Page 255 of Psycho Devils: Aran's Story 2

He put his hands into his sweatpants’ pockets and rocked back on his heels, shrugging. With his messy hair and dimples, he looked young. Vulnerable.

My heart hurt.

From his expression, it was clear he’d been afraid I wouldn’t want to be his friend after I found out about Luka.

Playing with the necklace, I grinned at him. “Apology accepted.”

John smiled so brightly that it hurt to look at him.

He draped his arm across my shoulders and leaned against me. “Thank the sun god, I could not have handled having to befriend the kings.” He shuddered dramatically. “That would have been horrible.”

I let him drag me out of the room and lead the way to dinner.

As we walked down the hall, lightning struck, and John’s smile slipped from his face as he stared down at me.

His expression tightened as he glared at my arms and face.

I stumbled.

Horror slowly unfurled in my gut.

Somewhere among the competitions, Luka, the gruesome wounds, and the haze, I’d stopped worrying about what had happened between the two of us.

From the darkness in John’s eyes, he’d just remembered.

Did he regret giving me the necklace? Was he disgusted to be touching me? Was he repulsed by my cowardice?

I was done being pathetic. “About the punishment,” I blurted out and faced the elephant between us head-on.

It was John’s turn to stumble.

Students and competitors pressed together in the crowded halls as the entire academy went to dinner, but the two of us might as well have been alone.

The world faded into background noise.

It felt like we were alone.

John took a deep, shuddering breath, and he glanced quickly at my necklace. “Let’s not talk about that right now. We have bigger issues.”

I bit down hard on my lower lip to steady myself and rasped, “Okay, later.”

My heart beat like it was trying to jump out of my chest. Why wouldn’t we talk about it now? Was it too terrifying for him to discuss? Did it trigger him?

Possibilities unfolded before my eyes, each worse than the last.

By the time we made it to the dining hall entrance, I was convinced that John was waiting until the competition was over to petition the High Council to have me arrested for assault and emotional battery.

Sure, I was probably catastrophizing.

But what if I wasn’t?

John pulled away as we passed the sacred tree. “I need to talk to Lothaire. Save me my usual seat.” He walked away.

The bloodied man crucified to the tree gurgled as my heart fell to my toes. What if he was going to tell Lothaire that he wanted to press charges?

I slapped the heel of my palm against the side of my head. Hard.

The pain didn’t help.

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