold—it scares the ever-living crap out of me. Even in death, the idea of not being with Tristan makes me want to sob.

I didn’t even get the chance to enjoy being fae. I struggled through the beginning,a lot, and once I was getting the hang of it, it was taken away from me against my will.

“Talk to me,” Nikolai murmurs.

“I’m scared,” I admit. “I’ve never been through something so awful, not even when Adam died. It was torture, but losing someone you love is a different kind of torture than losing yourself.”

He nods because he understands what I mean—because he’s felt it before. “Are you sad you’re human again?”

“Yes and no. I’m sad I never really got to kick ass as a fae, but I’m also relieved. The whole feeding on human energy thing was too much for me.”

“It’s not for everyone,” he agrees with a small smile.

“Yeah, we’re not all as awesome as you,” I remark in a dry tone.

He smirks. “Ain’t that the truth.”

I roll my eyes, but Nikolai’s light, joking attitude does make me feel better.

His expression smooths and becomes more serious. “Fae or not, I’m still your confidant. At least, I’d like to be.”

An unexpected smile touches my lips, and I hug him. “Thank you,” I say against his shoulder before I pull away. “I’d like it if nothing changed between us. I’d miss your annoying antics too much.”

“Yeah?” he checks.

“Yeah, I guess I still need you.” I glance back at the door behind him. “You should get back in there.”

“Okay,” he says, “but you know where I am if you need anything.”

“Thanks.” I start to turn away before I remember what I told Tristan last night. “Nik?”

He turns back. “Yeah?”

“Can you get Max’s sister’s phone number and text it to me? Tristan said Skylar has it.”

“You got it.”

I shoot him a quick thumbs-up before I head back to Tristan’s bedroom... only to find it empty. “Seriously?” I sigh as I back out of the room.

When my phone goes off, I pull it out and see Mom’s name lighting the screen. I sigh as guilt trickles through me. I’ve barely spoken to either of my parents since graduation. If they knew half of the shit I’ve been dealing with—they can never know.

Sending the call to voicemail, I type her a quick message to let her know I’ll talk to her later. I let out a heavy sigh and make my way to Tristan’s office where I find him sitting behind the desk with a glass of amber liquid in his hand.

Setting the glass down when I walk in, he looks over at me.

“It’s not even eleven in the morning, Tris,” I say in a soft tone as I approach the desk. “Did you want me to make you something to eat?”

He takes his time dragging his gaze up my body. “No.”

“Okay,” I say, frowning as I take in his appearance. He looks even worse than he did last night. His face is pasty; his eyes are almost bloodshot and rimmed with dark circles. Not to mention the current disarray of his hair.

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