𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 | 𝟏𝟖+

LILY

035. TIME TRAVEL

"Viaggi sicuri," the petite barista says, placing down the food I order on the table.

My finger covered with Royces' ring grazed the expensive feeling fabric of the table cloth as I smile back. "Grazie."

She nods and walks away, tending to the other guest. I dig into my plate of fruit, explicitly eating the strawberries first. I hum in my head contently for putting food in my belly. "How long before we arrive?" I ask the redhead in front of me.

Artemis had been chiefly silent besides an occasional murmur to himself. His eyes shot to mine. "About several hours. We'll get to the safe house in no time princess."

I raise a brow. "If being here is unsafe, why wouldn't he ship me back to the States? Wouldn't we be safer?"

He shakes his head. "There are eyes everywhere. Even if we did go back, they'd follow. Royce has money, power, and many people under his hand, but that doesn't stop the enemy from tailing and tracking. Even he knows he can't control them, not entirely," he finished with a sigh, appearing tense.

"Why's that," I ask curiously.

"You know, you ask many why questions," Amis concludes with raised brows. His lean arm flexed as he adjusted himself further back in his seat.

"I don't have enough answers. As you've mentioned, Royce keeps to himself." I finish off a piece of juicy cantaloupe.

Amis eyes me carefully. "He likes you. Like a lot." his words implying something.

I choked on the fruit and gestured for him to pass me the water with ushered hands. I pound on my chest and take a sip. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"There you do with the questions again-"

"Artemis," I deadpan.

His face was stoned with a side grimace. "Do you really think he'd keep you around if he didn't like you?"

I scrunch my face. "But he said-"

"It doesn't matter what he said," he interrupted, "this isn't meant to hurt your feelings. I'm just being honest. He brought you back from Xavier's and intended to keep you, even if he laid off his debt."

"What are you trying to say?"

"He had been watching, even before Xavier came into your life," He confesses.

What?

"Let me get this straight. He could've saved me, saved me from Xavier, that house?!" I raise my voice a tad. "He could've brought me out of this hell and thought he'd just sit back and watch!" I clench the knife in my hand, crescent moons staining my palm. Artemis didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. I knew; I should've known.

"He was gonna use me," I whisper in the dead silence of utter embarrassment.

"At first, yes," he states bluntly.

I glared at him, and before I could curse him, he raised his finger. "Don't you-"

"He changed his mind. He was, but your situation reminded him too much of Celeste to go through with it. And he developed something special for you," he says pointedly.

I glare harder, hopefully burning his face to muck. "That doesn't change the fact that he wanted to. If anything, I should be crazy in the head enough to jump off this train right now." I was so aggravated I hit my knee on the table with a wince when I stood from my seat. His attempts to stop me faltered at my stare, and I headed to the bathroom.

I clutch the sink rim and take deep breaths. "Ughh! I swear to god I will kill him when I see him. Maybe I should jump off this train and hitchhike my ass up to fucking Switzerland." I splash my face with cold water and gaze into the scratched mirror. I release a sigh. "Oh Winnie, what have I gotten myself into," I whisper into the deafening silence. Suddenly feeling claustrophobic, I leave the bathroom quickly and return to the cart, only to find Amis gone. I assume he went to get food or something and settled back into my seat.

Twenty minutes pass, and I start to get suspicious. Artemis had been gone for too long, and it was beginning to make me queasy. I stare at the door for another minute before I walk to it quietly. The door slams open before I can open it, and I release a screech. "Good god, Artemis, you scared the crap out of me!" I hit his arms in annoyance.

"Aww, did you miss me?" He cracks a tiny smile.

I roll my eyes. "You wish," my lips twitch against my will, "you were gone longer than expected."

"I was checking in on the train schedule. We should be at our pit stop shortly." He closes the door, plopping back into his seat. "And?"

"5 more hours to go." Artemis puts his hands behind his head. "This should be fun, huh cupcake?"

"As if," I grumble, tossing a blanket over my head after fluffing my pillow for me to lay on. "Wake me up when the dinner cart rolls around."

"Yes ma'am."