"What?" I snap.
"You're the one who chose not to speak to me..."
"You didn't even try to explain," I shout. "After I found out and..."
"And what? Walked away? What was I supposed to do, Mona? Force something you didn't want?"
"I don't not want it. I do want you." But a little part of me wants Ryan too in some ways. Though I don't say that bit out loud. I don't think it will help my cause.
"Then you need to start acting like it," he insists.
"With Ryan it..."
"I don't mean when it comes to other guys, Mona. I don't need all your attention, just for you to treat me right."
The lump in my throat makes it hard to swallow.
Caspian rubs a hand over his face and sighs loudly. "Work it out, Mona. You know where I am if you do."
He doesn't wait for a response and walks off, leaving me dazed and confused in the middle of the hall outside the library.
Chapter Two
I slump down on my bed, fed up with the way things were going.
"Did you have to put Ryan up for today?" I ask Daphne.
She raises an eyebrow and takes another bite of her apple. "Put him up to what?" she asks once she swallows. I'm not sure why she's using my desk and not her own, but I don't question it. My room has kittens, that's enough of an explanation.
"Trying to ask me out in the library," I mutter.
"He asked you out? Good for him. I didn't think he had it in him."
"We are both talking about your brother, right?"
Rhubarb decides that he wants some kind of fuss and uses Daphne to climb up the chair and jump on the bed next to me.
Without even thinking about it, I reach out and scratch him behind his ears. He purrs loudly. At least I have a happy kitten. Well, four happy kittens. The others are scattered around the room doing cat-like things. Other than Ginger, who has decided that Daphne's lap is perfect for sleeping.
"You need to hurry up and conjure a mama-cat to keep them all in line," she muses.
"I'm not trying to summon a cat. I have my hands full with the ones I've made by accident." Even as I speak, I hear my own voice soften. It's nice to have the kittens here, even if I didn't plan for them.
"Just an idea." She shrugs.
"Are you purposefully avoiding talking about your brother asking me out?"
"Yes," she admits. "I don't want to talk about Ryan's love life."
I grunt in frustration. "Then why are you trying to set me up with him?" I'm not mad, I just want to know the truth about it.
"Maybe I just want a sister." She turns back to her books.
"Not the quickest way to get one," I mutter.
"Less weird than encouraging my parents to have sex," she muses, not even looking at me. "Have you tried the conjuring homework yet?" she asks.
I roll my eyes, but let the change of conversation stand. It's easier than focusing on what's going on with Ryan, which will no doubt lead to me thinking about the mess that is my relationship with Caspian too. Well, semi-relationship. I suppose we never had a proper conversation about it.