“Glad I could help,” he said, getting up.
I didn’t watch him as he made his way out, even as he paused by the door for a few moments. Once he finally left, I waited another twenty minutes, long enough for Hawk to be long gone, before I grabbed my jacket and headed out the back door.
I’d walked from one end of Xest to the other, searching for grouslies, when a lone man happened upon me. His anger roiled off him in waves.
I turned, staring at him. The last fight I’d had, my odds had been much worse and my mood had started off much better.
“I wouldn’t do what you’re thinking, not tonight. It won’t end well for you.” The pent-up confusion and rage of my current situation must have seeped out into my voice, because he only paused a second before walking away.
I hadn’t recognized him from the many faces of the last attack.
Actually, I hadn’t seen any of the people who’d attacked me. Not a one. Not at the factory, and not in the streets. Hawk’s words came back to me: “I don’t feel like killing more people, and I’m sure they don’t feel like getting killed.”
31
“Now what happened? Why are you refusing to look at him? He declared for you. Doesn’t that hit you anywhere warm and tingly inside? You can tell everyone else you’re not into him, but I’m not buying it. I know. I can see it.”
The second I walked into the back room for a cup of tea, Bibbi followed me, and it was clear what was coming.
“I’m not looking at him because I’m embarrassed. I accused him of declaring for me when he didn’t.” I’d barely looked up from my desk all day. I’d actually had to remind myself to look up occasionally so that I wouldn’t seem odd.
“That doesn’t make sense. What happened?” She glanced at the door to make sure we were still alone.
I took a sip of my tea, trying to find strength to rehash this. “I accused him of declaring for me and basically overstepping, and he said he did nothing of the sort.”
My cheeks warmed just from uttering the words.
Bibbi’s mouth dropped open. “He did too. I saw it.”
“You saw an antiquated ritual.”
“Antiquated. Ritual? That’s what he said? I know what I know.” She took a step toward the door, shaking her head.
I grabbed her arm, swinging her back to me. Bibbi had one purpose burning in her eyes, and she was not making this a debacle in front of everyone. As it was, I already couldn’t look at Hawk. It was going to take days to undo the damage from last night.
“You are not saying anything. Promise me.” I hardened my tone, letting her know just how serious I was. It was still iffy whether it would work. Bibbi didn’t back down easy.
She looked at the door, as if it was taking every ounce of her control not to go walk in the office and lay all the dirty details out on the table.
“Bibbi?”
She clenched her fists. “Fine. I won’t. But for the record, I don’t care what he says. I know what he did. If he’s telling you it wasn’t a declaration, it’s probably because you look ready to run at the first sign he’s really into you.”
“He didn’t declare for me. Believe me, he’s never made any declarations of any type of wanting anything but a couple of quick grabs.” I tried to not sound disappointed or bitter. I wasn’t sure I succeeded with either.
“That is so not true.” Bibbi made it sound like she was defending Hawk’s honor. “I’m not buying it. Look at it from my perspective. I nearly begged you to tell Gillian you and Hawk had something, but you wouldn’t say a word. Just let her set herself up for a disaster.” Bibbi crossed her arms.
“What disaster? I don’t know what went down between them last night, but he was probably up there apologizing half the night.” She was starting to light the fires to my anger.
“That’s why she wasn’t at breakfast?” Her incredulous disbelief was hard to ignore.
“She said she had an early order.” Bibbi did have a point, but it was more likely they were still fighting. Gillian was the type to drag something out.
“You are so smart in some ways and so stupid in others that it nearly kills me sometimes.” Bibbi threw up her hands, shaking her fist.
Gillian, the woman of the hour, walked in. We both fell silent. I scrambled to fill the dead air so we didn’t look as guilty as we were.
“I really don’t think we’re getting a storm.” I should’ve come up with a more believable topic, because I was the last person in Xest who could predict weather, and everyone knew it.
My efforts didn’t have the effect I’d hoped for. Gillian walked over and took her cocoa off the counter. She smiled at Bibbi but barely tilted her head in my direction before heading back out of the room.
“Is she mad at me?” I kept staring at the door, wondering how I’d ended up on her bad side. “I think she is.”
“Because I’m right and Hawk did declare for you. You weren’t straight with her, and she figured it out last night.” Bibbi hopped up on to the table and grabbed one of Bertha’s pastries off the plate next to her.
Zab walked in, slumping into a chair. “Gillian is on the warpath. I had to get out of there quickly. You should’ve told her something was going on with you and Hawk.”
“Nothing is going on with us, so there was nothing to tell.” I was getting tired of no one believing me.
Zab huffed out a half laugh and shook his head.
“What’s she doing?” I took a peek toward the door but wasn’t close enough to see anything. From the glare I’d gotten a minute ago, I’d rather wait it out in the back room.
Zab sighed really loud. “You don’t know the attitude she’s dishing out. She walked in the office and started saying how she was leaving as soon as she got her things, that she’d been thinking about it all morning and we didn’t deserve her, the whole time glaring at Hawk. And you know what’s coming next, don’t you?” He stared at the two of us.
I had a hunch, but I wasn’t going to be the messenger. I’d quit the bad news delivery team. Bibbi seemed to have resigned as well.
“I’m going to get stuck walking her back to her place while she’s in the middle of a fit.”
Yep, that was what I figured. I sipped my tea, grateful it wasn’t going to be me. I spared a look at Bibbi, who was trying not to grin.
“Zab,” Hawk called from the other room.
Zab stood, cursing and kicking at the air before he walked out.
Hawk walked in a few moments later and made himself a tea. “Gillian moved out and there won’t be cocoa for a while. She doesn’t want any of us in the Sweet Shop.”
“What makes you think that?” I asked.
“Because on her way out the door, she said, ‘Keep all your assholes out of my store.’” He raised an eyebrow at us.
Hawk shrugged and walked back out to the main room.
A few minutes later, Zab strolled into the back room again, shaking his head and looking even worse than he had before he left.
“That bad?” I was almost afraid to ask.
“Worse. We got halfway there, and I was so close to being rid of her when she decided she wasn’t leaving after all. She’s back.” Zab groaned as if in real pain.