Dance of the Moons

Chapter 14

Hey everyone!  I hope you all had a nice Groundhog Day and are looking forward to 6 more weeks of winter!!!  I had a hard time writing this chapter because I wasn't sure which way to take it at some parts, but overall I'm pretty satisfied with it.  I hope you all enjoy it and thanks for reading!  I'll try to upload the next chapter in two weeks.

Happy Wattpadding!

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Chapter 14

Topher didn’t speak to me all the next day.  He followed me with a tense gaze, acute awareness in his eyes.  He monitored my every motion.  He did so openly because he was not the one with a secret—I was.

            It was a bad night.  One of those nights where you wanted to run around screaming and hurting those who hurt you, but instead silently sat at a dinner table.  One of those nights where you couldn’t sleep because you replayed a few short moments in your head over and over and over again, saying I should have… every time.  One of those nights where regret twisted all through you alongside frustration and anger.  One of those nights when you wished you were a different person, a normal person.

            I kept telling myself I should have read the letter in the café.  Read it, treasured it for a moment, and then destroyed it so there was no evidence of anything.  But when David had handed me the letter, I shied from it, afraid of how his words would make me feel.

            But it didn’t matter, because even without his words, I was afraid of how I felt.

            I was quiet all day, cooped up in my own mind.  I didn’t pay attention to my classes, or my friends and peers in the classes.  Hannah, my human friend who also studied psychology, tried talking to me.  But even she gave up after my monosyllabic responses.  She turned her attention to Topher—who insisted on following me to campus—and after a few tries, managed to get him speaking some.  But in the end, she declared we both needed to get over ourselves and resolve whatever problem we were disputing about.

            If only it were that easy.

            By the time I was two hours into my shift that afternoon, I wanted to stab Topher’s black eyes out.  I hated that he was watching me with such an accusing glare.  I felt like a child with impulsive rebellious habits who needed to be watched.  He made it seem as if I were the one who wronged him.  I couldn’t take it anymore.

            “I need to get out of here,” I quietly told Shay.

            He looked at me for a moment before his eyes flashed over to where Topher was sitting.  He nodded. “I’m supposed to pick up a package for Aunt Jaquie, but you can do it for me.”

            It was about a five minute walk to the post office. “Thanks, Shay,” I breathed with a small smile.

            He shrugged. “No problem.  Marcus,” he called to his older brother, who sometimes worked at the café with us, “Leila’s going to get that package now.”

            Marcus looked over from where he was ringing up an order and nodded.  I pulled off my apron and grabbed my jacket from a hook on the wall in the back hallway.  Wanting to avoid Topher, I exited the back.  For all he would know, I was in the kitchen or the office.

            Cool, brisk early evening air nipped at my face and ears.  I buttoned up my jacket and put my hands in my pockets.  It was chilly but not unbearable.  The fresh air felt good.  I walked around the building, through an ally way, and walked out on main street.  There were a few people walking around, couples holding hands and friends laughing.  Alone, I felt invisible, and the freedom of having no one watching me left me relaxed.