I'm more messed up than I thought.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" he asks and hurries over.
He presses his palm to my forehead and checks me over. His furrowed brows and worried eyes make me feel like an asshole.
"I'm fine, don't worry," I say, lowering his hand, but I hold onto it a second too long. "My throat's just dry."
"Oh, that's easy to fix. Sit. I'll bring you a glass of water."
"I can get one myself."
"No."
He spins on his heel and storms back into the kitchen. I chuckle again. Damn, I didn't know he was this feisty.
I follow his orders and sit at the table. There's already breakfast waiting for me, and my throat tightens. How long has it been since someone made me breakfast? Truth is, I don't think anyone ever has. My mom, sure. But Aziel never did. We used to make it together, or I made it alone. Not that I minded.
"Hey, where did you go?" Sebastian asks as he sets the glass down in front of me.
"I was thinking about Aziel," I blurt before I can stop myself.
Sebastian's face doesn't change, but I notice something strange. It's like he's trying hard not to react in any way.
"Oh? Do you want to talk about it?"
"I don't think discussing my ex-husband with his little brother is a good idea." Even I wince at the words.
Sebastian takes a deep breath and drops into the chair beside me.
"I'm all for bad ideas, so go ahead."
I hesitate. It feels wrong. Not just because he's Aziel's brother, but because of something else I can't name.
It doesn't even hurt to think about Aziel anymore. The first year nearly killed me, the second was just bearable, but now…nothing. I'm over him, over what happened. Jaded, maybe, but not broken. Then why was he on my mind?
"When I saw the breakfast, I wondered how long it's been since someone did this for me," I admit, eyes on the table.
"So it reminded you of him making you breakfast," Sebastian says, almost to himself.
I shake my head, meeting his eyes. "No. He's never made me breakfast. More often than not, we did it together. At least when he was in the mood to eat breakfast."
"Yes. He was never a big fan of those."
"It runs in the family, I guess," I joke, remembering Sebastian's own habit of skipping it.
Suddenly, his eyes harden, and he grits his teeth.
"No. It does not run in the family," he says with a cold expression I've never seen on his face.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
"Yes. You shouldn't have compared me with Aziel. Why? Because I'm not him."
He stands, glaring down at me, eyes blazing.
"I'mnotAziel. I'll never be."
Fuck.
