"you know i don't love you, right?" - wilhemina venable

6

quick note: apologies for not updating in a while, but i finally got vaccinated yay

We didn't get caught.

Somehow, I woke up in my bed the next morning, but I was sure I hadn't left. The last thing I felt before falling asleep was Wilhemina's fingers tracing circles against my skin.

"Y/N?"

I glanced up, still half-asleep, to see Wilhemina shutting my bedroom door behind her.

"G'morning," I mumbled, brushing hair out of my face.

"Sorry, love, did I wake you?"

I shook my head. "No, I just woke up."

"Guess I was right on time." She sat on the edge of my bed, resting her hand on my own. "You're probably wondering how you ended up back here."

I nodded.

"I didn't want to risk Mead seeing you sneaking out of my room, so I carried you back around 5."

"Are you-"

I guess she saw the look of concern on my face, so she cut me off. "I'm okay. My back is fine, you're very light, and I'd like to think that I'm rather strong."

A relieved smile tugged at my lips, and I nodded. "Okay, good."

"I would have loved to hold you for those few hours apart, but risk not getting to hold you again? Not worth it."

I nodded. "Definitely."

"Are you okay?" she asked, moving forward and resting her hand on my cheek. "You're quiet. More quiet than usual."

I smiled at the warmth and shifted my face just a bit so I could plant a soft kiss on the edge of her palm. "Just tired."

"Well," she began, "you don't have to be downstairs for half an hour, so how about we take a little nap, hm?"

I nodded as eagerly as my exhaustion would allow, which prompted her to crawl into bed with me and pull me into her grasp.

I don't think Mina slept. She woke me up just when we had to go downstairs. Her caution was oddly comforting to me, though I still wished she would get more rest.

Breakfast was uneventful and quick, but I was not prepared for anything to come.

Michael found me almost immediately.

"Y/N!" he said as Wilhemina and I entered the library. It was empty; Michael closed the door as he entered behind us.

"What do you want?" she said, reaching her arm out to the side as to create some sort of barrier between me and Michael.

"Was I talking to you?" his voice darkened and became almost demonic in tone.

"If you're talking to her, you're talking to me."

"And why's that?" He tilted his head to the side, a mocking tone in his voice. "Is she your newest little pet? When do you plan on slaughtering this one?"