Page 30 of Hades' Shadow
She’s sitting up straighter now.
“Do I look okay? This is like the longest day in history, and I absolutely do not want to go to the cafeteria and deal with any of them.” I shrug.
“The only one you really have to deal with is Jayden.” She flips on her stomach, facing me.
“He’s the worst of them,” I grumble.
“You know it’s more out of pain than anything, right?” She rests her chin on her hands, her legs kicking back and forth behind her.
“I really don’t care. I trusted him and he obviously didn’t have that same trust in me.” I turn the chair around in a circle.
I’m spinning like a little kid but I can’t bring myself to care.
“I think you do care, Beth.” She sighs. “You wouldn’t be so angry with him and avoid him at all costs if you didn’t.”
“Are you psychoanalyzing me, Raven?” I tilt my head back in the chair and stare at the ceiling.
The silence stretches for a long time. I’m stalling going to dinner. We both know it.
Is she right? Do I actually care?
“Fine, you’re right. I care. I’m hurt because who is he to judge me getting manhandled when he let that bitch hang all over him while he was trying to get me to talk to him? I pushed Dax away immediately. He’s being an asshole.”
“I never said he wasn’t. I’m just saying you care more than you think you do, and you should talk to him,” she says.
“Like he will ever let that happen. He can barely stand to be in the same room with me.” I bang my forehead down on my desk in frustration.
“You feel better now?” Raven giggles.
“No, I just added a headache to be the cherry on top of the shit sundae that has been my day today.” I sit up, rubbing my forehead.
“Are you done stalling yet? I’m hungry,” Raven groans.
I grab the pen from my desk and throw it at her forehead. “You’re always hungry.”
“Not cool, Beth. What if I hadn’t caught it?” She shakes her head and jumps up from the bed.
“It would have been extremely entertaining.” I jump up from the chair and race to the door before she can punch me, laughing hysterically.
We run down the twelve flights of stairs and out the front door. It’s still raining but at least I don’t have the book and map anymore.
“Race you.” Raven laughs as she takes off into the storm, and I call on the storm to do what I ask, sending a lightning bolt to strike right in front of her. Raven shrieks and I run right past her.
“That’s what you get for cheating.” I stick my tongue out at her.
“You could have fucking killed me,” Raven yells.
“Nah, I have been working on my precision,” I call over my shoulder as I get to the steps of the cafeteria.
“You play dirty. Normally, I like it, but not when you are using your dirty tricks on me,” she huffs as she catches up and we walk into the cafeteria, giggling.
We grab our trays and my stomach gurgles loudly.
“Jesus. I ate lunch.” I shake my head.
“You used a crapload of magic to part the sky.” Raven shrugs and pushes me forward.
We fill our plates quickly and make our way to my table. It’s empty as usual and I sigh with relief when I make it there without any encounters of the asshole variety.
