Page 33 of Tear of Destiny

But it’s not their closeness that hurts. It’s Ayden’s expression.He looks relaxed, cheerful, carefree, and he’s looking at her in that warm, open way that’s so familiar to me. I haven’t seen him like that in ages, and it hurts to see that another girl can trigger those feelings in him.

“Yeah, great. We’ll have lots of fun,” he says.

“Well, I’m sure tonight won’t be boring,” she says in a provocative voice.

Ayden laughs again and shakes his head wryly.

I swallow hard, and wish I could somehow make myself invisible. I quickly try to fish my key out of my pocket and unlock the door before they notice me. But it’s too late.

“Tess?” I hear Ayden say in a surprised voice. I slowly turn to face him. He notices my dismayed expression. “You okay?”

I glance at Claire, who’s standing way too close to him, and nod. “Yeah.” Should I ask to speak to him in private and tell him about the goddess?

I reluctantly look up. His eyes – normally so intense and captivating – are restless. To my chagrin, they keep wandering away from me to Claire. She looks up at him and smiles. I recognize that look on her face. She likes him. She doesn’t just like him, she wants more from him. That’s understandable.

“This is Claire, you remember?” Ayden asks. “Albert Cunningham’s granddaughter. We’re family friends, and we’ve known each other a long time. She’s in town for a few days to visit her Grandpa.”

“And to have some fun. And maybe I’ll even try to put a couple of plans into action while I’m here. I have a good feeling that I’m going to make some progress this time,” she adds with a wink.

Her gaze wanders back to Ayden, and they gaze into each other’s eyes. He looks so happy. And at this moment, something becomes clear to me: I don’t want to come between them. Ayden deserves to be happy, even if that means I have to let go of him. If he likes Claire and wants to be with her, then I need to standaside and let him go. I can’t keep going to him every time I have a problem, because then neither of us will be free. I can’t tell him about the goddess. That would only confuse things between us and create new problems. I swallow hard as I feel the tears threatening to well up – because I’m not over him. But I should be happy for him.

“Yeah, I remember. Nice to see you again,” I manage to say, surprised at how steady my voice sounds.

I glance briefly at Ayden again. I have a feeling he wants to say something else, but I can’t do this. I unlock my door and go into my room. As I slowly close the door behind me, I see Claire putting her hand on Ayden’s arm and both of them looking at each other in that special way. Then they disappear into his room, and I know I’m going to have a horrible evening.

I sit at my desk and try to finish some schoolwork. But I keep catching myself staring into space, my thoughts drifting to other things. Was I secretly still hoping I had a chance with Ayden? Did I maybe believe he just needed time and might find his way back to me? Well, those hopes are now dashed. Ayden is going his own way; he’s not waiting to see if things between us can be salvaged. Because he doesn’t think they can. And he told me so. But my stupid heart had different ideas. I feel lost and alone. If only I didn’t have to keep thinking about him in his room with that girl.

I stand up with a sigh, flop onto my bed, and try to read, but I can’t focus. When I hear my phone beep with an incoming message, I’m incredibly grateful for the distraction.

An SMS from Noah. It couldn’t have come at a better time.

“Tess, are you hurt? Are you okay? I just heard that Andrew attacked and drove a Tempes out of the retirement home. He described the person in detail, and I figured it must be you. I hope you’re okay. Please let me know.”

I start typing a reply immediately. “I wasn’t hurt. Yoru showed up just in time.” I touch my neck where the bruises are still clearly visible, but I don’t want Noah to worry. “It was a real shock though. To find out that Patricia was there. And what she really is. Why didn’t you tell me?”

My fingers fly over the keys. I consider giving him a taste of how disappointed and angry I am. But in the end, I just hit send. I basically know what he’s going to say. He wasn’t allowed to tell me. But that doesn’t change the fact that he lied to me and kept important things from me. What else is he not telling me? I thought we were friends. But maybe our worlds are just too different.

“I don’t know who Patricia is. Is she a patient? And what does she have to do with Andrew?”

I frown and read his reply several times. Could he really have no idea that there’s a goddess of destiny at Two Trees?

“Tess? What’s going on?” Noah asks in his next message.

And when I still don’t know how to reply, he writes, “Meet me at the hospital. I need to see you. We obviously have some things to clear up.”

I briefly weigh up whether it’s a good idea to go meet him. But I guess the alternative is being stuck in here with those images playing through my mind.

“Okay, I’ll be there in an hour.”

I get ready, put on a jacket, and turn to Yoru, who was rolled up in a ball beside my bed but is now looking at me attentively.

“We have to go out again, little guy. Noah’s waiting for us.” He gets up and follows me out.

In the bus, I gaze out at the city lights rushing by. People are walking the streets and cars pass me by. None of them has any idea about what’s happening all around them, that their destinies have all been predetermined by a goddess, and that their futures are filled with suffering.

I walk the last stretch to the hospital. Noah’s standing near a bench under a tree, almost invisible behind the low-hanging branches. He starts walking toward me, scrutinizing me as if to make sure I’m really unharmed. When he sees the marks on my throat, my hands automatically go to cover them, but Noah is faster. He runs his thumb gently along the dark bruise and pulls a face. I catch my breath and don’t know how to feel. On one hand, I’m infinitely happy for this human contact, which elicits a sweet shiver in me. But I don’t want him to see how narrowly I escaped.

“I’m so sorry this happened,” he says.