Responsibilty

My jaw clenched as guilt swept over me again. I felt like a really shitty person.

It was not just about what I had done to Neha, though that was bad enough, it was the fact that I had kept it from Ginevra too. There has never been a time when having secrets did me any good, they were twisting my thoughts into knots as I scrambled to find the right words. Or rather as I scrambled to find ways to defend myself.

“I thought I’d tell you once I figured out how to heal Neha,” I said, bracing for Ginevra’s reaction.

But instead of the scolding I expected, he pulled me into a tight embrace. His warmth offered some sort of comfort amidst the storm of my remorse.

“Did I do something to make you not trust me?” he asked softly, though his tone carried an edge of hurt. Before I could reply, his hand cracked against the back of my head, making me yelp. “Didn’t I tell you to visit your library often?”