In Between

Chapter Twenty-eight: Bittersweet Goodbyes

Today is the day. This was the first thing that came into Apryl's mind when she awoke the next morning. Whether the thought had been her own or a whisper from beyond the realm of the living, she couldn't be sure. All she knew was that it made her feel...renewed in some way as if her mind had become a clean slate. She sat up, stretched, and tried to conjure up some sort of feeling.

Apryl didn't feel anything. It really was as if her mind had been wiped clean in her sleep. Today was the day that she and Bri were leaving the Inbetween forever. They were leaving behind the friends they had made and a life they could never have...and she felt nothing. Or at least, she wouldn't allow herself to feel anything, because she tended to get overemotional and didn't want her new friends to remember her as a blubbering mess. I will not cry, she told herself as she walked into the living room.

Draven was the only one there. He caught her eye immediately, but his face was an expressionless mask. He looked as if he had also woken up with a clean slate. Apryl returned his stony gaze and did her best not to think about how lovely he looked in the morning—like an actor doing an advertisement for a revitalizing face wash. I don't have romantic feelings for him, she told herself firmly. He's just a pretty face—like my father.

Apryl thought that repeating this to herself might help her to eventually believe it, but instead she felt absolutely terrible even thinking it in private. She couldn't simply regurgitate Bri's childish opinions and pretend that Draven wasn't so much more than what she could see on the outside, but if she thought about it any longer than she would cry and he would know that she cared.

"Is Bri awake? We should get our things together. Oh, and are Soren and Cain ready to go? They have to convince their father to take Kieran's carriage instead of their own, right?" Apryl said. She was babbling in an unnaturally high voice that barely managed not to tremble.

Draven scrutinized her with a heavily guarded expression. "It isn't even midday yet. What's the rush?" he asked, and Apryl thought that he even sounded marginally offended.

"I'm just ready to leave," she lied, shrugging as if it were no big deal.

Draven stood up and took a step toward her. His face was showing emotion now, and it reminded her of the time in his bedroom. He closed the distance between them until she became swallowed by his eyes which were dark and intense. "Apryl," he started, pausing to take a breath as though he were about to say something that he needed to brace himself for.

"Are the others downstairs? I want to ask Kieran if I should wear something to cover my hair again. I mean, we are going to be hiding in the back of the carriage—but just in case, you know?" she blurted.

Draven blinked. He looked like he'd just been slapped, the intensity quickly fading from his eyes as he dropped his gaze and took a step back.

"They're still asleep. Well, maybe Soren and Bri aren't, but who the hell knows what they're doing," he said.

It was meant to be a joke, but Apryl felt her anger flare up again. "They aren't doing anything," she growled. "Bri knows how pointless that would be. It's our last day."

Draven stared at her, and she wondered if he was thinking about the look they'd shared last night when Bri had been talking about how it was important to act on her romantic feelings. She was certainly thinking about it, and what she was thinking was that Draven had been about to say something a moment ago that would have seriously complicated their relationship.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" she snapped nervously, flushing.

"For no reason at all, apparently," he snapped back, storming out of the room.