Chapter 7

He didn't say another word. He just turned and stormed out the door.

Once things settled down, I carefully dabbed some medicine onto Silas's scraped hand. He kept pulling away from my touch, turning his head so I couldn't see his face.

A fresh wave of panic hit me. "Do you regret coming here?"

Terrified he was going to turn out just like Kaelen, I decided to lay all my cards on the table.

"Look, if you stay with me, you aren't going to get premium nutritional supplements. Since I'm classified as a lower-tier human, my paychecks barely cover the basics. I work two jobs a day, I smell like sweat half the summer, and I know I'm pretty average-looking. If you're ashamed to be seen with me, tell me now, and I can send you back."

I tried to sound casual as I spoke, subtly wiping my sweaty hands behind my back.

Silas finally looked at me, his grey eyes shining with tears. "I'm so sorry..."

My stomach dropped. Was he going to reject me, too?

The skin around his eyes was flushed raw. "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy," he stammered. "I'm so glad to be staying with you that I couldn't hold my expression together. I thought I looked ugly when I cried, so I didn't want you to see."

A loud sob broke from his chest. "I was so sure they were going to ship me off to the fighting arena. Then they told me someone actually wanted me. I held your picture at night, and I just couldn't believe it. I was terrified it was a dream." He took a shaky breath. "Ms. Hayes, I think you're incredibly cute and beautiful. I'm not ashamed of you at all. I'm just so full of joy that I can't stop crying. I've never been this happy in my whole life."

He was being so silly; the tears were already pouring down his cheeks.

Nora had mentioned that Silas was quiet and timid simply because nobody wanted him. But listening to him chatter away now, I realized he'd just been keeping it all bottled up.

A strange, restless warmth stirred in my chest. Could someone really be this happy just to be with me? It felt like a dream.

I took his hand. His palm was damp with nervous sweat, but the solid heat of his skin told me it was real.

"You don't have to call me Ms. Hayes," I told him. "Just Clara is fine."