The Sage's Vow

9.2 || An Unfortunate Mission

Josh wasn't sure who was more uncomfortable about the situation: Kaitlyn or himself.

Mateo had left shortly after Josh's talk with Xander. Kaitlyn hadn't arrived until an hour after, bag slung over her shoulder, chin held high.

Jodas could have placed her right at the motel where she would stay, but his parents just had to be nice people and offer to drive her so she could get a feel of the town. They'd also offered to let her stay with them, but she'd declined, much to Josh's relief.

Not to his relief, though, was that because of her starting at the house, she saw no reason that they shouldn't begin the mission early. She had a point, but he'd hoped he would have a few more hours of peace with his parents before he had to spend all day with her.

But first came breakfast. Which meant now Kaitlyn sat directly across from him at the kitchen table, nursing a cup of coffee and taking the occasional bite of scrambled eggs while doing her best to avoid looking at anyone or anything.

All the while, he couldn't stop glancing at her.

Her presence was a constant prickle. Trying to ignore that she was there only made him more aware of every movement she made. She was a Soul-Bound on a mission. Just like him. Maybe she happened to be part of the faction whose main goal was balance regardless of the cost. Maybe she liked to glare every time their eyes crossed paths. Maybe he really wanted her to be as far away as possible.

There really was no "just" to this.

He forced a scenario in his head where his pancake was a sinking ship to force his focus on his food.

You're a really slow eater today, Boomer remarked.

Josh jabbed at one of his last remaining pieces of pancake and took a bite. Have you never heard of delaying the inevitable?

I'm not sure that makes sense. If it's inevitable, how can you delay it?

By eating your pancakes really slow and hoping that it becomes evitable.

Boomer was quiet for a moment, considering. I don't think that's going to work, Josh. You'd have to eat your pancakes really slow.

Thanks for the vote of confidence. But Boomer was right, and maybe once they had a purpose, the awkwardness would stop suffocating him. He took one final, large bite of pancake before pushing his plate away.

Kaitlyn looked up from her food. "Are you done?"

"Yeah." Sadly. He licked some remaining syrup off his lips, then nodded to her barely-touched eggs. "You not gonna eat?"

She pushed her own plate away, lips thin. "Not hungry."

He wasn't sure how much he believed her, but Josh shrugged. "Okay. Guess we're ready to go then."

It was almost comical getting into the car with Kaitlyn. He sat in the front, her in the back, and his dad in the driver's seat. He was going on a mission, and his dad was driving him.

At least when his dad dropped them off at the town's center, he didn't wish them a good day. He did, however, pass Josh a twenty in case they were out late enough to need lunch. He watched his dad drive off before turning to Kaitlyn and shoving his hands in his pockets.

"So, where to?"

She crossed her arms and tilted her chin up. Josh bit his lip to stop from chuckling. Something about the posture made it seem like she was trying to appear bigger than him, which was hilarious because she was at least six inches shorter and looked to be fourteen. She wasn't—Mara had told him such when he remarked about her being a bratty teenager.