The Gender End by Bella Forrest (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📕

even more money for me. Only a week later. That’s when I realized that was all I was or ever would be to him. So I ran away. I took a while to plan it, and looking back I didn’t have any idea what I was doing. But… Desmond found me and recruited me before I could get into any trouble.”

She fell silent, and I reached forward and took her hand. “Amber, I’m so—”

“Beautiful tonight,” said a deep voice from behind me, and I turned to see Logan standing there, two mugs in his hand. “For the beautiful bride,” he said, offering one, and I took it and handed it off to Tim, not having drained my original cider mug. “For the Lady Ashabee.”

Amber stared at the mug, and then looked at him. “No one asked you to bring that,” she said mulishly.

Logan arched an eyebrow and set the mug down. “It’s meant as a peace offering, Amber.”

“Peace?” she scoffed. “I don’t want peace from you.”

Logan’s fingers drummed against the back of my chair, and I realized he was leaning on it, staring at her. “And what do you want, exactly? Because I just want to talk. Honestly.”

Amber’s eyes narrowed, and I felt myself becoming distinctly uncomfortable with the position I was sitting in, directly between the two of them. Before she could answer, Logan stopped leaning, taking his weight off my chair, and continued.

“Listen, Amber. I’m this close to using your full name in public where all these lovely people can hear it. So are you going to keep acting like a child who has missed her naptime, or are you going to grow up and come have an adult conversation with me?”

Amber leaned back in the chair and considered him for a long moment while Tim and I shifted uncomfortably. Watching her face changing, I just had to hide a little smile behind a napkin. I liked how Logan was calling her out the same way Amber usually called members of the rest of the group out. We all knew she could be a bit vindictive, and I didn’t want her to let it get in the way of things—if Logan Vox could get her to slow down enough to consider that, I would be more than impressed.

After several heartbeats, she snatched up the mug and stood, draining it dry and setting it down next to her other empty mug. “All right,” she said slowly. “Let’s do this.”

Then she moved away to a more private part of the hall, letting him follow her. I watched them go.

“I would not want to be in that hallway,” said Owen wryly as he walked up, three plates of cake balanced in his hand. “Here, I figured you and Tim were craving a sugar high.” I reached up and took two of the plates, handing one to Tim and placing the other in front of me.

“Thanks,” I said, immediately digging in. He sat down with a sigh as I took my first mouthful, and practically died. The cake was simple—vanilla—but oh, so delectable. Within moments, my chunk had disappeared as I quickly devoured it.

Owen watched, his fork hovering between his plate and his mouth, and then pushed his piece over to me. “Here, you clearly need it more than I do.”

I laughed, but didn’t hesitate, taking another bite and trying not to roll my eyes back in ecstasy. “Honestly,” I said around a mouthful, “I don’t know why everyone was telling me this was just a simple spread. Everything tastes amazing.”

Owen chuckled and reached out and took my mug, taking a sip. “It’s because you’re happy,” he said. “When you’re happy, everything is just… better. The weather, the food, the air. How is the air, by the way?”

I took a deep breath and then laughed, waving a hand across my nose. “Smells like men used to live here,” I said, and he snorted. We shared a laugh for a moment, and then it dropped off awkwardly.

“Owen, I—”

“Violet, I—”

We both stopped as we stepped over each other’s words, and I leaned back. “You go first,” I said.

“Well, I just wanted to say… I’m sorry.” I frowned, confused, but luckily he continued. “I’m sorry I just left you like that. I mean, what if Morgan hadn’t been a good princess? Or one of those berserkers who drank the water at the plant had gotten you?”

I let out a surprised laugh, and then frowned when he looked up at me, his sincerity lying naked on his face. Letting out a breath, I leaned forward. “Owen, you did the best you could under the circumstances. We all did. That place was awful, and nightmarish, and—”

“You shouldn’t have been alone on that bird,” he insisted angrily, and I shushed him, placing a hand over his.

“Owen, can I say something? I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but you’re right.” He blinked in surprise, and I continued. “Absolutely right. As my bodyguard, you failed. But, as my friend, who was willing to sacrifice his life so that I could go in pursuit of the woman who had wronged him, you succeeded. And frankly, that’s all I want from you, and all I want to be with you: a friend, a comrade, a soldier at arms. Someone who, in fifty years, I can say ‘remember when’ to, and you’ll say that you do.”

He sighed, and started to pull his hand away from mine. “Violet, I don’t really think I deserve—”

“Oh, pish posh what you deserve,” I said, not letting him escape my gentle grasp. “Sometimes even you can’t see what you deserve, so you need to trust in your friends to tell you. And I’m telling you, I don’t bestow my friendship or love lightly. It might seem like it… given all the people here who care about me… but they all won it. Hell, even Thomas has won it, and I hated him when I met him. I thought he was cruel and weird.”

A hint