Page 6 of Novice Girlfriend

I ignored how good of a look that was on him and was just relieved he was there. I hurried over to him and grabbed his wrist, dragging him closer to the grossness. Glad that the shift manager was busy, I pointed into the huge drum. “What the fuck did I do? Like—what is this? Am I broken or—”

“We’ll figure this out, I promise,” he muttered under his breath. “Please, go take a walk, get some air, and I’ll figure this out.”

“I’m sorry,” I rasped, willing myself not to cry. I did as he said just so I wasn’t in the way and distracting him. Cleaning up the mess with so many people around was what was most important.

A thought hit me as I reached the door and I stumbled.

Béḃinn is upset with me. She took my power to help familiars.

Then I was just panicked. I was nothing without that power.

I was beyond useless.

I didn’t realize I was even having the panic attack until strong arms surrounded me and a voice that sounded far away told me to listen to his heart.

To hang on for him.

To trust in him and that he would fix this.

Wyatt.

It was Wyatt. The others would say hang on or they would help. Kelton would tell me to listen to his heart for sure.

Only Wyatt would ask me to trust in him, have faith in him.

And I did. I tried to nod to let him know that I heard him and was listening. That I was still with him maybe?

It took a while, but then I let out a shuddering breath and felt like I could feel what was around me.

“I’ve got us in a barrier,” he said gently, somehow sensing I was back. “No one can see us.”

I swallowed loudly as I took in the situation. I was sitting between his legs and he was completely surrounding me. Not just a hug, but… It was not something people should see us doing when we were teacher and student, no matter how they knew he was involved as my power assessor.

“Thank you,” I breathed. “I’m sorry.” I swallowed a sob. “I think Béḃinn is punishing me. She took my power and—”

“No,” he said firmly, kissing my hair. “No, Bevin, I swear it.”

“You can’t—”

“Yes, I can.” He moved enough so I could see his pretty eyes, worry in them. “Bevin, if you don’t have the magic to do something, you just don’t have it. You don’t turn things rancid. I swear to you that you’re not being punished and the power isn’t being taken away. There is other magic you’ve attempted and you simply couldn’t do it, right?”

Tears burned in my eyes as what he said hit me. I lowered my head in shame. “I’m so stupid. I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not stupid,” he whispered, kissing my hair. “I was freaked out by the warning of gods punishing you too. Seriously freaked out. I was—I had a nightmare about it too and it’s not even an option for me. You’re not stupid.”

I kept the tears from falling, deciding it didn’t count as crying then, and soaked up his comfort. “Thank you. It’s—thank you.”

“Mrs. Reid said she’ll be here soon,” he told me softly as he rubbed my back, clearing his throat when I flinched. “I think I know what it is, but I’m not sure. I want to be sure.”

“Yeah, smart.”

“But I know what to say to make this better. I promise. I will protect you from this. And I think—I know how to fix the mess with people here, but I want to check the magical answer.”

“Thank you, Wyatt.”

“Thank you for trusting that I would come handle this,” he mumbled and kissed my hair again before getting us both on our feet. It felt a bit rushed, but also… There was a mess inside.

Again, literal and figurative.