11
Evelyn
“No, move your right leg back and to the side.”
“I’m trying. Hey, ouch!”
“If you tried harder, I wouldn’t keep hurting you when I step on your toes.”
“Well, maybe if you took of your shoes, it wouldn’t hurt so much when you stepped on them.”
“Then you wouldn’t have as much incentive to learn.”
I glare up at him even as he steps again. This time, I manage to step with him, and for a few glorious seconds, we move as one. For a moment, we glide over the carpet in seeming harmony, and I can’t help but feel elated.
“See?” Luci says, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. I’m so surprised by this, it breaks my concentration and causes me to stumble.
“Ouch!”
“Well, you almost had it. Let’s take a break,” Luci says, releasing me as he presses his fingers to his temples.
“Are you okay?” I ask, sitting down on a nearby chair and instantly regretting my decision as the boning in the corset digs into my hips and breasts. I guess this is meant only for standing in.
“I think I should be the one asking you that,” Luci says, gesturing to my red toes.
“I don’t think any of you should be asking me that, given the circumstances,” I mutter before biting my tongue. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, you have a right to be angry. We’d be fools to think otherwise.”
Luci closes his eyes as he rubs his temples again, this time the grimace that crosses his face is unmistakable.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Luci, you’re obviously not okay.”
“I said, it’s nothing,” Luci growls, his eyes flashing angrily toward me before he clenches his jaw. “It’s just a slight headache.”
“Okay, would you like some water?”
“No,” he snaps before recomposing himself. “No, thank you. Water would only make things worse.”
“I can’t say I’ve ever heard that one before.”
“No, I suppose you haven’t,” he says with a cold laugh. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”
I raise my eyebrows at this but keep my mouth shut. Luci may think he’ll be fine, but I can’t say the same for me. I grimace as I try to wriggle my way out of the seat without allowing more of the boning to spear me.
You can do this, Evelyn. It’s just a chair.
“Do you need some help?”
I glance up at Luci, my cheeks flushing as I realize I must have said that out loud.
“Yes, please.”
Luci bends to grab me around the waist. He lifts me from the chair and sets me on my feet without so much as a grunt of exertion.