𝐒𝐲𝐧 ┃𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

44. 𝑇𝑤𝑜'𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑛𝑦 𝑃𝑡. 1

April 17, 2022

One Year Ago

Syn

I fixed the sandwich on the plate and took it back to the couch and sat down. I glanced blankly at the reality TV show playing and contemplated changing the channel, but decided against it. Cleo had been a maniac these past few months. I didn't want to set her off by doing anything at all.

I accidentally scared her yesterday, making her drop her croissant and she sobbed for hours even after I gave her another one.

I remembered Queen being mildly irritating at times while she was pregnant, but it was nothing like this. Or maybe it was and I didn't mind it because I was in love with her...

My chest ached at the emerging thoughts of her and I shook my head. I didn't have a damn clue where she was or what she was doing...or who she was doing it with. The unfamiliar blindness was aggravating but there was nothing I could do. She wanted nothing to do with me anymore.

I pushed the memories of her to the back of my mind and took a bite of the sandwich. Almost immediately after, I felt breathing on the side of my neck and I jumped. I looked behind me to find Cleo and I let out a huff of irritation. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Can I have that?" She pointed. I followed the direction she pointed directly to my sandwich and I slumped my shoulder. I bought her food on my way home less than an hour ago and I hadn't eaten all day.

"How are you still hungry?"

"Yo, I'm eating for myself." She pointed at herself and then placed her hands on her swollen stomach. "And two babies. You giving me that sandwich won't kill you, Syn. Greed isn't healthy for the soul. You care about your soul...don't you?"

Greed—

She was going to kill me. Our friendship had been rocky up until a few weeks when we patched things up. I almost wished we hadn't though because now she wouldn't let me get a single moment of peace. Out of the kindness of my heart, and from Xavier's begging, I promised to keep an eye on her while he and Caspian went to Juva for business.

It had only been a week since they had left but I was counting down the seconds until they came back.

With a sigh, I passed Cleo the plate and she beamed up at me in excitement as she took it. I sat down, resting my arm over the back of the couch and Cleo plopped herself down a couple of feet away from me. "What are we watching?"

"You're the one that put it on."

"It was a rhetorical question." She rolled her eyes. She got comfortable before taking a big bite of the sandwich and closing her eyes. "Oh shit! This is bomb as fuck." She moaned in delight as she chewed it and I looked at her in both disgust and rage.

"I know it is."

"I'm gonna be honest with you, Syn," she said. "I didn't know you were capable of this. If being King doesn't work out, you can be my assistant and just make me these all day."

"I would rather...die."

She stuffed the sandwich down and carefully stood up from the couch. "That hurts more knowing you already were dead, Syn."