Page 83 of Cruel King

My father has a tendency to be far too kind, even to people who don’t deserve it. His claim Matthias doesn’t look like he usually does makes me wonder if he’s been suffering for the past week because of what he did.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m not sure. He just seems different today.”

I think about that for a few seconds before saying, “Fine. Let him up. A different version of him might be better.”

My father stands up but hesitates before leaving. “Do you want me to hold off sending him up for a few minutes?”

Confused, I shake my head, but then I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror above my dresser and understand what he means. Ordinarily, I’d be bothered by looking like something the cat drug in, but today’s not a normal day. I don’t care if this isn’t my best look.

“No. He deserves to see the consequences of his actions. Let him up whenever you feel like it, Dad.”

As I wait for Matthias to come upstairs, I look down at the clothes I’ve worn for seven days straight. My pale green T-shirt with the little turtle on the breast pocket and jean shorts probably smell to high heaven.

Oh well. If he doesn’t like the view, he doesn’t have to look.

A minute later, I hear a knock on my bedroom door. “Come in.”

When he opens the door and walks in, I immediately see what my father meant. He does look different than usual. Something about him looks almost lost as he stands in front of my bed.

“What do you want, Matthias?” I ask, not even trying to be pleasant.

He sets a white envelope down on the comforter and looks over at me. “Theo asked me to give you this. I was going to give it to you when you came to the meeting with Lucas, but you never showed up, so I figured I’d come down here today.”

I glance down at the envelope as fear races through me. All this time I’ve wanted to talk to Theo to explain how sorry I am, but now that I have the chance to see how he truly felt that day, I’m not sure I can read it.

Then he turns to leave, and I ask, “Is that it?”

Matthias doesn’t look back at me as he remains silent for a long moment before finally answering, “I’m sorry.”

He leaves without another word, and for a few minutes, I stare at that envelope next to my leg. Tears fill my eyes as I think about what Theo could have said.

When I can’t hold off reading his note anymore, I slip it out of the envelope and instantly I’m sadder than I thought I ever could be.

Ava,

The time we spent together was some of the happiest in a long time for me. I wish I was the one for you, but that didn’t turn out to be.

Goodbye.

Love,

Theo

I sob into my pillow,clutching his note while regret fills me. This can’t be goodbye. Theo and I can at least be friends again, can’t we? We’ve been through so much together all these years. I was there when his mother died, and he sobbed like a baby in my arms. He held me when my mother died and all I could do was cry. With every good day and bad, Theo and I had each other.

This can’t be the end.

Grabbing my phone, I try to type out a text to him, but my tears make seeing my screen nearly impossible. I dry my eyes and try again, this time trying to find a way to make him see how terrible I feel about hurting him.

I’msorry for what happened. I never wanted to hurt you. I loved the time we spent together, Theo. I hope someday you can forgive me.

Love,

Ava

I stareat my phone waiting for him to respond. He never does. After a while, I set my phone on my nightstand for the first time in a week and close my eyes.