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Maybel: Sure, I'll be here. But what if I'd already gone home?
It takes only a minute for him to respond.
Sebastian: Funny, you never leave the library if you can help it. I'll be there soon.
I return my attention to the book in front of me and only stop when the touch of a soft hand resting on my shoulder pulls me out of my fixation.
Sebastian greets me with a nod, then comes around the other side of the table to take the other chair. "Always studying," he says, his voice low since this is a more quiet area at the moment.
"I'm still not completely caught up on things. All the teachers have been very kind to me and are allowing me as much flexibility as I need, but I feel like I won't get back to normal until I'm caught up, and..." I leave off, thinking.
"And?" There's something in his tone, question, and something softer.
I shake my head. "I just want to get caught up."
He studies me. "You miss your friend."
"My friend?" I scoff. "I hope you aren’t talking about Jackie. She deserves the hole she's dug for herself."
"Well, I think you’ll be happy to know she won’t be making any reappearances in your life. I had a chat with her to make certain of it and discovered that she was only helping Drew’s dad because he promised her a place at one of his offices when she graduates.”
The air squeezes out of my chest. “That’s it? She threw away our whole friendship for an internship, with an asshole to boot?”
He shrugs. “You can never really account for people’s ambition. I think you're lonely, though, am I right?"
"How could I be lonely with your company and Drew breathing down my neck every few minutes?"
“There are varying degrees of loneliness, Bel. There's the type when you’re in a room with a bunch of people but still feel like you have no one, which I think is the worst kind. Then there’s the type when you’re simply alone and unwilling to make new friends, so you cause your own loneliness.”
“I hope you don’t think I’m paying you for this session because I’m not.”
He smirks. “I’m not trying to psychoanalyze you. I just don’t want your loneliness to eat away at you. No offense but you had limited friends before everything happened. Now there’s no one.”
I frown. “Thanks for the reminder. Can we not talk about how shitty my social life is, or how the only friend I had was secretly sleeping with this psychopath-obsessed man's dad in an attempt to get information about us?”
“It’s not meant to be an insult. I was actually hoping to use it as an opening to invite you to hang out this evening. Lee, Aries, and I are going to have some pizza and beer, then hang out and watch some movies. You're coming."
I shake my head. "You do realize you make decrees a lot, right?"
He shrugs. "It's my job to be decisive. I have no room for questions."
I mock his deep voice. "I have no room for questions. Only commands."
This earns me an eye roll, and he helps me gather my books. "Leave this here. I'll have the driver grab it for you and put it in the car while we walk over to The Mill."
I freeze. "The Mill?"
He tugs me along gently. "Don't worry, Drew isn't there."
"You're sure?" While I mean, it would be fine to see him, I know I don't exactly think clearly when he's around. Nor does Seb at the moment. Not exactly a situation for a relaxing evening.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on with Drew? I thought you were going to stay away from him?"
We walk, and I consider how much I actually want to tell him. "Drew is...hard. I can't just turn off caring for him. He wants to be different. He is different with me. But I also don't want to be an idiot and walk into things blindly."
He nods and tucks his hands into his pockets as the wind cuts through the trees heading up to The Mill house. "While I'd love to just say ‘stop seeing him,’ something tells me that wouldn't go over well. That you'd probably do the opposite just to piss me off."
"Hmm...seems you are getting to know me."
