Free Raven by Abra Ebner Page B

annoyance. I began to wonder what Sam had told her, wondered if she knew just how much of a scum bag I really was.
    “ Well, I can see that,” I replied, trying to laugh to lighten the mood, but I got no reaction. I locked my hands behind my back and sauntered across the room, feeling awkward and unwelcome. Reaching her bed, I bent down and tried to kiss her on her forehead, hoping that at least that would work. She shied away from me, not even bothering to give me as much as a polite decline.
    I felt my bones fill with fury as I exhaled and stepped back. “Okay. What did I do?”
    “ Nothing.” Her voice was sharp.
    I tried to decipher her reply, cursing the female mind for being so full of loaded remarks. “Okay. So if I did nothing, why are you mad?”
    She slammed the book shut and rolled her eyes, her body now rigid with anger. “Exactly, Edgar. You did nothing ,” she snapped. Her voice was low and contained.
    I nodded, remembering that remark and noting that it literally meant, ‘nothing.’
    Elle sat up, placing her bare feet on the floor. She stood on her toes, her nose just inches from mine. My lips quivered, longing to grab her and kiss away our aggressions, but I knew that now was not that sort of time. She pointed her finger between us, treating it like a fence. I looked down at the book in her other hand, recognizing the fiery red of the cover as my stomach sank. Sam had told her.
    “ You know about all this, don’t you?” Her arm flailed as she slammed the book against my chest. Air heaved from my lungs. I took it in my hands, looking at the cover though there was no need. I already knew what it was.
    “ Elle, I—” I didn’t know exactly what Sam had told her, so I tried to remain vague. “What did Sam say?”
    She blew up then, shaking with anger and grumbling like a mad woman. “It doesn’t matter what Sam said, Edgar. You lied to me. Why didn’t you want to tell me the world is dying? ”
    I took a deep breath, rolling the thoughts over in my mind as I looked up and out her dark windows. The rain streaked down the glass at a slant, the wind howling around the invisible peaks of the house. I struggled to find something to say as anxiety rippled through my bones. What was the right thing?
    I finally parted my lips, trying to steady their shaking, to hide my sadness. “It wasn’t time for you to know yet.” I winced as I said it, knowing how arrogant that sounded and knowing she would have a remark.
    “ Wasn’t time yet for me to know? Who are you to decide when I come to know of things? Especially something this big! Edgar, you cannot hope to keep me safe by leaving me in the dark like this!” I watched her lip tremble as mine was. “I fear what you are becoming, Edgar. I fear that you’ll be just like Matthew.”
    My jaw clenched as the name filled the room. Just watching her innocent rosy lips form the syllables pained me. She did not deserve what he’d done to her, to us. I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the bitter taste his name gave me.
    In truth, I did see her side of it. I had all along. The reality of the matter was that there was no real explanation as to why I hadn’t told her, other than my own selfish jealousy. Thinking it made me see the Matthew in myself. I felt like stabbing my own heart. The look on her face was one I had never wished to see when referring to me. I had always wanted her view of me to remain pristine, keep her madly in love with me. But then, what was I doing?
    “ I’m sorry, Elle.” The word stuck in my throat, coming out in a hoarse whisper.
    “ You’re sorry! ” she screamed, pushing me in her anger.
    I grunted, surprised to find myself flying through the air and landing on the floor a few feet away. I slid a few feet before coming to a stop, slamming against the wall. As I did, I thought about how startled I was to be in this position.
    Elle gasped and brought her hand to her mouth, her expression horrified and her hand shaking.
    I