Colt drifted behind Thalia, barely paying attention to what her teacher was saying about the necessary procedures for their experiment the next day. Science had never interested him much, though he could tell, due to her straight back and bright eyes, that Thalia felt differently.
He felt more relaxed, in part because he was glad that there was at least part of her school day where Thalia separated herself from her friend. It wasn’t Ruth’s fault. She just reminded him too much of Annaliese.
Wrinkling his nose, Colt realized this was the first time since he’d gotten out of the bottle that he’d thought her proper name. He supposed he ought to have forgiven her by now but he still couldn’t stop the anger he felt at her memory. She was as much at fault for his current condition as the god was. His only solace was that she was long dead and he wouldn’t have to deal with her lies and her excuses anymore.
His memory of her was that of the last time he’d seen her. Her green eyes brighter than normal, narrowed into a glare. The colour in her cheeks was high and bright, her petal pink lips parted as she panted with anger. He’d seen the tremors running through her body, most noticeable in the fists she had clenched at either side of her narrow waist. Even with all the suffering she’d brought upon him, Colt couldn’t deny that she was a striking woman, especially when angry.
The bell overhead jolted him out of his memories and he moved closer to Thalia. For a second, the sight of her, especially her pants and fitted shirt, had him surprised. Then he shook himself. It was folly to fall too deeply into his memories. That age was long past and the people he’d known then were dead. It was better to focus on the present.
Thalia made that easy, stumbling as one of her classmates shoved rudely past her. Colt caught her, supporting her with an arm around her waist while he glared at the back of the retreating boy, wondering if he should send something flying at his head. As wonderful as many of the changes to world were, he found the lack of respect and proper treatment of women to be one of its greatest failings.
He turned his attention back to Thalia and found that the apples of her cheeks had gone a most becoming shade of pink. He grinned as she straightened herself, her downcast eyes adding further evidence to her embarrassment. “Thank you,” he heard her whisper as she resettled her bag on one shoulder.
“It was nothing,” he replied, keeping his voice quiet. While there were many other students in the hall, their area was emptying quickly and he knew he’d already made her nervous with his actions yesterday. Not that he regretted them, but he felt bad that he’d worried her, especially since she’d been doing her best to accommodate him.
She nodded and pressed onward, dodging the other students with an ease that spoke of long practice. She reached her locker with no further incident and Colt relaxed again, leaning against the wall beside the metal box, keeping a close eye on those who passed. It was more from habit than necessity. After two days even he knew that the only people who really noticed Thalia were the teachers and Ruth.
He had to wonder about that. How had she become so invisible and was it by choice? She seemed content enough but that could easily be a façade. Maybe he could help her be noticed by-
Again, his thoughts were interrupted, but by a shout from one side. He jerked around the stare then making a face as he recognized Ruth. The dark cherry wood colour of her hair was unmistakable as she flew past him, only narrowly missing his feet.
“You’re booked Thalia. You’re coming downtown with me and we’re going to find shoes. I need shoes and I know for a fact that you won’t have thought of them. Hell, you probably wouldn’t have bought a dress if I hadn’t dragged you out with me. We’ve only got three more weeks until Grad so we need to move.”
“I have shoes.”
Ruth’s hand were on her hips. “You are not wearing a pair of your mom’s. This is Grad, one of the few times in our lives we get to full on dress-up. And you, whether you like it or not, are doing the whole shebang. I made appointments for you for your hair and make-up at the same time as me so there’s no excuses. Now, c’mon!” Not waiting for an answer, Ruth grabbed Thalia’s arm and dragged her along behind her.
“This just seems like an awful lot of work for something that’s only going to last a few hours. You know we’re not even having a dance this year. Just the dinner and then the after party,” Thalia said.
“It’s part of being a high school student. You’re going if I have to put a leash on you and drag you there. Now, with your dress, I’m thinking some nice strappy heels. In silver or white, or even black. Me, I’m looking or something sparkly, silver or red. Maybe even a combo.”
Shaking her head but smiling, Thalia let Ruth tow her along, ignoring the looks people gave them. Following behind, Colt realized why Thalia was so blasé about the stares. None of them were directed at her. They were all on Ruth. Given her loud, powerful presence, he wouldn’t have been surprised but no one seemed to even glance at Thalia.
He frowned as he dodged around a couple who were far too affectionate in public for his taste. There was something very wrong with this. For such a strong-minded individual, and her acceptance of him was proof enough of that for Colt, Thalia was almost…invisible.
Well, he certainly had time and experience with being both visible and invisible. Colt nodded, decision already made. It was time to help Thalia be seen.