After dinner that evening, Bryn sat on her couch, wondering what type of repercussions she was going to have to deal with for going off on Jaxon in front of her classmates. She should have just laughed his holier-than-thou behavior off, but he’d blindsided her. She hadn’t seen his mean side since she’d saved his sorry ass at her grandparents’ house. Maybe she should remind him that he wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for her.
That conversation wouldn’t go well. She’d try to be the better person and just let it drop for now. Per Blue dragon custom, she and Jaxon should fake a civil relationship in public, though that would be difficult for a few days. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to extend the olive branch. He was the one who’d gone nuclear. Maybe she’d make a game out of it. Wait and see how long it would take him to mention their fight. Then again, since he truly didn’t care about her, he might not even be feeling bad about their confrontation. So…where did that leave her? And why was she constantly asking herself that question when it came to males and why did she always react to their baggage? Since she had no answers, she went back to reading her book. The guy in the story was being a jerk because he was possessed by a demon. That she could understand. Funny how fiction made more sense than real life.
A knock on her door made her cringe. “Who is it?” she called out.
“Let me in,” Jaxon said.
“Wrong approach,” Bryn shot back through the door. “Try again.”
“We need to talk,” he said.
“Why?”
“We’re not doing this through the door,” Jaxon said.
She had to bite her tongue to keep from pointing out that they were, in fact, doing this through the door. “If I open the door, you have to be civil,” Bryn said.
“Fine.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him, but she opened the door anyway and stepped aside to let him enter. He scowled at her and headed for the couch where he flopped down in a most un-Jaxon like manner. He loosened his tie, ran his hands back through his golden-blond hair, and then stared up at the ceiling.
She’d seen Jaxon covered in blood after a battle. Somehow a disheveled Jaxon was more disturbing. She sat in a wing-backed chair and waited for him to start the conversation.
“Do you know what day it is?” he asked.
Was this a trick question? “It’s Monday.”
He kept his gaze on the ceiling and spoke in a quiet voice. “It’s Rhianna’s birthday.”
Son of a… Bryn threw her arms out wide. “Damn it. Now I can’t even be mad at you.”
“I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I’m just so angry abou—” His voice broke and he stopped talking.
Double damn it. If he cried she was going to lose it.
He cleared his throat and resumed talking. “It didn’t help that the gift I commissioned for her months ago arrived today.” He sat up and reached into his jacket pocket, removing a blue velvet case…it was long and flat…the kind that would hold a bracelet. “I don’t know what to do with it.” He looked up at Bryn like he hoped she might have an answer.
Damn. Damn. Damn. “Do you want me to hold onto it until you figure it out?”
He turned the blue velvet case over in his hands before leaning forward and setting it on the coffee table. “Perhaps that would be best…for now.” He pushed to his feet and stared at her for a moment. “You’re a good friend, Bryn. I’ll try to be a better friend to you.” He walked to the door and let himself out.
Bryn tried to bat away the fog of sadness Jaxon seemed to leave in his wake. “This totally sucks.” She grabbed the phone, dialed Ivy’s number, and unloaded her newfound knowledge.
“Oh my God,” Ivy said. “That’s so sad. And now you can’t even be angry at him.”
“I know and that pisses me off.” Bryn picked up the blue velvet box. “This whole situation sucks.” She looked at the silver hinges that ran along the side. “Would it be wrong if I opened the box to see what he bought her?”
“You want to open his dead girlfriend’s gift?” Ivy said.
“When you put it that way…” Bryn set the box down.
“I guess you should open it. If you don’t and it ever went missing you wouldn’t be able to help look for it.”
“Way to rationalize,” Bryn said. She popped the lid open. A platinum diamond and sapphire bracelet lay on the blue silk. The stones in the middle of the bracelet were looped back around themselves into an infinity sign. On the lid of the box, in an elegant silver script, it said “Together Forever.”
Bryn closed her eyes and swallowed over the lump in her throat. “I shouldn’t have looked.” She snapped the lid closed and told Ivy about the bracelet.
Ivy sniffled. “Wow. That’s tragic.”
“I gotta go.” Bryn hung up the phone and took the emotional-bomb-of-a-gift into her bedroom. Where should she put it? She could call her grandmother tomorrow and ask to meet her for dinner and then give her the bracelet to take back to Sinclair Estate, but her grandmother wouldn’t be pleased to discover the unbelievably romantic gift that Jaxon had intended for someone else. She opened her armoire and put the blue velvet box on the top shelf underneath her sweaters.
…
Beginning Quintessential Medicine was becoming Bryn’s favorite class for several reasons. First and foremost was her love for the healing arts. The second, and slightly guilt-inducing reason, was because it was the only class she didn’t share with Jaxon. He’d been civil to her for the last couple of days, but he seemed distant and sad and sometimes she just needed a break.
“Who do you think our guinea pig will be today?” Janelle asked.
“I don’t know.” Bryn squirmed in her seat. “I know we need to practice on people and these dragons who volunteer to work with us are over eighteen, but I don’t know why anyone would agree to being poked and prodded by amateur Medic students.”
“I think they get extra credit,” Janelle said.
“All right, class,” Medic Williams said. “Today I’m setting you up with volunteers who have minor scrapes and cuts. I’ll be monitoring your progress. Please respect the volunteer’s privacy.”
Bryn kept her eyes on the stream of older students and adults who entered the classroom. When Zavien walked in and headed straight for her, she was at a loss for words.
“Hello, Bryn.” He sat between her and Janelle, looking more like his old self, minus the spiked hair.
“Zavien? What are you doing here?”
“I’m volunteering for the greater good,” he said. “And for the extra credit.” Amusement flashed in his dark brown eyes. “It was either this, or nude modeling for the art class.”
Bryn’s face heated. “That seriously can’t be an option.”
Zavien grinned. “Ask Clint and Ivy.”
“So how do you two know each other?” Janelle asked.
“Sorry,” Zavien turned on the charm, smiling at Janelle. “Didn’t mean to ignore you.” He held out his hand. “I’m Zavien. Bryn and I met when she first came to school.”
That was one way to put it.
“I’m Janelle.” She shook his hand.
“All right, class, now that you’ve introduced yourselves, please take turns healing your volunteer.”
A nervous feeling settled in Bryn’s stomach. While she’d fantasized about injuring Zavien when he’d ducked out on her during their pseudo-relationship, she had no desire to injure him now. “So…why are you here?” He didn’t appear to be hurt.
He unbuttoned his shirt cuffs and rolled up his sleeves exposing his forearms, which were covered in scrapes.
“What did you do?” Bryn asked.
“I was working on a wooden sculpture last night, but the oak fought back. I kept scraping my forearms.”
“Why didn’t you go to a Medic right after this happened?” Bryn asked.
“I did. She mentioned that I could volunteer today and receive extra credit.” He flexed his forearm. “It’s not like it hurts. It’s more annoying than anything and if there’s any way to graduate early and get out of here, I’m willing to give it a shot.”