Free The Girl and the Gargoyle: Book Two of The Girl and the Raven Series by Pauline Gruber

wrong.
    “Dylan knows how I feel about you.”
    “Why can’t you and Dylan train on different days?” Marcus pushes. “You have different powers, so it makes sense.”
    “But Dylan is my buffer. It’s not like I need protecting from Jude, but I don’t particularly like being at his house alone.”
    “So, I’ll come with you,” Marcus offers.
    I give him a wide-eyed look. “Are you crazy? Jude’s effect on you is too painful. And let’s face it, he likes the effect he has on you.”
    “I can take it.”
    I shake my head. “I would spend the whole time worrying about you. I’d get nothing done. Jude would get mad.”
    “Lucy…”
    “Marcus, you don’t get it. It was Jude who dictated Dylan and I train together, not me.” I’m running out of arguments.
    “I can’t win with you, can I?” Marcus hops up from the porch and storms off toward his car. “Just forget it.”
    “Marcus, wait! What is that supposed to mean?”
    He pivots on his heel and glares at me. “Meaning I’ll be spending a lot of time with Camille, so go do whatever you want with whomever you want.”
    Is this his way of breaking up with me? “Wait, Marcus!”
    But his car roars to life and he peels away from the curb.
    I rush inside and slam the foyer door behind me. I gulp for air and blink away tears. Inside the apartment, my uncles watch TV— were watching TV. Now, their eyes are glued on me. I wave to them as I race to my room. “I’m going to bed.”
    “Trouble in paradise?” Sheldon says to Bernard, not bothering to lower his voice. “Maybe now she’ll reconsider the vacation.”
    It takes superhuman effort not to slam my door. My uncles have a strict No Door Slamming policy. I really don’t need Sheldon’s sarcasm on top of everything else.
    I pace the small space of my bedroom. All of a sudden Marcus’s long-lost mother shows up and she’s golden? And where does he get off making all sorts of assumptions about Dylan? A little trust would be nice.
    I change into my pajamas and go to the bathroom to wash up. After I brush my teeth, I return to the living room to kiss my uncles goodnight.
    “Did you and Dylan have a fight?” Bernard asks, muting the TV.
    As if they didn’t already know.
    “No. Marcus and I did after I got home,” I say glumly.
    Sheldon and Bernard exchange a look.
    “It’s not what you’re thinking. It had nothing to do with Dylan,” I lie.
    I kiss and hug them stiffly, then return to my room.
    Sheldon calls after me. “Persephone stopped by. She said the two of you are supposed to get together tomorrow. Continue that closet project you were working on.”
    I press my hands to my temples. Crap . I forgot about Persephone. It doesn’t matter. Marcus isn’t going to want to spend the day we me tomorrow anyway.
    “Thanks for the reminder,” I call back.
    Once in bed, I stare at the ceiling. My freak-out mellows a little. Marcus and I had our second fight in a week. My heart races. Is it possible he’ll fall out of love with me?
    Tap…tap…tap …
    The sound is almost too faint to hear.
    Tap…tap…tap…
    I jump out of bed, my heart swelling with hope, and fling open my window. Without waiting for Marcus to say a word, I wave him inside. We stand there, face to face.
    I speak first. “I’m sorry.”
    “For what?” Marcus asks.
    I search my mind for an answer.
    Marcus exhales heavily and steps closer to me. “Lucy, you don’t have to apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
    “But you left…”
    “And I realized I was being a jerk, so I circled back.” Marcus takes hold of my hands. “This stuff with my parents, it’s got me all messed up. I shouldn’t be freaking out about Dylan. I trust you.”
    “Don’t take off like that again,” I tell him, my insides so full of air I can’t expand my lungs and my voice comes out a whisper. “I thought…” It’s not like the world would end without Marcus. Right? My heart squeezes in response.
    Marcus sighs. “I’m not