"I warned you, Kristina," he said, leaning closer to me, his hand scorching my wrist, his silver eyes darkening to a stormy grey. "I told you what would happen if you defied me."
Fire was racing up and down my arm. The rose necklace burned at my thr...
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~ Kriss Darcy ~
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For a while, all was quiet.
Jamie sat in stony silence on the couch, a blanket thrown across her lap; Sophie had left for a moment to grab her one, offering Jamie the extra bit of comfort, but there'd been no response from her when Sophie had carefully lain the blanket down and seated herself next to her. I sat on Jamie's other side, unsure of what to do. Did I offer my own comfort? Apologize for basically killing Mr. Abrams? Stay quiet? Mourn with her?
Jase, it seemed, had gotten it into his head that I required comfort. He was practically cemented to my side, refusing to leave me, and had even drawn me towards him immediately upon sitting down next to me. I didn't move away, silently enjoying the temporary feeling of safety I got when close to him. Sophie had raised her brows at the action, but said nothing.
I needed the reassurance that I wasn't alone in this anymore.
I needed the confirmation that I was safe.
As if reading my thoughts, he pulled me closer. I was nestled tightly against his side. If he did this a few more times, I'd probably end up on his lap... but I got the feeling that he wasn't really against that idea.
At that moment, Julie came back into the room - she had left for a moment to grab food.
"I have some granola bars," she said quietly, her usual upbeat tone completely diminished. With everything that's happened lately, I suppose it's only natural. "If anybody's hungry," she looked around at us expectantly.
"If I eat something," Jase said. "It will not be staying in my stomach for long."
"Thank you, Jase, for that lovely visual," I said, feeling a bit queasy myself. A side effect of stress, I imagine.
"I'll... I'll just leave them here, then," Julie set the granola bars down on the coffee table before settling herself next to Sophie. "Does anybody want anything?"
Sophie patted her leg. "We're fine, Julie. Just relax."
"I can't relax. Stephanie's fallen apart even more and is probably isn't going to be working for a few more days, which means she starts sobbing whenever I enter our room and keeps me up for half the night, which means I don't sleep, and I know it sounds like I'm complaining and being selfish but I'm already exhausted from the masquerade preparations. Corbin was slacking off all day - due to grief, no doubt, he's known Mr. Abrams for a long time - which means I had to prepare all of the food by myself, and there's still so much left to do and so little time to do it - "
