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Mireya

Galaxy of stars

Play - Light by Sleeping At Last

The days after Milo’s birthday settled back into routine. I go to classes, train harder, study until my eyes burn. Damien’s presence is somehow omnipresent, which helps a lot because of how often my thoughts find him when they should be somewhere else. Hayzel is also strangely studying a lot more. And Ethan.. Ethan is still avoiding us both now.

A week or two passes without anything dramatic happening. And it feels almost suspicious.

Friday afternoon finds me back in my dorm, staring at the lighter he gave me months ago. I use it a lot, when I want to smoke, when I feel overwhelmed too. I wonder where he got it.

I focus on the task at hand, the pair of jeans on my lap that is waiting for me to do something, and the door opens without warning.

“Coffee,” he says as he comes in.

I just make a small noise to let him know I heard. Blue however, reacts immediately. He jumps off the bed, crosses half the room, and pounces directly on my sewing supplies.

“No, wait—” Too late. A disgusting amount of sequins roll all over the bed, a half-finished star falls to the floor, and the thread unravels.

I freeze for a second, then I sigh. “He's decided to ruin my life,” I whisper.

Blue is very proud of himself. He rolls around in the middle of the fabric as if he's won something. And Damien chuckles a little as he closes the door behind him.

“So you’re getting into sewing now?”

I finally look up, meeting his eyes. “I’m trying.”

He approaches with the coffees, places one on the desk and then crouches down by the bed to pet Blue.

“Is he helping you or sabotaging you?” He asks softly.

“Both,” I say.

I bend down to retrieve the star that has slipped under the bed, and feel his gaze on me, but I pretend nothing’s wrong.

Damien straightens up, and this time he sees the rest of the room. The box on the bed, the old album Edna wanted me to keep, and Hayzel’s camera.

He settles on the edge of the bed, and Blue immediately decides his lap is a better option than the chaos of the bed and settles in.

Traitor.

I look at him and smile faintly, “Great. He chose you.”

“I understand,” he replies quietly. “I'm more stable.”

I chuckle and shake my head before returning to my jeans. The stars keep coming, one by one. Damien watches my hands move without speaking for a few seconds. Then he tilts his head. “How long have you been doing this?”

A long exhale falls out of my lips as I reply, tired, “Forever.”

He smiles slightly and I feel his gaze drift toward the box of seashells. “What’s this?”

“Mister Caldwell, you’re in this dorm more often than you should and you just realized there was a box of seashells on my desk?” I ask as I follow his eyes.

“I see you’re being very descriptive today,” he replies, voice low.

I glance in his direction and smile then continue sewing. Blue is now asleep on the bed as Damien takes one of the seashells from the box, then turns it between his fingers.