Days of Revelations (Night of Secrets #2)

Chapter 40 - Toxic Conversation

Adeline

"Hey," I say, taking the stool next to Cyril. "What's up?"

"Nothing," he smiles, tucking his phone away. "How was dinner?"

My mind immediately flashes to the moment Jax offered to split his dish with me. The intense way he looked at me, begging me to eat. His hand in mine. That easy smile of his. How he tried to take some worries off my mind. 

Jax, Jax, Jax.

God, I'm pathetic.

"Adeline?" Cyril questions.

I smile, pulling on my sleeves. "It was good. Thanks for asking." He nods, smiling at me. My mind turns to Jax again and how much I want to look at his smile instead of Cyril's. I push the thought away, running my hands over my jeans. "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Nothing really. Just wanted to catch up."

I indicate for him to go first. He talks about his life, developing interests, and what he might want to do after graduation. He uses a lot of hand gestures while he talks, and the more I nod and smile, the more animated he seems to get. As if my attention is worth that much to him. Sometimes he glances behind me, and I have a feeling he's looking at Jax. And I have a strong feeling that Jax is looking back, making sure things are okay.

I don't know why I suggested he stay, especially when I told him at Roses in Ink that he didn't have to. Maybe it was partly because of all those little moments at the table. Or because of what Mira said. Or because of the weird sense of dread I felt about talking to Cyril. Or because of all those combined.

"So has everything been okay with you?" Cyril asks.

I nod, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Yeah. It's been okay. The rumors died down, so it hasn't been as bad as it could be."

Cyril offers me a grim smile. "I'm glad people are moving on to something else."

I nod, dropping my hand in my lap. "Me too."

"And Dean paid for it." Cyril looks past me again. "Jax made sure of that."

I stop myself from looking in Jax's direction, digging my nails into my bandage. "Yeah. He did." Of course, he did. I clear my throat and glance down. "So how's Dean?"

"Getting better. He can sit up on his own now, so that's good."

"Is it really?" The moment the words are out of my mouth, I feel a blush creeping up my face. I laugh nervously, covering my mouth with my hand. I drop my hand to my chest. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I'm sure you're worried about him, and it sucks that he's in the hospital."

Cyril shrugs. "I get it. He's done and said a lot to you."

I arch an eyebrow. "You're not going to defend him?"

Cyril shakes his head, furrowing his eyebrows. "Why would I? He messed up a lot this year."

Dean would never call what he did a "mess up" even if he has messed up every year I've known him. Faye wouldn't call it that either. And... "You've never said that about Dean before. You always stood up for him whenever I had something to say."

"Yeah, well..." He shrugs, resting his elbow on the counter. "You changed my mind."

What? "Me?"

Cyril nods. "Yeah. You. I'm trying to be friends with you, but every time Dean or Faye does something, it pushes you away. It's like reading your letters all over again and realizing how much those two mess up."

"I wrote letters to you, too."

His smile slips, and I feel my heart beat a little faster. I tightly clasp my hands in my lap, sitting a little straighter. Maybe I shouldn't have said that. But at the same time, a voice at the back of my head is telling me I should have. I wrote letters to Cyril for a reason. And I should remind him that he messed up, too.