Dahlia Wellburg hates her misery as much as she loves it. She sees herself as a stone: ordinary and unwanted. Yet, they know her to be a rose: soft, but with thorns.
. . .
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One-sided love feels dirty. Am I deserving of the peace your thought brings? Do you want me to think of you? Is my love a violation? Is it trespassing?
. . .
Dahlia
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I laid on the bed, still in my work clothes, as I stared at the ceiling. If I concentrated, I could feel ship motion.
My life had broken like cheap glass. The first crack was when Evan broke my heart. I had to pretend that I didn't care in front of my friends and family, and maybe I didn't for some time, but then the engagement was announced and something in me cracked so much it became dust.
I don't know if it was heartbreak that got to me or the betrayal. Evan had I had been friends before we got together. Everything that happened was a lot more than a breakup.
I dug my face into Bobby's fur. He taped my head with his paws. I felt tears burn in my eyes. I was exhausted and so confused about everything.
"I don't want to go to dinner, Bobby."
Bobby meowed as if to say 'so don't' while cuddling against me. I petted his head. Vaness hopped on the bed, cuddling against my neck. I petted her head, too. My cats kept me sane. Without them, I didn't know where my mental health would be.
Soon, it was time for dinner. Even though I no longer felt like it, I dragged myself to it. I wore a simple red dress which didn't show anything off. I wore makeup, as much as I did every day, and walked out after making sure Vaness and Bobby had everything they could need.
"Hey, Dahlia."
I smiled at Andros, sitting down on the chair he had pulled out for me. We were in a small hall that had walls adorned with paintings and the flood with a maroon carpet. Everything looked to be something out of the Victorian era. I had a feeling Alexandre chose to build this room, he seemed to be in that era.
Lucian sat down on the chair beside me. Hedeon sat down on the other side. Alexandre sat down beside Andros. The table was rectangular and piled with candles which, thankfully, weren't vanilla. They smelled of lavender. I was instantly grateful for that. I breathed in. Please calm me down.
"Who cooked?" I asked after a moment of silence.
"Alex and I did," Andros said.
"We helped," Lucian added.
"He did not," Andros said instantly.
. . .
The dinner was done when the candles were half burnt. The conversation had been easy, with them telling me a bit more about themselves. None of them touched on Noah's topic or whoever it had been today who was outside my store. None of them talked about the axe guy either.
I wasn't going to bring these topics up.
"So the teachers never realized?" I asked Hedeon.
He shook his head, sipping his wine. "No, Dahlia. They never did."
