“Here’s your hot chocolate, Pops—huh? Where’d he go?” A pause. “Oh well. I’ll drink it myself!”
It tookme a second to get over the extravagance of the upstairs bathroom. I splashed water on my face in front of a giant, spotless mirror above a giant, spotless sink. Everything was so luxurious that I felt bad about using it. Instead of drying my wet hands on the pristine cotton towel, I wiped them on my pants instead.
Taylor had already gone back downstairs. Maybe it was the solitary tiger inside him that understood when I needed space.
I raised my head to glimpse my reflection, dreading what I’d see. Dark bags hung under my eyes from last night’s poor sleep. My hair frayed in every direction. I looked like a mess. I looked like the Poppy that Viol pulled from the snowy owl’s crag, all those years ago.
I shivered as the memory rolled over me, heavy and tangible. As I lurched forward, I grabbed the edges of the porcelain sink for balance.
Why...? Why had everything gone so wrong?
My head felt as crowded as a city street—loud, overwhelming, impossible to escape. But I couldn’t leave. I’d already accepted my friends’ invitation to stay for dinner. It would be rude to leave now. Besides, where would I go? Back to my lonely hotel room just to mope all night long?
A groan escaped me. I felt so tired and worthless. The temporary comfort I felt around my good friends slipped away like smoke from a candle, vanishing into nothing. I couldn’t be around them constantly. They had their own lives, and it was rude of me to impose for my own selfish desires.
Hot shame washed over me. Why had I wasted so much time recounting my awful memories? All it did was bring down the vibe. I shouldn’t have mentioned it at all. I’d kept it to myself all these years. It should’ve stayed locked up, out of sight, out of mind.
My knees buckled and I leaned my weight against the sink. I was so stupid. I’d come to the bathroom to freshen up, not to cry. If I went downstairs with red puffy eyes, everyone would know I’d been sobbing again. I rubbed my forearm against my face to stave off tears.
It’ll pass if I sit here for a minute,I thought, hoping to manifest it.Quietly... silently...
The door flew open.
Someone stormed in with loud, thunking steps.
My heart rate exploded. I let out an involuntary yelp of fear as I slipped and fell backwards hard on the tile, smacking my tailbone.
But when I saw the intruder’s identity, my heart stopped.
Viol stood there, still as stagnant water, staring wide-eyed as if I was the last person he expected to see. A swarm of emotions crossed his face before settling into something guarded and civil.
“What are you doing here?” he rasped. Then, louder, “Are you okay?”
I nodded listlessly. My bruised bottom was the least of my concerns.
“I’m... washing up.” My anxiety flared like a beacon. “Um, I can go. If you need to use the bathroom.”
“No,” Viol barked. “I mean... it’s fine. You don’t have to do that.” He ran a hand aggressively through his hair, then blew out a breath. “Sorry, I didn’t expect anyone to be here.”
I noticed Viol’s face was flushed, but in a sun-kissed way. He smelled like saltwater and open air. Had he spent all day on the beach after we parted ways?
Viol’s gaze slid over me. For a moment I thought he’d reach out a hand to pull me upright, but instead, he sat across from me on the tiled floor, mirroring my pose.
“Long day?” he asked through a sigh.
“Y-yeah. For you, too?”
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I’ll fuckin’ say. Gaius cornered me and wanted my whole life’s story.”
I didn’t know what inspired his sudden conversational attitude, but it was better than our awkward tension from earlier. I allowed my shoulders to relax as I hugged my knees to my chest.
“That’s funny,” I murmured. “I was talking to my friends about that, too.”
Viol’s brows lifted halfway to his hair. “You were?”
I nodded, but dropped my gaze to the black tiles. “I was just telling Alaric, Taylor, and Muzo about... past things.”
Viol’s eyes flashed, but he didn’t move or otherwise react. “Past things, huh? Like how you and I met?”
