Addicted to Green

CHAPTER 49

NAVINA

'Are you okay?' seems to be a recurring thing people ask me... now i'm the one asking it constantly. It's what I just asked caden as we started walking to school. Our schedules are different so now I only have him in my first period class, which is math. I hate math.

"Yes. and you gotta stop asking me that." he says with a shake of his head.

"Well I can't. Hows River being?" she than asks.

I shrug. "Oddly nice... he thanked me."

My brows raise in surprise. "He what?"

"He-"

"No I heard you... just what?"

He nods, sighing and looking away from me. "I know. Tell me about it."

"Why would he thank you?"

"I have no idea... he's acting like he was before... everything." he then said.

"What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well, he wasn't always an alcoholic abusive asshole... he was like a father figure to me before. When my own father was, not all there and then dead." he then says his voice wavering.

"So why did it all go away?" I ask .

He sighs and shrugs. "I'm not sure..." he says, his voice differing like he wants to tell me something but doesn't know if he should. But he decides when he speaks again. "I had a dream... well nightmare i guess." my eyes stay planted on his side profiled as he speaks, this is the first time he's opened up to me without me saying anything. It brings a warm fuzzy feeling in my chest. "It was just before my mom was shot... they were arguing about something, River asked what my mom said and she started to say something about her parents killing someone..."

"Oh..." I say frowning as I look away from his profile.

"I think Rivers' attitude has something bigger at play.. And I'm not sure what exactly but..."

"If you want to find out, I'll help. I happen to be a good detective." i say smiling warmly trying to dull the aching i feel for him... "Was that the same nightmare you had at Jespers?" I then asked my voice, wavering unsure if he would answer or block me out.

when he doesn't speak for a little i turn to face his profile his adam's apple bobbing. "No." one word. One singular word, with so much emotion from Caden's voice. It seems as if he's opening up a little. Even when it is just one word. But it holds an emotion that I didn't know one word could bring.

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I walk up to the cafeteria lunch table that only Eden is at. "Hey!!" she says smiling and standing up from her seat and coming over to hug me tight. "Ugh I missed you."

"We saw each other a few days ago.'' I say chuckling. "I missed you to.'' I then said,

"A free day was a very long time ago." she says defensively.

I nod. "Agreed." i see her bangs have grown out, now they are more like curtain bangs. I think she cut than to matcha wolf cut looking hairstyle. "So where the guys/'' I ask as I sigh and sit down on the chair taking out my rice crispy bar.

"Oh, well colby to my surprise is with Sersi not at school." she says and winks. I frown. "And chase should be coming soon. We don't have any classes together so I can't keep track of that doofus." she says, shrugging her hand.

"Hey this doofus has a name, emo." i look up from behind eden seeing chase in all his glory -not the sarcasm- he frowns as he sits next to eden.

"Yes, it's doofus." eden counteracks.