No time to love (A Tom Riddle gothic story)

5 - Unspoken

Chapter 5
Unspoken

Morgana read again the same page, but she couldn't focus on what she was reading. She wanted to study, but her mind couldn't concentrate.

Grace distracted her by placing a hand on her book "Ana, can you tell me clearly what's going on? Lately you've been so silent. I understand that being a prefect is keeping your mind so busy and you are always too tired to chat with me as we were used to do. But really, speak your mind. Or we look like strangers".

Morgana raised her tired face to give a weak smile to her friend "I'm sorry, Grace. There's just so much in my mind that I don't know where to start from. How is Myrtle? Has she adapted to this tower?".

Grace smirked, without complaining about the change of topic "Yes, finally. I'm starting to miss her ingenuity. She has been a far better company than you in the last weeks".

Morgana swallowed that cutting remark "I know. I wish I can regret being a prefect".

"I don't think it's just that" Grace said carefully "Did Riddle truly offer to help you with homeworks or was that some secret message?".

Morgana held her friend's gaze, tempted to reveal everything. She needed to share it with someone.
But she just couldn't.
"Yeah, he truly did. He sort of owe me that".

"Because he leaves his duties on your shoulders to have fun with his girlfriend?".

Morgana sighed. The fact that her friend didn't suspect the truth comforted her. The only good thing.
Tom didn't break up with Electra as he claimed, or at least he insisted that the Slytherin girl was just harassing him like an annoying dog and he didn't tell her straight that it was over because it would attract the gossip on them and involve Morgana too, damaging her reputation.
That weird situation was making Morgana sick.

Although she liked seeing Tom secretly flirting with her, she turned obsessed with keeping an eye on him and checking that he didn't show too affection to his former girlfriend.
She was disgusted by herself for enjoying seeing Tom cheating on Electra and acting nastily towards the loyal girl. And she was disgusted by how she was drifting away from her friends.

But how could she reveal all of that to Grace or to Larry, her closest friends?
They couldn't understand.

"He is using you, Ana" Grace continued the conversation "You should react and force him to take your duties once so you and I can have fun for one evening as in good old days".

Morgana smiled at that dream "It's not easy to tame a snake".

"Just like it's not easy to tame Larry's cat" Grace joked "So will you deal with Riddle or do you need a hand?".

Stiffening, Morgana replied trying to sound firm "I can do it".

In fact she didn't know how to deal with him. She wasn't sure she could.
The Slytherin prefect was used to welcome her with a provoking smirk, like he was enjoying to have control over her.
Morgana didn't dislike their patrol shifts together, but she just wished that he didn't act like he was her superior.
He offered to work together on their homeworks, but she felt it like a way to test her.

"Why that face? Like you've seen a corpse? I wished for more enthusiasm in seeing me".
His teasing comment woke her from her brooding.

"I'm just tired" she murmured, expecting him to mock her.

He patted his hands on his knees and stood up "Then let's try something more entertaining and less boring than home works".

Morgana eyed with diffidence the hand he was offering her "What do you have in mind?".