Page 249 of Night's Fall
“Have you asked him what’s going on in his head?”Moniqueinquired.
“Not straight out, butI’venoted his mood and—”Istopped speaking when they all groaned in unison. “What?”Iasked.
“Telling someone who’s in a mood that you’ve noticed they’re in said mood isn’t a good way to help alleviate that mood,”Gayleadvised, like she had a side hustle as a relationship expert.
Although she didn’t have this side hustle, she wasn’t wrong.
“It’s more about digging into it to see what’scausinghis mood,”Moniqueadded.
“I’ve mentionedAntheme, he says he’s not grieving, he’s angry,”Iremarked.
“He has a dick,”Catsaid. “Peoplewith dicks don’t get sad, they get mad.”
Gayliliel andMoniquenodded.
This wasn’t wrong either, andMr.Truelocksaid much the same thing, without referring to dicks, of course.
“He’s also mentioned me almost dying, which obviously would put him in a crappy mood, but he’s taking that out on me,”Ipointed out.
“Suck it up,”Gaylesaid asMoniquereached for my tablet.
“I’m trying,”Ireplied.
“Well, if giving him grace isn’t working, then give him space,”Catcounseled.
I was all the way down with this option.
Sure, it was avoidance, but that could be good sometimes.
Right?
“I’m considering avoiding dinner,”Itold them. “Idon’t want anyone else to notice we’re not getting along.AndIagree, he needs space.Maybehe’ll sort himself out.”
“You don’t have to avoid him at dinner.IpassedTimotheein the admin wing, and he said thatPrincesBainonandCormachad showed,”Gayleinformed us all. “Hedidn’t seem happy that the king andAlekseiwere going to be holed up with them in a meeting that would probably go through dinner.Butthat was probably because he wasn’t invited to the meeting.”
Timothee wasn’t happy about much of anything these days.
Though,Ithought it was interesting he shared this information withGayle, rather than being a jerk and ignoring her or something.
MaybeAlekseisequestering him to thePalacewas making him think on things.
These were my first thoughts becauseIwasn’t going to allow myself to think my next ones.
Those being whyPrincesBainonandCormacwere here now, since theMasquewas still two days away, andAlekseiprobably knew they were coming when we last spoke, but he didn’t tell me.
But if they were already in a meeting, at least that explained why he didn’t come to me after the last one.
“Yikes,”Catsaid as she looked at her watch. “Weneed to get on that.Pre-dinner drinks are at six thirty, and it’ll take us an hour to walk there, but we only have ten minutes.”
I smiled at her, not feeling totally better aboutAlekseiand me, but it felt good to hammer it out with my gals.
AndIdid feel better, even if just a little bit.
Aleksei andIwere new.Wedid have things in common.Wewere facing scary, unknown issues that we had no control over.
It didn’t excuseAlekseigetting cold and quarrelsome, but it explained it.
My gals were right.
