It is not quite the reaction that she had expected, but she has learned to not be surprised by Gar.
He has always been more withdrawn than her—always more cautious. Even now, with her death still so fresh on her tongue, she is more ready to throw herself into the fire than he. She wonders what has made him even more quiet, his face a mask that she could never interpret, no matter how hard she tried.
For a second, she does nothing but breathe heavily, her sides heaving from the effort of the flight and the search for him, from all of the emotions that she has felt in recent days, from the relief and then the instant rejection. She swallows bitterly as he takes a step back, as he increases the space between them.
“I died looking for you,” she spits out before she can stop herself, something indignant crossing her features. “I was torn apart trying to find you and now you just send me away like a nuisance?” She draws herself up straighter but plants her feet firmly in the ground. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Her heart thunders in her chest as she looks at him, studying his face.
She isn’t sure if what she will say now will drive the divide further between them or not, but she decides that she doesn’t care. She has never known caution, truly, let alone how to be pragmatic—how to approach others how they need to be approached. She was a wrecking ball instead.
“I made a deal with your father,” she said, her voice steely. “After he killed me, of course.”
I want to swim until we both begin to feel the weightlessness sink in
@[yadigar]