The Rules of the Red - 2014 Watty Award Winner |✓|

Chapter Twelve - Part Two

“I mean, you did go away with him to New York didn’t you?”

“Yeah, I did.” I said, examining a little black dress for a dark blue cardigan, and a thin brown belt at the waist for measure. “And I helped him bring the amulet back too. Sort of.”

The dress and sweater were decided on, and elegant black flats were the last items to leave their home from the closet. I draped them across the bed, selected a comb and began to run it through my wet hair. With breakfast still on the to-do list, I wouldn’t have time to blow dry or straighten, so my hair would simply have to dry curly. My only problem lay in detangling it before it could.

“Think of all you’re going out of your way to do for him, Mimi. Shouldn’t he return the favor?”

Ethan watched for several moments as I combed wet hair in busy silence, considering.

“Hmm, I dunno… Tidus seems pretty protective of Claudia and her family. And to be honest, I don’t think he would let me get close enough to her to ask those questions. Especially if that would mean doing harm to her own kind.”

“Right.” Ethan said, with some of that old, familiar tightness that I had come to associate with any mentioning of Tidus. “Boundaries and all that – I get it. He’s protective of her and you’re protective of him… But that’s a lot of respect for a Vampire…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I replied, slowing down on the combing.

“Come on, Mimi, think about it. They drink blood. Not only is that a weird, nasty choice of diet but their track record with anything with a pulse hasn’t exactly been flattering either. Tell me you can ignore that and I swear I won’t believe it.”

I sighed.

“You sound like Addy.”

“Good. For once, that doesn’t completely disturb me. At least I know she’s trying to look out for you when I’m not around.”

“Well, from what I’ve learned from Lucas, our kind has done just as much damage to the world as the Vampires. We aren’t any better, Ethan. No matter how you try to spin it.”

“Naomi, Tidus has you blinded. Don’t you get it? It’s so obvious –”

“You know, I’m starting to get really tired of hearing that question. So I think I’ll pass on the criticism for now, thanks.” I snapped, slapping the comb back on the dresser. “I suppose it might be worth it to you, Ethan, to live stranded beneath that tiny, parochial, rock of yours. But I find that naiveté requires me to live with a lot of space – so feel free to leave.”

Quickly, I scooped up my outfit and underwear, piling them messily into my arms as I retreated to the bathroom. I could take my time in their as much as I pleased, hiding, but I couldn’t escape the sorrowful look that had been in his eyes. He sincerely wanted to help, and yet, for some reason, I was only pushing him away further and he just couldn’t understand it. And though I owed him the truth, I just couldn’t give it to him.