Warner is still staring at her. He says nothing.
I almost slap him.
Juliette seems to agree with my line of thinking, because she stalks off, looking extremely pissed off as she goes, and I start following her out the door when I feel a hand on my shoulder. A heavy hand.
I look up directly into Warner’s eyes, and, I’m not going to lie—it’s a disorienting experience. That dude has some wild eyes. Pale, ice green. It’s a little unnerving.
“Give me a minute with her,” he says.
I nod. Take a step back. “Yeah, whatever you need.”
And he’s gone. I hear him call after her, and I stand there awkwardly, watching the open door and ignoring the other kids in the room. I cross my arms. Clear my throat.
“So it’s true, then,” Stephan says.
I turn, surprised. “What do you mean?”
“They really love each other.” He nods toward the open door. “Those two.”
“Yeah,” I say, confused. “It’s true.”
“We’ve heard about it, of course,” Nicolás says. “But it’s interesting to witness in person.”
“Interesting?” I raise an eyebrow. “Interesting how?”
“It’s rather moving,” Valentina says, and she sounds like she means it.
Castle walks up to me then. “It’s been at least a minute,” he says quietly.
“Right.” I nod. “Well, we’ll see you kids later,” I say to the room. “If you guys haven’t had breakfast yet, feel free to grab some muffins from the kitchen. They’re good. I had two.”
Four
I nearly stumble trying to stop in place when we get out into the hall. Warner and Juliette haven’t gone far, and they’re standing close together, clearly having a heated, important conversation.
“We should get out of here,” I say to Castle. “They need space to talk.”
But Castle doesn’t answer right away. He’s staring at them with an intense look on his face, and for the first time in my life, I see him differently.
Like I don’t know him.
After everything Warner told me yesterday—about how Castle always knew Juliette had a complicated history, knew she was a critical asset, knew she’d been adopted, knew that her biological parents had donated her to The Reestablishment and that he’d sent me on an undercover mission to collect her—I’ve felt a little strange. Not bad, exactly. Just strange. All this isn’t enough of a revelation for me to lose faith in Castle entirely; he and I have been through too much for me to doubt his love.
But I feel off.
Unsettled.
I want to ask him why he kept all this from me. I want to demand an explanation. But for some reason, I can’t bring myself to do it. Not yet, anyway. I think maybe I’m afraid to hear the answers to my own questions. I worry about what they might reveal about me.
“Yes,” Castle finally says, the sound of his voice refocusing my thoughts. “Perhaps we should give them the space they need.”
I shoot him an uncertain look. “You don’t think they’re good together, huh?”
Castle turns to me, surprised. “On the contrary,” he says. “I think they’re lucky to have found each other in this hellish world. But if they want a chance at happiness, they’ll have to continue to heal. Individually.” He turns away again, studies their figures in the distance. “I worry, sometimes, about the secrets between them. I want them to do the hard work of sucking out the poison from their past.”
“Gross.”
Castle smiles. “Indeed.” He wraps his arm around my shoulder. Squeezes. “My greatest wish for you,” he says, “is for you to see yourself the way that I do: as a brilliant, handsome, compassionate young man who would do anything for the people he loves.”
I pull back, surprised. “What made you say that?”
“It’s just something I’ve been reminding myself to say out loud.” He sighs. “I want you to understand that Nazeera is a very, very lucky girl to be the object of your affections. I wish you would realize that. She is accomplished and beautiful, yes, but you—”
“Wait. What?” I feel suddenly nauseous. “How did y—？”
“Oh,” Castle says, his eyes wide. “Oh, was it a secret? I didn’t realize it was a secret. My apologies.”
I grumble something foul.
He laughs. “I have to say, if you’re interested in keeping it to yourself, you might want to change your tactics.”