Page 10 of The Goddess is Angry
“You need to apologize to Drake.”
Drake and Oscar were friends? I approved. Drake had a lot of those back on my realm, but he hardly knew anyone here. He was so focused on school and his mom and paranoid about the witches that he was isolating himself.
“What did I do to Drake?”
“Seriously?”
“I honestly don’t know. Drake is fiercely independent, and he hates it when anyone hovers.”
“My roommates and I are the only people who know about his mom. He asked me to help him contact the campus ghosts. Church pissed off Bethany because she wouldn’t help Drake and that’s why she keeps punching him in the dick. Drake told me you helped raise him. He thought it was going to be you and him finding out what happened to his mom and stopping whatever was going to happen with your feeling. The first time the Banshees shrieked, you went straight to George instead of him. He's understandably hurt about that.”
And the fact that he even told Oscar that meant he was definitely hurt. Drake stewed on his feelings until he sorted them. He never talked about them because Drake didn’t trust anyone’s opinions on his feelings except himself.
Drake was important to me. I didn’t like knowing that I’d hurt him. But George was important to me, too, and I couldn’t tell Drake or Oscar why she was who I went to last night because it wasn’t my secret. George was dating Oscar, and she got spooked telling him. I’d never press George to tell her secret before she was ready, but Drake would understand if he knew and he’d be a lot more willing to talk to her if he knew she wasn’t a witch.
George would realize Drake wasn’t capable of that gruesome scene on the dodgeball field and all the people I cared about could be in the same room.
“There’s a reason I went to George instead of Drake, but—”
“Don’t tell me. It’s not my business. You need to have this conversation with Drake. And you need to talk to George because I think she still thinks it was Drake who murdered Fleur. Drake is my friend, and he doesn’t talk to a lot of people here. I get the feeling we could be good friends one day. I’m not going to betray that.”
But I was supposed to? George didn’t want anyone to know she was a god and Drake didn’t want anyone to know he was raised by one or about what happened to his mom.
“I wanted to talk to you about your hearing,” I signed.
Oscar looked uncomfortable, and I didn’t want that.
“What about it?”
I tried to explain that I couldtryto heal him. It may or may not work. I couldn’t tell if it was shitty to offer this and then it not work or never present him with an option that could change his life just because it might not.
“It might not work. I won’t know until I lay my hands on you. The choice is yours.”
Oscar chewed on his lip.
“Do it.”
I walked around my desk and laid my hands on his ears. I let my healing light flow out and sought out the injury. It wasn’t going to work. Oscar’s eardrums had been obliterated. I couldn’t put them back together.
“I’m sorry. There’s not enough there. I can try conjuring cochlear implants.”
“They said I wouldn’t be able to try those for several months, but if you can do it without charging my abuela’s insurance, then definitely.”
“I’m sorry it didn’t work.”
Oscar just shrugged.
“It was worth a shot. Go talk to Drake.”
I liked Oscar. He was good for Drake. And I definitely needed to make things right with Drake. I needed to tell him what I found out about his mom. I just needed to get myself out of all this stupid paperwork.
george
My mom raised her kids not to jump to conclusions when we didn’t have all the evidence and to never accuse anyone without proof. I knew damned well I barely had anything on Drake. All I had was a weird neck wound and the fact that Drake didn’t like me and had a reason to hate witches.
And deep down, I knew the neck woundcouldhave been a vampire or a shifter. The whole scene was insanely violent. That didn’t explain why she didn’t fight when someone was cutting her heart out.Somethingparalyzed her. It could have been basilisk venom.
Not even my twin had my back. Apparently, there was some banter in magical combat that I missed when I was underneath a naked lion. Matilda said Drake might not likeme,but he seemed cool. Mags was being an asshole and told me after Kaylee, I should be used to people not liking me. Then Mags told me this long, drawn-out story about some fancy lord back in her day who was probably perfectly lovely, but his face got on her nerves, so she couldn’t stand him. Mags said I might just have one of those faces to Drake and that was why I kept getting snake eyes.
