Skulduggery Pleasant: Raising Cain

Chapter 42 - Christmas, spoiled by Crux and Marr

Skulduggery – Crow

Anton – Bear

Ghastly – Panda

Dexter – Wolf

Saracen – Weasel

Erskine – Snake

Solomon – Raven

....................................................................

Chapter 42

Tanith and Valkyrie looked at him. He was looking at the book, at the beautiful sketches Nadia had drawn over the double page spread they were on, the ones of Valkyrie's swimming competition.

This was not something she wanted to do today.

"Fletcher?" She said quietly. He stared a moment longer and then looked up at her, obviously trying not to look as disappointed as he obviously was.

"What happened?" He asked, looking back at the text Nadia had written in beautiful cursive.

Valkyrie swallowed. "I was attacked at a swimming competition a few months back, in June. It was a hate crime."

"Because you were, are, dating that girl," he said. "Your friend Nadia."

"My girlfriend, yes," she said quietly. She felt stupid now, wanting to cry. She barely knew the boy, what did it matter if he approved or not? She swallowed and held the emotions back. A moment later she felt better. "We started dating almost as soon as we met each other."

"A year ago," he remembered her saying. "And you didn't say anything."

"Well," she said, letting her temper take over, not wanting to deal with stroppy boys. "I kept telling you not to bother, that I didn't want to date you no matter what, so don't you dare start saying I was leading you along."

"I wasn't," he said seriously, looking her in the eye. She backed down a little, not used to seeing him look so upset and serious. "I was wondering why you didn't tell me."

"Because I didn't want to."

"Why?"

"Because I just didn't! It wasn't your business, then it wasn't the time, then I just didn't care if you knew or not, and then I felt like it was too late to say anything. I wanted you to stop annoying me because I said so, not because I was dating someone else," she finished lamely. Tanith put a hand on her back but said nothing.

Fletcher licked his lips. "No. You were scared."

Valkyrie started, feeling the emotions well up but not wanting to get into that on freaking Christmas, so she turned to her aggression again. "I was not, you dolt."

"I wouldn't have cared," he said. "I'm offended you think I would have. At least after everything else. You could have said in the last two weeks."

She shrugged. She didn't have anything to say. It was true, she could and should probably have mentioned something with the amount of time she spent talking about Nadia with absolutely everyone. Then again, she hadn't been entirely subtle about it.

"You didn't trust me to be a good person," he said, his upset coming through more. "Who cares if I was asking you out, you should have still said! You don't trust me."

She could only shrug again.

"I live with you," he pointed out incredulously. "I haven't done anything. I've annoyed you, but I haven't ever hurt you. I've never said anything that would make you not trust me. Why?"