Page 72 of Caelum

Louisa sniffed. “You can’t tell me what to do.”

“Can’t I?” He cocked a brow at her. “How about I tell Nathan about that little scene I walked in on the other day?”

She growled. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Wouldn’t I?” He just smirked at her until she released another growl, this time it was more exasperated than furious, and stalked off. When he turned to look at me, he murmured, “You should have stood up to her.”

I blinked. “What was there to stand up against?”

“You’re so literal. I forgot that.” His lips curved. “Stefan isn’t into Becky.”

The reassurance had me frowning down at the book in my hand. I had a notepad in front of me, and I was making notes about the various things that happened in Aboh. Where the guys were heading to… I wanted to know why they were going to a small town on a delta river, and as far as I could tell, there was no reason why they should.

Reed snorted. “Trust me, I’m as surprised as you are that I’m speaking up for him, but Becky is Becky.”

“What does that mean? She’s not an adjective,” I argued.

“She’s certainly something.” Reed pulled a face. “She’s popular with the guys. Let’s just say that.”

“I thought slut-shaming wasn’t allowed.”

He whistled under his breath. “See? So you can stick up for yourself.”

Confused, I gnawed on my bottom lip. “I can with guys.”

“Not with girls?” he questioned then hummed under his breath. “You don’t hang out with them enough to be accustomed to their bitchy ways.”

I thought about that a second and shook my head. “Had no alternative but to be around women where I’m from.”

“And did you like that?”

“No.” I snorted. “Just because they were pious, didn’t mean they weren’t cows too.”

He laughed at that then told me, “I wasn’t shaming Becky. Just trying to explain the difference between you and her, that’s all.”

“You were doing a bad job of it then.”

Reed grinned. “Burn.”

I frowned at that, wondering what his statement had to do with our conversation. “Is there a reason you’re here?”

“Apart from saving you from bitchy females?” He shook his head. “Nope.” Then he cut a look at Stefan and Becky who, irritatingly enough, had moved closer to Stefan. “You should put a stop to that. Stake a claim.”

“What kind of a claim? A friendship one? Surely people have seen me hanging out with the guys enough to realize we’re friends?—”

“Duh,” he grumbled. “I meant a different kind of claim. You obviously have the hots for him. You should take the bull by the balls and make sure Becky knows there’s no room for her where Stefan is concerned.”

“I understood about half of that,” I said on a deep sigh. Then my nose crinkled. “Why would I want to touch a bull’s balls?”

“Metaphor.” He tapped his temple. “Don’t tell me your printer-like memory doesn’t know what it is.”

“Is that a compliment or an insult?”

Reed chuckled. “Bit of both? That has to come in handy.”

“I suppose.” I wasn’t sure whether it was a blessing or a curse. Of course, the good things were great to remember, but so were the bad, in a way, because they were a reminder I needed. And it wasn’t like I could just remember things that were to do with books or literature. Most bad memories? They were at the forefront of my mind in any given situation.

The faculty and my friends were insistent that I was safe here, for example. That this was my new home. It would be easy to forget. Too easy. But because I didn’t,couldn’t, I knew that all of this was temporary.

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