A Gift from the Goddess

Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three I stared at him in disbelief.

I never thought I was going to see him again, and yet here he was. “...Cai?” was all I managed to say. And then a flood of different emotions hit me all at once, overwhelming me.

… But there was one that ended up prevailing above any other.

I moved so quickly that I almost didn’t even realise I did it... and slapped him across the cheek. Immediately, I stared down at my own hand in astonishment, bewildered at myself as he covered his face. “…I probably deserved that,” he said, and half laughed the whole thing off. “Wow, you really pack a punch these days, Aria.” …Did I actually just hit him? 

I thought I was happy to see him? That I wanted his forgiveness?

But I realised something else, something that had triggered me in the way he spoke.

“You don’t write to me, you don‘t visit, and you left making me think you hated me,” I snapped. “You can’t just show up here, talking like you’re greeting an old friend! You made that fact painfully obvious when you left, Cai.” 

This whole time I thought he‘d hated me. I thought he didn‘t want anything to do with me. And yet he had walked right up, asking me to dance with him, and blurting out some ridiculous old nickname. As if nothing had happened. As if the last two years I’d spent feeling guilty had been for nothing. What had been the point in agonising over what had happened between us when it apparently had meant nothing to him? 1 I could see several people had stopped to stare but I ignored it. I felt too tense to care at that very second.

“I’m sorry, you‘re right... can we please go somewhere and talk?” he asked, his eyes pleading with me.

I wanted to tell him to get lost, that I didn‘t want to see him, but I knew that would be a lie. I couldn‘t deny that a part of me had missed him and that I had wanted to see him again so badly.

agreed

an inch, a

heard Aleric

“Aleric,” came the reply.

warily. You could

war didn‘t break

was staring at Cal, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly. He only looked away to give me his

smile, trying to relax any uneasiness. “But if I‘m not back before your shift, I really do hope it goes well. And make sure you

he didn‘t, just giving me a nod instead. And so, I followed behind Cai as he led us out onto the balcony. There wasn’t anyone else around

I found even this irritating. It was like he

comment. He leaned against the balcony rail, the night sky and forest behind him. He looked taller, more toned, if that was even possible. “My father thought that it would be best for me to come back and reconnect given it’s been a while,” he said, crossing his arms over his

you,” he said, his eyes staring into mine. “In person, face to face. Not via a dumb letter or just asking about you from Myra.” “...I thought you hated me.” I couldn‘t hide the pain in my own voice as I spoke and I cursed myself for letting him hear it. “You made me think that you didn‘t even consider us friends when you left. I spent years blaming myself for you leaving the way you did.” He looked away from me, seeming guilty at what I was telling him. “So, was I wrong back then?” I asked when he didn‘t answer me. I could feel the tears start to bubble at my eyes. “...Weren‘t we friends, Cai?” My

were friends… I’m

do that to me? I deserve an explanation for

stupid and not good at handling things,” he admitted, his speech quick as if h e was confessing something that had been weighing him down. “1 reacted in a way that hurt you, that I knew would hurt you, and I still did it anyway.” I wiped at the tear on my cheek angrily. So, it had been on purpose the entire time? He thought that little of

was. His idea of finding anything to do had

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