Royal love

Chapter 83

I get off the floor for the second time and hesitantly make my way to the commotion, unsure if this is another dream or not.

"Hey, Line, nice of you to make an appearance," Levy says sipping a cup of coffee. I can't help but notice, everyone's here except for Hayden. I wonder where he is.

I nod in his direction and steal a glance at the time, nine in the morning, why is Hayden gone so early in the morning? I take the only open seat, next to Daniella and Sam.

"Your looking better," I say to Sam.

"I don't feel better," she says and crosses her arms on the table to rest her head on but once she does she feels too uncomfortable to stay there.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," she sighs.

Yes it is.

We fall silent before Daniella tries to break the awkwardness.

"Adeline, do you know we have no clothing here? Nothing. We have to wear the old man's rags. Sonya would be devastated."

Daniella's unnecessary mention of Sonya makes me realize that she's accepted her death. She's ready to start remembering her instead of continue mourning her. "That's saying the least," I say. I don't think I'll ever get over Sonya's death. No matter how much time passes her name will always bring me the same grief.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Adeline?" Grayson asks me, he's standing in the kitchen frying something, probably bacon. When I don't respond he thinks of something else. "Or coffee?"

"I've never had coffee before," I say to him.

"Never had coffee?" He scratches his head. "How on earth are you the richest person in all of France, so you can afford coffee, yet you've never had coffee?" He asks dumbfounded.

"It's always just been tea. Nobody I know drinks coffee."

"Well, I have a feeling you'll love coffee. One cup coming up!"

I nod and turn back to the conversation at the table.

The table is quiet, somber. The light of the resent events shines on us through the open window and we don't know what to do with the information. Sam will forever have burn scars all over her face and running down her entire body. When she first was pulled out of the fire, she looked like she was melting.

"I bet I could beat you in an arm wrestling match," Jody says, snapping us out of silence. He's always had a way of making us all happier.

"No way," Rowan says. Rowan is one of the strongest people here. His muscles protrude out of any shirt he wears and he always ate well and took very good care of his body when we lived in the school. "I can crush you with my pinky." It probably isn't much of an exaggeration

Jody laughs. "Bet."

"How much?"

"Ten." Then he fumbles. "Five."

"That's a pretty decent drop," Rowan notes. Jody shrugs. "Okay, I'll bet you five dollars I'll win and you'll bet me five dollars you win."

"Yes." Jody nods and puts his hand on the table in position. Rowan follows his lead with a smirk.

All of us are gathered around ready to watch and cheer for whoever we want to win even though we all secretly know that Jody would never win, not against Rowan.

They start and it lasts longer than I thought it would, Rowan doesn't take the lead and keep it until the end. It's an entertaining match, actually. Jody and Rowan fight for power the whole time but, as I suspected, Rowan wins.

"That's no fair, you definitely cheated or something," Jody says, pouting his lip out and crossing his arms childishly.

"Oh shut up and give me my money," Rowan demands rolling his eyes and signaling with his hand for Jody to give him the money.

Jody ex hails and empties his pockets.

"Four dollars and a piece of candy," he says placing four one dollar bills on the table and an unwrapped hard piece of candy (that looks like it used to be a vibrant yellow but now it looks like a rotting lemon) with a few hairs stuck to it, mold growing out of it, and some black specks all over it.

All of us watching cringe at the disgusting piece of candy. Rowan looks amazed by how gross it got and shakes his head.

"That's just wrong," he says not breaking eye contact with the candy.

"She's a for-life-er," Jody says. "Been with me my whole life."

Levy raises his eyebrows. "Great sob story, Jody," he says.

Before Jody can respond with another sarcastic comment, Rowan interrupts. "Why make a bet with money you don't have? Now your a whole dollar in debt to me."

"I didn't think we were actually betting!" Jody throws his hands up in mock surrender. "Friends don't have debts to each other," he says crossing his arms and furrowing his eyebrows childishly.

"We both know if you had won I would have had to pay you the full amount wether it was now or later."

"Nu-uh"

"Uh-hu"

"Nu-UH!"

And so on. They seriously don't stop doing that until we all settled it by yelling at them to "shut up" which my mother would be absolutely disgusted by those words if she had heard them come out of my mouth.

Once everything calms down and we're all sitting at the table eating our breakfast, Hayden comes inside from the front door— if that's what I can even call it, it's hardly holding up and it definitely doesn't work right.

He's holding firewood. Why did he have to get firewood? Grayson doesn't own a fireplace, or anything that needs firewood.

"Perfect! Just in time!" Grayson stands up from his plate of food and unloads Hayden's arms of the firewood. He stacks it with the other firewood that's in a meat pile near his stove. "I made you a plate too, bacon, eggs, and toast but I'm out of butter so that might—"

"I'm not hungry," Hayden says interrupting Graysons sentence. He stalks past the table without looking at me, or anyone.

Word count: 1030
12-21-23
3:16 pm
(Not revised)
Dang guys why is Hayden so madddd🫣🤭