Imperial Coffee

Confession: Part Twenty-Three

A/N: Sorry for skipping a week! I'm doing Camp NaNo, which means I'm writing enough but not editing enough. Oops. Here's an extra long update to make up for it!

Despite there being only the four of them at the dinner table, dinner was a loud affair. Cinder wondered how long ago Scarlet and Wolf had people over because they seemed eager for the chance to talk their ears off. Cinder didn't mind; it meant she didn't have to talk herself. Kai, forever the outgoing diplomat, talked and laughed along with them. Cinder could tell he'd won their hearts over, and she became more and more relaxed as dinner went on.

Some of that may have had to do with the dinner itself. Since Scarlet was still taking a break from farm work, she'd decided to make a four-course dinner. There was no denying that she was an amazing chef—something she attributed to her grandmother.

"I actually considered opening a restaurant before," Scarlet said, between bites of some-dish-Cinder-couldn't-pronounce. "But I could never leave the farm. And besides, it's more rewarding eating the food with those you cook it for."

By the time Scarlet brought out a still-hot pecan pie and ice cream, Cinder was about ready to split her seams.

"Why don't we wait an hour before the pie?" Kai said, rubbing his stomach. Wolf patted him on the back—maybe a bit harder than he intended.

"Sure," Scarlet said. "Why don't we play something? I probably have some Uno cards around here somewhere."

Cinder couldn't pinpoint the moment she felt safe. It was somewhere between Scarlet and Kai, somewhere in the middle between dinner and dessert. It was somewhere in the soft corners of Wolf's laugh, somewhere in Scarlet's easy smile. It was somewhere in Kai's hand brushing her own, in casual meetings of eyes and the way he sighed whenever he lost.

She shouldn't feel safe, she knew. Whenever she thought of the hospital, it felt like bricks were pressing down on her chest, like she—couldn't—get—air—

But she wanted to pretend it didn't happen, that it was nothing more than a fever dream she'd woken from. She wanted to pretend the only reason they were at that house was because Scarlet was her friend, that they were there only to come, not to hide.

She couldn't ask Kai the same questions. But she could pick it up in him too—the relaxing of his shoulders, but there was still a stiffness, a tension. And he still winced when glanced at his leg, as if he forgot it was different. They felt safe. They did not feel complete.

The fifth time Cinder caught Kai wince, she tugged on his sleeve.

"Hey, are you okay?" Cinder whispered. "Does your leg hurt?"

Kai shrugged her off. "I'm okay. Just...." He shook his head. "It's hard to explain."

Scarlet yelled triumphantly as she placed her last card.

"I win! I think it's time for pie."

It was nearly midnight when Cinder remembered to ask for the Wifi password. The connection there was spotty and Cinder's phone had been almost dead, so she left it on the bedside table in the guest room. When she picked it up she saw the screen full of call notifications. Her stomach dropped.

Cress and Iko and a few other friends—the ones who knew she was in the hospital. And she hadn't responded. What would they think of her?

Iko picked up on the first ring.

"Cinder—"

"I'm really, really sorry," Cinder said, barely breathing. "But I'm unhurt." She head a muffled sob.