24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Gisett

I sit on the strongest branch of the tree a distance away from Laura's dorm building. "Am I... too weak?"

Mckur chuckles and pats my arm. It is a miracle the branch remains steady despite his weight. "You just care about her a bit too much."

I roll my eyes. "But she doesn't care about me. Like... She's not going to consider a gargoyle, even if I helped her. It's just a backpack. She could have figured it out soon enough, within seconds."

"Well, well. What else should you have done? Sit there and watch her struggle?"

I sigh. It may not be a good idea to let Mckur be here. As the gargoyle who's in charge of the campus, I can shoo him away, but he's Mckur, so... I guess he can tag along.

It is dark after the sun has set. My head hurts from the drinks I've been gulping down. But I'm not hurting too much to fly. It's just... maybe the hurt in my heart aches more.

I shrug. "She probably doesn't even know it's me."

"Given how silly you looked, you bet."

I huff. "She was attacked by a robber a while ago, so..."

"Oh, I hope she's not too scared."

"I hope not. She's... probably strong enough."

"What happened to the robber?"

"I smacked the guy and made sure he would regret his life's choices. Well, I can't control how he thinks, but I've made it... I don't think he's dead, but his stay in the hospital and the bill will hopefully make him think twice about doing it again."

"So, he's going to rob more people to pay the bill."

I grunt. "That's not funny."

He chuckles. "I know, I know. But we may as well have a bit of laughter here and there when we can."

Maybe he has a point. But I'm still not in the mood for his jokes. "Nothing matters in the end."

He pats me with his wing. "Don't be too upset over that. All of us know you're the best gargoyle out there."

I force a smile, even though I'm probably failing at that. "Look... I don't know. It doesn't feel important."

"She's not the only female out there."

I sneer at him. Maybe he's not wrong, but it doesn't feel that way. I don't know why a woman like Laura hit me so hard that it feels like I can't think straight when she's around. When I took her into my arms, so she didn't end up on the floor, it was tempting to never let go again. Her soft body was a bit too tempting, and it felt right for me to be there with her, except she didn't want that.

I clench a fist, slowly letting it loose. "Maybe something's wrong with me."

Mckur muses. "It can be the case. You fought hard."

"Stop talking about the fight that is so far back in time. That has little to nothing to do with the present time."

"Hey, I think that's still very important."

My phone buzzes, yanking me out of my thoughts. It can't be anything important, though. I pull it out to check anyway, just in case.

I turn the screen to face the ground as soon as I glance at the sender.

My heart races and hammers in my chest.

Mckur smirks and watches for my reaction. I look at him before I stare at the dorm building. There are lit-up rooms scattered throughout the building. Laura's in one of those rooms. Is she looking out of the window?

The woods are too dense for anyone from there to spot Mckur and me, so there's no way she can see me from afar. Yet...

Mckur asks, "Who's that? I think it's not a scamming message."

I shake my head. "I haven't read it."

"Why don't you? Getting jittery?"

I take a deep breath. "I don't know. Should I?"

"It's her, huh? I think she figured out you helped her."

"I think so."

"And how bad can it be, anyway? That she's mad you helped her?"

"I think she may have said that we shouldn't be seeing each other."

"If that's the case, it means that we're still in the same situation and nothing's changed."

I don't understand where the ‘we' comes from, as if Mckur thinks that he's somehow involved in this. He is the gargoyle who always wants to help everyone and invites himself everywhere.

He flaps his wings. "Just check the message."

"Are you cold? You don't have to be here with me."

"I'm not cold. I'm a gargoyle, come on."

I lift my brows at him. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I may be a bit older than most, but I'm not weak."

I shrug. "Whatever you want to say."

I run my finger along the edge of my phone. Maybe I really should check it. How bad can it be? She can be mad at how I tried to help her, but it isn't going to make things worse when it can't be worse.

It's just a message, but it takes effort to flip my phone over to read the text.

I clear my throat. "I think I have to leave."

"Huh? What did she say?"

I put my phone back into my pocket. "Well, she asked whether gargoyles hide under a bed."

"Why would we do that? it's silly."

"I think it's a human thing. but..."

"Anyway, sounds like she's looking for you."

"Yeah... I don't know whether that's a good sign."

"Maybe she finally found out that she needs a reliable gargoyle in her life and there's no one better than you." Mckur is always the one who makes everyone feel good. Sometimes, he does it so intensely that I wonder whether he meant to mock me, but the fire in his eyes suggests otherwise. For him, every gargoyle's the best.

He smacks my back, almost shoving me off the tree. "Let's go, champ!"

I wonder how he can keep up such energy all the time. "You're heading home."

"Is that a question? Do I have to?"

I sneer at him. "Yes, go home."

He chuckles and sends a shiver down my spine. "Okay, okay. Bring me the good news."

"What?"

He winks as he takes off. "You know what I mean."

I stare at him as he heads home. Maybe he's still messing with me. I surely hope he's right and there's good news waiting, but I don't want to set my expectations too high.