Profound Devotion

Chapter 18

July 26th
Monaia

  "Hey, how was the party?" Raian smirked from one of the benches outside of the dining hall, taking in my disheveled appearance and stained dress.

  After the piñata, Atticus thought it would be funny to dump a pitcher of juice over my head as I chased after a young boy that was running away with the bat used to bust the colorful cardboard dinosaur open. Now, my once yellow dress was stained orange and clung to my sticky body like a second skin.

  To make matters worse, my mother insisted on me bringing a heavy box of decorations back to the hall to store before I was allowed to return home and clean myself up.

  "Shut up." I growled, trying to shove the weighted door open with my arm while balancing the overflowing box on my hip.

  A shriek escaped my lips when the door suddenly opened, and the box was taken from me in one swift motion. "Where does it go?" Cassius appeared from nowhere and tucked it beneath his arm as if it weighed less than nothing, making space for me in the entryway to step in out of the hot sun.

  "Oh, uh..." I mumbled, disoriented and embarrassed now that he'd seen me looking a mess. "Follow me."

  I led him into a closet just off the main eating hall that was filled floor-to-ceiling with labeled boxes of decorations and extra kitchenware. There was only one space left on the industrial shelves, and as I lifted my head to see it, I realized how screwed I had been. There was no way for me to reach it on my own.

  "Right there." I pointed toward the empty space and stepped out to make space for Cass' large frame. He slid the box onto the shelf with ease and nudged the door closed once he, too, was out of the closet. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that." I swallowed nervously and wiped at the skirt of my sticky dress.

  I didn't know how to interact with him now—not naturally. Whenever I saw him, my embarrassment from the night before ignited and made it hard to even look him in the eye.

  "I believe your brother is looking for you." As if on cue, Atticus waltzed into the hall, freezing when he took in just how messy and stained I was. His hands shot up to his mouth to stifle his laugh, but it didn't work too well.

  I festered a glare and tightened my fists at my sides. I was so getting payback for this. He will see.

  "Wow, you look..." He trailed off, coughing out another laugh.

"Oh, you are so dead." I snarled, lunging forward while he was distracted. He yelped as my body collided with his, knocking him to the ground with a bang.

  "No! Not the white shirt!" He scurried away, smoothing out his shirt that was still a crisp, clean white. I was determined to change that. "Boy, you really need a shower. You're a hazard."

  I collected whatever I could reach off one of the tables and started throwing them—ketchup bottles, salt shakers, anything that was solid and not connected to the surface. He chuckled and dodged most of them, but a mustard bottle made contact with his chest and popped open, leaving a bright yellow stain.

  "Hey!" He frowned, fisting a handful of napkins from the holder I had also used as a weapon and trying to wipe the condiment away.

  "How does it feel?" I growled, brushing my orange-scented hair out of my face. Atticus just rolled his eyes with a wide smile.

  "At least I don't look like a drowned rat."

  His long legs carried him as fast as they could outside before I had a chance to find anything else to throw at him. I could feel the hairs on my arm sticking to my skin, and every inch of my body felt absolutely disgusting.