Page 22 of Cry of the Damned
Maki only grunted, probably thinking the statement was ludicrous.
“You’re probably missing Desna by now,” Ila spat.
“What?! What does she have to do with any of this?”
“I saw you with her.”
And there it was… the grudge that Ila had held close to her heart for many years. Maki had cheated on her with Desna when they were teenagers, and Ila had never confronted him about it.
A thick silence hung in the air. I could almost imagine Maki’s face as he tried to figure out exactly what my sister was talking about. He probably had to dust the cobwebs from his mind to get at it.
After a drawn-out moment, Maki spoke. “You mean… you’re talking about… that was five years ago when you and I…”
So he wasn’t so stupid after all. He’d figured it out. I would’ve loved to see Ila’s righteous expression in that instant.
Steps sounded on the other side of the door headed in our direction, probably Ila deciding she’d had enough.
“No, wait!” Maki said. “That… that’s why you broke things off. Because you saw us.”
“You’re a genius. Always have been.”
Maki sighed heavily. “Why didn’t you say something?” he asked, his tone less angry and more conciliatory.
“So you could laugh it off?”
“I would’ve apologized.”
“Really?”
“Well, maybe not. I was a brat. I know. But I wouldn’t have been wondering all these years why you stopped liking me.”
I rolled my eyes, and so did Bethel. What an idiot? Anyone could tell that Ila not only liked him but loved him. He didn’t need to wonder.
“You broke my heart, Maki,” Ila said, her voice wavering.
“I… I’m sorry.”
“And Desna wasn’t enough. You had to get involved with every girl in the pack.”
“What was I supposed to do? You pushed me away.”
Ila sneered. “I guess I should’ve done the same and sampled anyone who would let me.”
“It wasn’t only your heart that was broken,” Maki said under his breath, as if he hated to reveal that much.
Bethel and I exchanged a glance. It wasn’t like him to say sensible things. Maybe that was the reason his admission carried weight.
A small bark of laughter came from Ila. “You think I’m going to believe your lies?”
“It’s not a lie,” he objected. “When you turned me away, it shredded me inside.”
“I guess all those girls made everything better then?”
“I’m not proud of it, but yes, Iwaslooking for comfort and… trying to make you jealous. Except you wouldn’t even look at me. You didn’t care.”
Silence.
“Or…” Maki let the word hang for a moment. “Or you did,” he added, his words between a statement and a question. “Youdidcare!” He must’ve seen something in my sister’s face because this time he sounded sure and a bit elated about the discovery.
