Page 27 of Stoney Gazes for Helpful Gorgons

Sage laughs. "Yeah, I could see that being a worry. I don't know how connected your brains are for that."

"Connected enough." Especially with the fact the hangover is affecting them. The poor things. They really shouldn't have to suffer because of my bad decisions. "Did you have a good time last night?"

"I did," she says. "And today, I'm looking forward to having one of Castor's butterfly buns for breakfast."

"Not a very balanced start to the day."

"It's my hangover cure," she says brightly. "What's yours?"

"Burying my head in the pillow and pretending I don't have a lecture in a couple of hours."

"It's already half eleven."

"Then pretending that I haven't already missed my lecture."

Sage laughs. "Well, it is Friday. And everyone knows that the day after your birthday is a dud day."

"More like everyone knows that Thursdays are student nights."

"True." She gets up and heads to the door. "Can I get you anything?"

"Just peace."

She laughs and heads out into the corridor, leaving me to nurse my hangover, and my thoughts, alone.

Chapter 12

RHEA

The sun is beating down and it's way too warm considering it's only May. This kind of weather is supposed to be reserved for when I can go to the beach, not when I have to sit in lecture halls all day and smell the stench of more students than I care to think about.

I sigh and pause as I notice the ice cream truck that's pulled up opposite the campus fountain. I'm only heading towards grief support session, it doesn't matter if I'm a few minutes late getting a slushie.

Though it would be rude to only get one for myself.

I pull out my phone and tap out a message to Jack.

I'm not sure taking an ice cream into the room really fits the vibe.

I'm smiling like an idiot at the conversation even if it's just about a drink.

I don't see his response as I get to the front of the queue and order the slushies. I tap my card against the reader and wait for the beep.

The cups are surprisingly cold as I pick them up and head on to the student union. I should have grabbed one of those annoying cardboard cup holders but I didn't think about it.

I push the door open with my back and step inside the room used for the session, smiling as I see Jack sitting in our usual spot. It's strange that I started coming here because of how sad I was, and yet it's started to be something I look forward to. Maybe because this is somewhere I can talk about Granny freely.

It's nothing to do with the fact Jack's face lit up when I enter the room.

"Hi, Rhea," Bobbi says brightly.

---