My Words Are Law

Unknown Power (2)

"Thank you. You even covered for my shift." Amaryllis smiled gratefully as her friend pigged out on the food she had bought for her. She felt bad for making Mia take care of her when the responsibility should have been Amaryllis' alone.                                                                                                   

After some time, she finally thought of treating Mia to lunch today.

"No problem!" Mia beamed at her friend. Compared to when she dropped Amaryllis on the pavement yesterday, covering her shift was nothing.

"So... it was Samantha who helped us?" Amaryllis asked, still in disbelief. After all, her impression of Samantha's personality is aloof. But Mia had recounted the events of what happened yesterday afternoon, and aside from letting her splat on the concrete pavement, which she had conveniently left out, Samantha's actions rested heavily on Amaryllis' mind.

She seemed worried when she told her to be careful around Chryses, so she didn't know what to make of her unusual actions.

"It's going to be fine, I think. She's not as bit(chy)-... wicked as I thought." Mia shrugged.

Amaryllis nodded solemnly. Maybe so... But there was another thing that had been bothering her since she woke up. She had yelled at Chryses, hadn't she?

She rubbed her face with her palms in frustration. How will she face him tomorrow? Also, now that she knows what's beneath the tip of the iceberg, she's still determining if she'll be able to keep her cool next time. She doesn't want to faint in front of him, or who knows what will happen. Yesterday, she had Mia beside her but what about tomorrow..? 

"Are you okay?" Mia asked worriedly. 

Amaryllis bounced back and pushed her fear aside at the moment. "Yeah... I just need a drink."

She'll just worry about it when it's time to cross the bridge. For now, she really needed a drink. Reaching for her bottled water, she took big gulps and smiled at Mia. 

And just like that, Wednesday passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time to meet with Chryses again. She sent him a message that she had to do something with Mia, so she wouldn't be able to meet up with him early in the morning. He responded with a curt, 'Okay.'

After reading it, she tried not to overthink his concise message and decided to focus on minimizing all kinds of contact between them, whether it was in or out of Mr. Rowland's class. 

But first, she has to apologize for her behavior in the clinic, even if it means she had to lie through her teeth. Second, she must never be alone with him from now on. Third... She can't show fear. She must act normal. 

However, it hadn't even been a month, and she'd been cornered by Chryses. Her supposed perfect plan... Her efforts- Everything crumbled in the blink of an eye.

"Fancy meeting you here." He cocked a smile as he stood by her side, gazing down at her as if surprised. Amaryllis returned his stare, the shock of the unexpected meeting delaying her response. How could she have known that a trip to the bookstore on a Sunday would create a chance for fate to tweak with her unfortunate luck?

Chryses' eyes lowered to the books in her hand. "Practice books for middle schoolers..?" 

She shook out of her trance as she looked down at the contents of her hands. "Ah. These are... for my brother..." She cleared her throat and looked back at Chryses. "Anyway, I need to pay for these, so I'll go first." 

She proceeded to turn around when Chryses suddenly reached for her arm. His grip wasn't strong, but it was firm. It's evident he doesn't intend to let her leave that easily.