Change [Book 1 of The Elemental Marks]

Chapter 15

Tommie's first thought when he saw the text from Dex was, How did I not know that wasn't his real name?

Then again, Tommie had never explicitly told Dex his real name was Thomas Penwell. Maybe he should tell him that...

The next thought occurred after Tommie actually read his message. Do you wanna regroup and go over what Vic told us?

What Tommie really wanted was to go over what Vic told him on his own. He had already sat around his room for fifteen minutes trying to decipher both what it meant and how he now felt about Dex.

Yeah, let's do it, Tommie replied before he could stop himself. He was getting nowhere on his own, but his instinct was still to trust Dex. At the moment, that meant asking about Dex's side of the story. Even if Vic had suggested against it.

I'm in the training room.

Tommie waited a few minutes before leaving, trying fruitlessly to pull his thoughts together and decide what he was going to say to Dex. Better to just go in without a plan, he lied to himself as he left the room.

The walk to the training room was filled with more of the same.

After you left, Vic said something really funny. You'll really get a kick out of this. He told me not to trust you, that you were bad news and that I was disappointing my dead mother. Hilarious, right?

Demetrius! Demetrius! Really?

I don't know anything about you. And you don't know anything about me. Why hasn't that turned into a problem until now? Do you care?

Or, he could say none of the above.

"Hey!" Dex immediately greeted Tommie. He moved away from the boxing station that he had been previously training at and joined Tommie's side. "So I've been thinking--" he motioned back at the station, as if to explain his thoughts better-- "about that conversation. I have a few theories. Would you say Vic was more closed off than usual? What did you think?"

For a moment, all Tommie could think was that Dex didn't look any different than usual. He was gleaming with sweat and his tank top was two shades of gray, darker around his neckline and back. He was the same person as he had been this morning when he pushed Tommie to face his fear for Lina's sake. When he interrogated Vic on Tommie's behalf. When Tommie didn't have the slightest reason to doubt him.

"I thought Vic was--don't you want to know what he talked to me about after?" Tommie blurted out.

For a moment, Dex looked confused. Then, his features softened. "Well, only if you want to tell me. I just figured it was private. About Lina or something. But if it'll help us get to the bottom of this..."

"It wasn't about Lina. He wanted to talk about you." And he didn't have many good things to say.

As soon as Tommie said it, Dex's expression changed. There was a split second when he looked angry enough to hit something and then his eye's met Tommie's. His expression instantly turned softer, into raw disappointment.

"And you agree with everything he said, so you came here to tell me this friendship is over," Dex predicted. He sounded resolved, as if perhaps he had had this talk before. Even if that was the case, Tommie jumped to his own defense.

"Vic didn't tell me anything about you. He just said that you were bad news and that I shouldn't even bother finding out why." Dex's expression changed once again, this time into a question. Tommie couldn't help but think he still looked guarded, too. "But I came here anyway because I do want to know why."