Alone

Chapter 25

Sebastian stopped talking to his friends after the incident in Professor Fig's office. Marian made copious attempts of trying to confront him, waiting for him after classes or in the Great Hall during meals, but he kept his distance.

In fact, he didn't seem to be appearing to the meals at all, or at times when Marian and Ominis already had left.

In classes, he gave both of them the silent treatment, not even so much looking at them. Only when Marian would try to talk to him, desperately seeking his attention to apologize, explain herself, he gave her that particular look.

It was a mixture between regret and distress, giving his features a haunted expression.

He never allowed her to see it for long though, always mumbling an excuse about needing to be somewhere and turning to walk off.

Marian never tried to follow him.

A part of her was still angry at him, angry for the things he had accused her of. Angry for the way he tried to make her responsible, make her feel guilty about not doing enough to help him, stop him from what he had ended up doing last year.

You need to help me. If not for me, then for Anne. For Anne.

His words kept ringing in her ears, mocking her, making her conscience laugh at her for being so gullible.

"Give it time, Marian."

Ominis had placed his hand on her shoulder after yet another failed attempt of talking to Sebastian after lunch. It had been nearly two weeks now and she was beginning to lose her patience.

"Haven't we given it enough time, Ominis? He can't keep making excuses forever..."

She was more talking to herself as they got on their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower, and Ominis walked beside her in silence for a few moments.

"Excuses?"

She bit her lip, unsure if she should speak up with her thoughts.

"Well... Anne is being cured, isn't she?"

Ominis nodded slowly.

"Yes, in her last letter she told me about the progress she's making. The healers are saying that she'll even be able to make short trips outside soon."

A dark look settled on Marian's face. She tried to tell herself it was because she was angry at Sebastian and not because Ominis was being pen friends with Anne.

"So, he... He can't use her as a pretext to-... to be like that... Not when..."

She trailed of, shaking her head.

Ominis probably wasn't the right person to talk about this with. She had given him enough trouble concerning the topic of his best friend.

He hadn't said much to it after they had left Fig's office together, only that Sebastian wasn't talking to him either and that most mornings, his bed in their shared dorm was deserted and unused.

He had told her that it wasn't unusual for Sebastian to sleep in the undercroft when he was troubled with something but Marian still felt bad for being once again the reason the two boys were fighting.

With a sigh, he shook his head.

"I get what you mean, but... Marian, I-... please don't get me wrong, but... perhaps you don't truly understand his reasoning."

His tone was low and his voice soft, but his words still managed to give her a painful pang in her chest.

"Oh."