Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

“Well, I thought I was, sort of.” I felt awkward, having her face so close to mine. “It’s just, I’ve really only known you for a couple days now, so I didn’t want to make you any promises I can’t keep. I don’t know if I can...return your feelings in a way that would make you happy, is all.”

Now it was Lia who was puzzled. “My...feelings?”

“Yeah, you know...your father brought up a dowry, and I said I’d have to think—”

Her face quickly melted into disbelief and anger. “He said WHAT?!” Up to this point, we had kept our voices down as to not disturb her parents, but she shouted at full volume now as she sprang up to her feet. “He said WHAT?!”

My mind felt split down the middle: Half of me wanted to burst out into laughter at the misunderstanding, and the other half wanted to shrivel up with awkwardness. I split the difference and managed to choke out a meek half whisper. “A dowry? He said you...loved me, and that—”

Without hearing another word Lia stormed out of the room, stomping loudly through the house. I heard a door swing open and slam shut, and some very muffled yelling. I couldn’t quite hear the responses, but after a few more rounds of shouting from Lia the door opened and shut again, and her footsteps thundered back to her room. During the entire ordeal, I only managed one thought: Did this go better or worse than I expected?

She re-entered the room in a huff, closing the door loudly behind her. Lia stood in place for a moment, then let out one last exasperated, wordless yell. After giving herself a shake to let the rest of the anger out she walked to the bureau and produced a thin, lilac nightgown from the top drawer. Without hesitation, she pulled her blue and white dress up over her head and tossed it to hang over the back of the mirror. I was surprised by the action, but by the time I was able to look away, she had already slipped into the nightgown. It was a formless thing, hanging by two thin straps over her shoulders down to about mid-thigh, but it looked well-worn and comfortable.

Lia moved to the side of the bed and pointed to the mattress. “It’s time for bed.”

I nodded. “I’ll grab the sheets from the basement and—”

“No, you won’t. You’ll get into bed.” Her tone was oddly serious for the topic.

“I will?” I raised an eyebrow in amusement.

“You will.” Judging by her expression, Lia wasn’t looking for a discussion.

I shrugged. “Alright then.” Standing from the chair, I went through the process of disrobing, stacking each item neatly on the wooden seat. In the end, I was left in only my underwear, a

plain pair of boxer briefs. Looking to Lia, she pointed down to the bed again. I moved to the side of the bed and sat down, giving a small chuckle. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

She stared daggers down at me. “Nothing’s gotten into me! Now scoot in, I sleep on the outside.” I followed her orders, sliding to the far side of the mattress. I happily noted that this bed was long enough to allow me to stretch out fully without hanging off the ends. On the other hand, I also noticed it wasn’t quite wide enough for two people to lay comfortably without touching. As soon as I was on my side and out of the way, Lia snuffed out the candle on the nightstand and climbed into bed after me, pressing her back firmly up against my chest. Before I could react, she reached back and grabbed my wrist, hauling it over her waist and snuggling back into my forced embrace.

“Now, go to sleep. No complaining.” My arm was draped over her waist, resting just above her belly button, and she held my hand in both of hers. “You have more questions to answer tomorrow.” I went to make a witty remark but came up empty. Instead, I made the best of the situation and nestled deeper into the blankets and pillows, a welcome comfort compared to the floor, tree and prison cot I had been sleeping on prior. Lia’s hair almost completely covered my face, but it didn’t bother me; in fact, I found the light scent of mint calming.

This is...fine, right? We didn’t have a specific conversation about her feelings for me, but I think I got the idea across enough for now. I’m not leading her on, and she’s just pissed off at her father and is trying to take control of her life. I tried to convince myself that everything was alright, but I still had the lingering feelings of regret and guilt in my gut. Everything is fine. We’re just sleeping in the same bed, it’s not a proposal. Get it together.

A yawn caught me off guard, making me realize how tired I was. Having woken up only a few hours prior I hadn’t expected to be able to get to sleep, but I found myself dozing already against Lia’s warm figure curled up next to me. I was nearly asleep when she spoke into the darkness.

“Lux? I have one more question.” Her voice was quiet and calm, lacking whatever fit of energy had possessed her before.

Suddenly too tired to move, I spoke into the back of her head. “Sure, Lia. What is it?”

There was a long pause. “Have you ever been in love?”

“Yes.” With my eyes closed, I could see a perfect picture of Amaya before me, standing by the tree in the backyard of Ashedown’s forge on a bright summer day. “It was a long time ago, in the first world I was sent to. Alderea.” I sat for a long time in the darkness, thinking of her. “Her name was Amaya.”

“What happened?” Lia’s voice was practically a whisper.

“I got