21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Laura

Did I do something wrong?

Why does it hurt so badly that it feels like I'm suffocating?

I wake up to a soaked pillow, and that's if I even fell asleep in the first place.

Gisett...

Maybe I shouldn't let him hug me. It feels like he took a piece of me away with him.

Is that his magic?

But he won't hurt me, right?

I push against the bed to sit up. The blank wall at the other side of the room stares back at me. There is light coming from the window. I really should get going.

But... I turn to get off the bed, yet my legs are weak, and I may trip and fall.

I take a deep breath when tears surge in me again.

But that's what I should do. Gisett can't run around with me like any other person can. Not to mention...

No, just no. I can find someone else who will care about me, even if that's not Ryan.

Am I still the unluckiest person out there because...

My phone buzzes. It is my alarm, but all I want to do is remain in bed and pretend the outside world ceases to exist.

That is an entertaining thought, but not very practical. I can pretend the world doesn't exist as much as I want, but it exists, and there will be consequences for doing stupid things.

For example, my professor won't be happy. Then my friends will find me missing, and I will have to entertain their questions about my absence, which will prove to be more trouble than moving my ass to the lecture hall.

I suppose I can pretend to be busy after the lesson, then I can sneak back here.

I shake my head. That's not the right thought. I can do whatever I want with my free time, so there is no sneaking back here.

It won't do me any good to keep overthinking things.

The clock is ticking and I better hurry.

I don't know whether it is lucky or not that Gisett and I kind of found each other, but I'll deal with it. He is a great gargoyle, he doesn't need a human as his mate.

I get ready for lessons, picking up my bag and making sure everything's safely inside. Okay, I can do this. Now, I can focus on interacting with other humans.

Outside, in the corridor, no one's around. I let out a breath and head in the direction of the lift. It looks like everyone's out and doing things already, so I better catch up with them.

Today's a great day. From the glass door of the dorm building, the sky and the sun are already outside. I push the door open when someone shows up to my side. "Oh, morning."

It is Ryan, he grins so widely that I almost can't see his eyes. "Morning, nice to meet you."

This isn't a random encounter, he's been waiting for me. I shrug. "Don't you worry that we'll be late together?"

He chuckles. "We better get going if that's the case."

I roll my eyes but follow him as he opens the door for me.

It is a nice day outside, but we better hurry.

There are quite some students around too, some seem to have a lot more time than us while the others are in a hurry too.

As I head down the path, the gargoyle statue shows up. My heart races, even though his back is to me and he isn't even looking at me. It feels... wrong.

When I go past the statue, I turn around to see it in the face.

Even though I know Gisett's gargoyle face is going to be the same when he is in statue mode, he looks... sad. Somehow, the wings don't look as strong, too.

"Is something wrong with the statue?" Ryan asks as he stops and looks at the statue too.

There's a surge of heat in my heart that doesn't seem to be mine, but it's gone soon enough, almost as if it's a mistake or something.

Is that... Gisett?

I will for him in my mind, but I can't seem to feel a single word from him. Maybe he's still upset with me, which... I know I'm in the wrong.

No, we've never agreed to be mates or be dating each other, so if he feels bad about that, it's not my fault.

That's what I chant to myself as I turn away from him, yet, the load in my guts remains. "Nothing, let's get going before the lesson starts."

I hurry to go down the road before Ryan can say another word. I don't want to think about that anymore. I need time for myself and can't be near the statue.