Chapter 28

                                    

                                          
warnings: language, violence
Chapter 28:
402 A.V; Month 11; Day 7

Sleeping had been easy for the first few hours, but I'd woken up with Bryn's dead eyes staring back at me. From then on, I was tossing and turning, no matter what Andon did. It was strange knowing he was there and I felt bad and finally told him that he'd sleep better on his own, but he'd pulled me close and said he wasn't leaving. 
I'd managed to get a few more solid hours in early that morning. Waking up to pale light filtering in through the curtains and Andon still lying there was extremely comforting. I felt warm, but I only got to feel warm for a second as a heavy hand beat against the door. Andon shot up immediately and held out a hand for me to stop moving. 
"Just stay here," he murmured, "Let me take care of this." 
"I'm not staying here just in case he tries to hurt you," I said and followed him to the door. I wasn't ready to fight with Priam. My heart wasn't in it, so no matter what Priam said, I didn't care. Andon opened the door and Priam stood there, looking unpredictable. He had dark circles underneath his eyes, which were cold. 
"I hope I didn't wake you," he hissed.
"Oh no, not at all," Andon said. 
"Move," Priam said, his eyes finding me. I was standing behind Andon but he could still see my face. 
"Why?" Andon asked. 
"Why? So I can have some fun with her." 
"You'll do no such thing," Andon said in an even tone, "And, given her Prospect status, I'm sure she can have you thrown out, even jailed." 
"Oh, is that so?" Priam asked, "So you can have fun with her and I can't?" His statement pissed me off. I hadn't wanted to say anything, but I knew I had to or he wasn't going to leave without a fight. 
"I killed a child yesterday, Priam," I snapped, "We didn't have any fun, so get the fuck out of the doorway and go find someone else to bug." 
"I want to see you," he said, but I kept myself hidden behind Andon. 
"You're going to turn around," Andon said, "And leave us be." 
"No, I want to see her." 
"I will knock you out and then I'll have the others hogtie you like they did last night."
"I don't care about those mutinous bastards. All of them are as good as dead, just like you, Andon. You're all as good as dead." With that he turned away and Andon closed the door. 
"He's losing screws, isn't he?" I asked. 
Andon turned and looked a little apprehensive, like he didn't want to say what he was thinking. But, then there was another knock on the door. Andon opened it back up and let Maxine in. 
"Is everything okay?" she asked, looking from me to Andon. 
"Fine for now," Andon said. She smiled briefly at me before hugging me around the middle. It was a shock at first, but I hugged her back tightly. Then she pulled away and looked back at Andon. 
"I checked scores last night and she wasn't on the lists." He looked bothered for a moment. 
"She couldn't have scored high enough to get an interview," he said in disbelief. 
"It's not there, I checked several times. They have to be announcing it this morning." 
"What does all this mean?" I asked, confused.