Travis rubbed my arm. “If you want I can help you. I’m good at math and I have already taken both those classes.”
I brightened a little. “I would greatly appreciate any help you can give me. Just be patient, please.”
“Of course, Babe. Well, I’ve got a class to get to. I’ll see you both tonight.” He blew a kiss at me and left, taking his trash with him. I noticed a few girls giving me the stink eye, and I sighed. Kait got up and took our trash to the garbage. I jumped when Kait tapped me on the shoulder. I was so lost in my thoughts, I didn’t even notice he was back. He had my bag slung over his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around me, earning more glares, and we headed off to my next class. This one went better, since it was English. There was less to miss, and I had no problem understanding it. By the time we left, I was feeling a little better, but I was still worried.
The drive home was as silent as the ride in. Finally, Kait sighed. “We need to talk about Alarr.”
Really? I’ve been silent most of the day, and this is the subject he chooses? “Why? Why do we need to talk about him? We aren’t meeting until next week, right? You decided that we will, why do I need to know anything about it?” Internally, I winced. I didn’t mean to be such a bitch, but he needed to understand that I wasn’t happy with the way they had been discussing things without including me.
“You don’t have to meet with him. I can go without you.”
“Fuck, no. Then you will just make more decisions without me.” I crossed my arms and looked out the window.
“Evalia. Stop.” I sighed. That wasn’t fair; he used his bossy voice. “You need to understand what happened back then as well as what kind of person Alarr is.” He glanced at me quickly, then back to the road. “I told you I never really liked him, but it isn’t because he was an evil person. He was a prince and was self-centered. He wasn’t a good match in personality for Nissa. She was kind, generous, and altruistic. She deserved better than him.”
A flash of jealousy made me clench my teeth. Something in his voice sounded like he had been in love with her. I glanced at him, and he was studiously watching the road. I checked my mental block, shit, I forgot to put it up. He probably heard that thought, but he wasn’t denying it. I watched the muscle in his jaw jump as he ground his teeth together.
“I did love her, but not like you are thinking. I helped raise her; she was like a daughter to me.”
I wasn’t sure I was convinced, but I nodded anyway. It wasn’t worth fighting over. “Okay.”
He reached over and rubbed my knee. “Anyway, Alarr never seemed like a bad guy, he was just not right for Nissa. He also claimed he didn’t cause the accident. He said it was one of his research assistants. I asked him what he was researching, but he didn’t want to go into it yet. He said he only wanted to tell the story once, which makes sense. I agreed to meet with him again but did not promise that you would be there. He says he just wants to talk. I searched his mind as much as I could and I found no indication he was lying. However, since he knows about my powers, it’s possible he was hiding something.”
I knew that Kait would never agree to something if he thought it was dangerous for me. “Fine.” I huffed the word, looking back out the window as I did. Kait squeezed my knee.
“Princess…”
“I’m done with this subject, can we talk about something else? Please? Something that isn’t my fucked-up life, or anything to do with magic?”
“Okay. The guys were talking about doing a little getaway over spring break. Would you be interested in joining?”
Spring break was over a month away. “Sure…” I was hesitant because I wasn’t sure where everything would stand in a week, much less a month. “Where were they talking about going?”
He laughed. “They wanted to leave that up to you.” My heart warmed.
“What’s our budget? I don’t have a job or any money.” I trailed off as it reminded me that I had no idea how to support myself now.
“Hey, none of that. Travis said he would take care of it. He said to consider it a late Christmas present.” We pulled into the safe house driveway. I got out of the car and managed to snag my bag before Kait could.
I called over my shoulder on the way in, “I’ll think about it. I am going to my room to study. Let me know if I need to help make dinner.”
Kait didn’t answer. I threw my bag on the bed and arranged my pillows to support me as I leaned against the wall, then dug out my Calculus book. When Travis knocked on the doorframe, I was ready to throw the book and cry.
“Hey, you still want some help?” Travis looked unsure, probably because I had unintentionally glared at him when he startled me.
“Yes, please. These imaginary number things just don’t make sense to me, and I am frustrated.” I leaned back and rubbed my eyes.
He came the rest of the way into the room and put his stuff on the floor next to me. I scooted over so he had room on the bed. “Okay, what are you working on?” I moved the laptop so he could see the question on the screen.
He glanced around. “Alright. Where’s your work?” I pulled the notebook over and explained the steps I had worked through. Once I was
