The Spirit Guardians Book 3: Fated

Chapter 10

Lillian faced downwards on her bed, gripping the corners of the bedsheets. She tangled them in between her fingers, trying to block out the sound of chatter downstairs. Perhaps her head wasn't hurting, but her stomach was queasy enough to keep her occupied up here.

She wished she could simply face her fears and talk to Cassie's family normally, but it had become impossible. Every time that particular woman was mentioned, Lillian felt the need to flee. It hurt Lillian to do so since she was normally so socially-inclined and loved a good dinner with guests, but these days, she was always shut up in her room whenever Cassie's family was lurking nearby.

Though her stomach growled, Lillian let out a groan instead and buried her face into her pillow. She barely heard the sound of her door opening or the footsteps shuffling on the carpet.

"You're not sick," came a sly remark.

She slowly turned her head to see Mitsuki standing on the right side of her bed.

"You're back," Lillian murmured.

"Yeah. Why don't you go eat dinner?"

"Not hungry," Lillian murmured, a loud growl sounding from her stomach as soon as she'd said it.

"Just go eat something. We can eat together."

"You go eat. I don't want anything," Lillian complained, turning on her side so that she was facing away from the girl.

"Come on, Lillian. I hate when you're in this mood," Mitsuki complained.

Lillian was quiet, shutting her eyes in the hopes that she could block out the world around her. She felt the bed shift with someone else's weight and turned her head slightly. Mitsuki was sitting on the edge of the bed, facing the wall.

"You go eat. I'll be okay," Lillian quietly murmured.

"But you're not," Mitsuki replied almost immediately.

Lillian frowned and laid on her back, letting out a sigh. She knew what Mitsuki wanted her to do, but she couldn't. Even if she got the courage to go downstairs and eat dinner, she wouldn't be able to speak to Cassie's mom or Cassie herself. It wasn't her place to disrupt their family gathering.

She watched as Mitsuki's shoulders sagged with a long sigh. Lillian felt the urge to reach out and stroke her hair or grasp her hand, but she held back. She knew she always brought Mitsuki down when she acted like this, but there was nothing she could do about it when she got into this state.

"I'll be okay in a couple hours," Lillian promised.

"Lillian, you know you're going to have to—"

Lillian made a grunt of annoyance, causing Mitsuki to spin around to look at her. Her eyes lacked the bright vivacity they normally possessed.

"Not tonight," Lillian whimpered, shutting her eyes. "Please not tonight. I can't, Mitsuki. They're all so happy down there. I'm going to mess up everything."

"Why are you acting like it's your fault? It's your mom's. If she didn't want unrest, then she shouldn't have gotten into this mess. But you're here, so you should be able to confront her about it."

"I'm terrified of speaking to her," Lillian muttered.

"Do you think she knows?" Mitsuki wondered.

"Yes. I bet she's glad I'm never around during these gatherings."

"You don't know that..."

"Yes I do," Lillian complained. "You go down and eat some food, okay?"