Page 87 of The Hunger
The room fell silent and every set of eyes went to Aubrey, which I could feel that she loved.
“I am. Seating has been assigned, too, in case you’re wondering.”
I turned to Fenris, and he gave me a sad smile.
“Go. You don’t have to be here even if I do.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. This isn’t on you. I know who’s to blame.”
“Aw, this is so touching,” Aubrey said.
A few students tittered. My eyes went dark again. When I would have swung my head in their direction, Fenris cupped my face, stopping me.
“This is me preventing you from doing something that you might regret later. I love you, Eliana. A change in class schedules…a tracking spell…a portal home…none of that will change how I feel.”
I closed my eyes and nodded. Then I left him in the room.
Anger didn’t begin to describe how I felt. I seethed. I wanted to call Megan to vent but knew that my drama would only distract her from possibly saving the world.
Once in my car, I debated calling Mom. However, I doubted having both of us equally angry at Adira and Raiden would result in anything productive in the long-term. The most likely outcome would be Mom wanting to kill one or both of them. So, I settled on texting Kelsey.
Me: Would you mind if I came over now? Looks like I’m skipping school today.
Kelsey: We have nothing better to do.
Kelsey: Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.
Rather than replying, I headed to their house. The pair must have been watching for me because Kelsey had the door open as soon as I parked.
“Are you mad?” she asked.
I paused on my way up the walk and realized my vision was sharp.
“I am, but not at you. Give me a few minutes. I’ll knock when I’m ready to come in.”
She nodded, but instead of closing the door, she sat in the doorway and watched me pace.
“Megan should have warned us when we said yes that the only thing on the TV here would be reruns of shows from fifty years ago,” she commented after only a moment. “It wouldn’t have changed our answer, but we might have negotiated for a deck of cards or some games, too.”
I stopped my deep breathing to look at her.
“You don’t have anything to do?”
“We have the books from Ashlyn, but you can only read terrifying information so many times.”
My vision returned to normal as my curiosity rose.
“What books did she give you to read?”
“Would you like to come in and see?”
Inside, Zoe sat on the couch, idly flipping through television stations in bored resignation.
“Hi, Eliana,” she said without looking at me. “So, when you’re in our house, is it safe to look at you?”
“As safe as it is anywhere else.”
