put a hand over her mouth. “He’s my choice. I love him!”
“He’s manipulating you to get what he wants. That’s not love,” I insisted. “It doesn’t matter what you feel about Theo, but Igor is definitely not your true love!”
“You don’t know that! I just need to try harder.” Odette wiped frantically at her eyes. “It’s my fault the relationship’s failing. I make it sound worse than it is. I’m a bad girlfriend.”
“You aren’t the problem. It takes two people to make things work. If anything, it’s him!”
“I want us to go to therapy, or at least, I want to talk to someone on my own, but I can’t because he’ll get mad,” Odette worried. “He thinks the therapist will brainwash me against him.”
“Wow.” I shook my head. “He is seriously so insecure.”
She didn’t hear me. “Maybe if I wasn’t autistic, or so forgetful, or—”
“There is nothing wrong with you. Do you hear me?” I shook her shoulders. “Stop letting him into your head.”
Odette’s face turned red. “Emma, you’re acting like I’m in some kind of abusive relationship, and to be honest, it’s really offensive! I’m kinda getting pissed you’re attacking me like this!”
I was pretty sure I was more offended than she was. That she’d say such a thing really got my blood boiling. Couldn’t she see the light? Why was she so insistent on defending someone who hurt her over and over? I was her best friend. I was only looking out for her. I wasn’t the one doing the attacking— it was fucking Igor!
But then I forced myself to see things from Odette’s point of view. In my eyes, hell yeah, it was an abusive relationship. But in Odette’s, this was ordinary couple stuff. If she didn’t think she was being abused… or at least, didn’t want to admit it... nothing I could do would pull her out of it.
Odette’s lip trembled. “I just need support, okay? I need you on my side, Emma. Please.”
Her voice was so pitiful it made my heart break. “I’ll always be here for you,” I said, because I didn’t know what else to say. Whatever I could come up with about Igor, she’d just discard. My words were useless.
She sighed. “I need a break. I’ll have Gus take me back to school. Just get Theo away from me.”
“Okay.” I frowned. “See you tonight.”
Odette took a different path back to Theo’s cottage. When I found Theo again, he was sitting on a bench and staring miserably at the ground.
I sat beside him. “I’m sorry.”
Theo took a few deep breaths. He sounded like he was trying not to cry. “Do you think I should give up?”
I didn’t know. I hated to see Theo hurting, so part of me wanted to say yes. Maybe it was better if they both moved on.
But a bigger part of me wanted him to fight for her, so I said, “Just give her some space right now. She needs time to sort out her feelings.”
He didn’t answer. Just got up from the bench and changed into an alicorn, so he could give me a ride back. I climbed on. I’d had more than enough of alicorns for one day.
Theo flew me back to campus. We parted at the dorms, and he locked himself in his room.
Poor guy. Odette could do whatever she wanted, and Theo didn’t have the right to be upset about it… but still. He loved her, and I could see how imagining her with another shifter tore him up inside.
Did Ethan feel that way about Finlay and I? I wasn’t sure.
Speak of the devil… Finlay was just coming out of his dorm room as I was on the way to mine. His bright smile, usually so welcoming, seemed off-putting now. Probably because of everything that just happened.
“Hey, lass,” Finlay began. “You’ve been gone awhile.”
“I’ve been out with friends,” I said. “I didn’t forget about our date tonight.”
He curled an arm around my waist. “I don’t think the press has, either. They already have reporters stationed outside the wine bar I planned to take you to.”
Ugh. Assholes. Pictures of me and Finlay had been all over social media. On our last date, we’d gone to get ice cream, and by the time we were finished paparazzi were swarming the shop. The photos had been front page news of The Annual Arcanea. The comments on social media had been far from kind. “I’m sorry about all the attention you’re getting,” I said.