Jaw

Chapter 9

Silena hadn't spent more than an hour inside the Tybur family's house, but by the time she got back to Liberio it was dawn the next morning. The sun was just barely up as she walked through the crumbling iron gates, and the Internment zone was just starting to stir into wakefulness. Vendors and shopkeepers who knew Silena shot her strange looks as she passed. She was rarely ever out of the house so early.

Even though she hadn't slept since her nap the previous day, Silena wasn't planning to rest quite yet. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to go home and go to bed, but a much less rational part of her brain wanted to put off seeing her mother for as long as possible. So instead of turning onto her street, Silena continued down the main road for a few more blocks until she got to Zeke's grandparents' house. Last she heard, he was still living there, and the lights were on.

Silena had barely knocked on the door when Zeke opened it. He didn't look like he'd gotten much sleep either– still wearing the same clothes as the previous day, just like Silena was– but he was somehow more energetic than usual.

"You're back," he said, breathless. "How did it go?"

The wild look in his eyes almost scared Silena off the porch step. Almost. She was a little too curious about his reaction, it seemed, to be afraid of whatever he was going through. "I got in."

Zeke inched closer to her. "And?"

"And—" Silena took a breath before a smile broke out on her face. "I met with Willy Tybur and his sister. Nothing is definite yet, but they said they'd consider me."

Zeke let out a whoop to wake the whole neighborhood as he enveloped her in a hug fitting for the beast titan. The overwhelming smell of coffee filled Silena's senses as he picked her up off the ground and spun her around.

"I have to tell my grandparents," Zeke said when he had finally put a breathless Silena back on her feet. She was so dazed that she couldn't protest as he ran back into the house.

It wasn't a shock when Zeke came back with both his grandparents, even if he hadn't technically promised it. The short older woman and her tall husband were new faces to Silena, but Zeke resembled them so much that she felt as if she already knew them.

"I'm so proud of you, dear!" Zeke's grandmother cried, hurrying over to hug Silena. Thankfully, she didn't try to pick her up.

Silena got the feeling that Zeke's grandmother had no idea the importance of what had happened to her, but she got the spirit, and that was enough. She leaned into the hug ever so slightly, keeping an eye open to peek at Zeke; he remained impassive, watching her.

Silena beckoned him closer, her arms still loosely around Mrs. Yaeger. "You know I didn't get a guarantee, right?" She whispered.

Zeke's wide grin, which mirrored that of his grandparents, was pushing the tops of his glasses into his eyebrows. "I know," he reassured her. "But it's a start."

If Zeke's grandmother had heard what they said, she didn't react. She patted Silena's shoulders as she pulled away. "Would you like to join us for breakfast?" She asked. "My Luis makes excellent croissants– we've got a whole batch inside."

There was nothing Silena wanted more than to have these nice people feed her homemade croissants, but it felt like she'd be imposing. "I'm sorry, I've got to get back home. I'm sure my family is missing me. But thank you so much for the offer– it's too kind of you, really."

Zeke's grandmother wasn't letting her leave empty-handed, of course. No sooner had the words left Silena's mouth than she was back in the house, calling, "Help me carry all this, Luis, please!" To her husband, who trotted after happily.