She nodded, and with that, Mars left her alone in the studio.
* * *
When her classeswere finally done for the day, Calliope relished in the relief.Her stomach growled and she fought with the decision to stop and eat or to head directly to the gallery.She’d damn near lost her appetite at the thought of speaking to her ex, not because she was afraid, but because she just didn’t want to unearth her own dirty laundry in the process.What was in the past was in the past.
And that was where it needed to stay.
She’d finally settled on a sandwich wrap from the cafe on campus and a coffee, which she practically inhaled on her way to the gallery.It was nearing five when she arrived, and though she expected to see Theodore and Spike, she did not expect to see Isabelle, Lorelai,andMars.She blinked, her gaze settling on the group who were hunched in a huddle on the floor.Calliope could feel the tension in the air and then she noticed the broken case.
The case the diviner had been in was shattered, the exposed velvet catching the light.She did not think, she just acted.Locking the door, she sprinted over to their huddle to see they were all hovering over one person in particular.
Theodore.
“Oh Gods, is everything all right?”Calliope asked as she pushed through Spike and Mars.
Theodore rubbed his eyes as Isabelle helped him sit up.
“How many fingers am I holding up?”Mars asked, as Spike and Theo turned to face her.
“I’m fine,” Theo mumbled, his voice annoyed.“Seriously, I just tripped over my own fucking feet, I?—”
“No, you are not fine,” Lorelai said matter of factly.“You hit your head, you could have a concussion...”
“He doesn’t have a concussion,” Isabelle tutted.“Likeonepiece of glass hit him.He’s fine.”
“See, the vampire says I’m fine...”Theo murmured.
Isabelle chuckled.“Thought you didn’t believe in magic and vampires and all that jazz?—”
Theo groaned.“Maybe that glass did hit me harder than I realized.”
Calliope reached out, setting her hand on his arm, and he looked up at her.
“Callie, I?—”
“What happened?”she asked as she knelt on the floor beside him.
Spike scooted over to make room for her, not saying a word.Mars did the same.
“I don’t know, I was just...you know that debris left behind?The purple dust or rocks or whatever?—”
Everyone turned to look at her with interest.Mars especially.
“Yes,” she said shakily.
“Well, I kept hearing this whistling sound and it sounded like it was coming from the display so...I just got up to check it out and saw the rock dust or whatever was like...moving.Like jumping around and?—”
“Theodore went to remove the case and the whole thing just shattered,” Spike said in alarm.
“It literally just happened, Cal,” Mars said carefully.
“Right, of course.Are you sure you are all right, Theo?”She reached out, trailing her fingers over his temple.He didn’tlookhurt.There were no scars or wounds or even a pink bump.
His verdant gaze drifted to hers and his cheeks pinkened as he said, “I am now,” and Calliope felt her heart beat faster.
Mars chuckled beside her.
Calliope blushed as she dropped her hand.
