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The desire to share evaporated in an instant, along with any softness I felt toward him.
“You’re right, Remy. I am being stubborn. Thank you for bringing that to my attention.” I was done. To hell with staying here and letting him make me feel afraid of myself and what I could do. I would get a handle on it, and I’d do it without his help. “I have to go.”
As intent as I’d been on getting outside, I wasn’t about to try to push past Remy. He’d only try harder to stop me, to keep talking, and I was all talked out. I spun on my heel and headed back the way I had come.
Once again, my timing was impeccable.
Kate was pulling the door to Brodgan’s classroom shut behind her, the slight flush to her cheeks darkening when she saw me coming. I had no idea what had happened in there, but right at that moment, it didn’t matter in the least.
“Hey, Kate, ready to go?” Walking right up to her with no hesitation, I hooked my arm through hers and gave a little tug. She stumbled slightly as I began to drag her along with me, but righted herself quickly.
“What? Go where?” Her brow was furrowed, the corners of her mouth turned down in a tiny frown. Movement behind me must have caught her eye, because her gaze flicked over my shoulder. Understanding lit her expression, and she tightened her arm around mine. “Yeah, let’s head out. I have to tell you about the thing.”
“The thing?” It was my turn to look blank. She cocked a brow at me and my brain finally caught up. “Oh, right, yeah, the thing! Tell me about the thing.”
Smooth, Thea. Smooth as fucking coarse grit sandpaper.
“Okay, so I asked him what happened, and he denied ever knowing anything about it.”
“No! Are you serious?” I dug deep for my acting skills and played the moment to perfection. At least, I liked to believe it was perfection. I wasn’t about to turn around and meet Remy’s glare to gauge whether it was actually convincing him of anything.
Kate and I chattered about nonexistent news for several more moments until, even without looking, I knew he’d gone. The faint echo of footsteps moving in the opposite direction was my first clue, but when he departed, it was like a weight had been removed from my chest. A heaviness in the atmosphere lessened and allowed me to breathe deeply for the first time in long minutes.
“Now that he’s gone, what the hell was that all about?”
“Eh.” I gave a nonchalant shrug as I unhooked my arm from hers. “Just him being a pain in the ass. He’s not so great at taking hints, so I decided escape was the best option.”
“I don’t know, Thea, I think you’re going about this all wrong. No way would I want to escape all of that.”
Wouldn’t she? “I thought you were seeing someone.” I didn’t say his name, because, a) it was probably highly forbidden and these walls could very easily be the kind with ears, and b) I wanted her to share her secrets if she chose to, not be forced into admitting them because I happened to catch her.
Her face reddened, but her shy grin said a lot. “I wouldn’t say that. It’s not like I’m officially in a relationship or anything, but there is someone that… that I enjoy spending time with.”
“Ah.” I nodded sagely, but offered nothing more. These were her blanks to fill in.
“It’s complicated. It started out as one thing, but it’s kinda grown into something deeper the more we’re together.”
Exactly how much time was she spending with Brodgan?
“Just be careful, Kate. I wouldn’t want you to get hurt if things don’t work out the way you’re hoping.”
“Oh, believe me, I’m being extremely careful. It’s a tricky situation, and I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.”
Including herself. Something told me if Brodgan was caught fooling around with one of the students, it wouldn’t be him that suffered the brunt of the consequences.
“It’s weird, you know? Being with someone without having to hide what I am. Even before I came here, I knew I was different. The people I went to school with figured it out, though I don’t think when they called me a muse they knew they were right in a literal sense.”
“How did they discover the truth?”
Kate shrugged, but a dark look passed over her face. “I’ve always ended up around creative people. I guess, given my nature, I’m drawn to them just as they are to me. So when being near me produced some of their most inspired works, I went from a cool girl to hang out with to a trophy they competed for.”
“How so?”
“Some tried to win me over with gifts and promises of what they could do for me once they ‘made it big.’ Others tried to bully me into being with them.”
“That seems counterproductive.”
“It was. I guess that’s part of my aptitude. When I’m around someone I genuinely dislike, they get blocked up. Can’t write a word or paint a single stroke that isn’t utter garbage.”
