CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

So I repeat, "Just sit down, Saika," but she shakes her head and moves farther away. "I'm sure you were laughing at me, right?"

When I want to come closer to Saika, she holds up a hand in a gesture that tells me to retreat.

Will you be abandoning Kiran?

asks her

Indeed, Rory has just shown me how miserable I really am.

She begins to leave the room, but I grab her arm and tell her, "You're a liar, and I don't know who you are anymore."

Saika, I beg you: don't tell him this way.

"No, I won't be; you're supposed to do that. She snaps her arm back at me fiercely and storms out of the room, leaving me slumped on the bed next to her.

What is the name of everything holy that just happened?

Now Rory is calling me on the phone. Saika was recently seen sprinting out of the barn; is everything alright?"

I give a sniff as tears roll down my cheeks. The speaker said, "I don't know, Rory, what do I do?"

You are not alone in this. Tell Kiran I'll be there with you if she does.

I'm at a loss for word