Page 62 of 10 Rings I Hate About You
Delaney’s head turned toward me slowly. “That’s not true,” she said defiantly.
“It is,” I replied.
“It—” She looked at Glamma, furious. “Tell him it’s not true.”
Glamma smiled. “It’s true, sweetheart.”
Delaney made a sound, a small, strangled sound at the back of her throat. “You’re all in a conspiracy.”
Gladys tapped her clipboard. “Delaney, your turn?”
“Green. A dark hunter green.” She said it fast, like taking a shot. “He’s worn it his whole life when we’re told to wear our favorite color. It’s the one that—” She stopped. “It soothes him.”
The room went quiet.
She’d noticed why it was my favorite color.
My throat felt weird. I picked up my water glass and chugged.
I didn’t know what to do with that.
It wasn’t teasing.
It wasn’t insulting.
It was … attentive.
“That’s sweet,” Martha said softly.
Delaney shot her a glare. “Don’t.”
Goldie laughed. A light joyous sound. “Oh, don’t be mad because she’s perceptive.”
Glamma chuckled. “Next question. What does your partner do when overwhelmed?”
I cleared my throat. “Delaney talks faster. Rearranges objects. Touches her necklace.” I hesitated to admit the rest. I hadn’t even mentioned it during my inquisition. “If she’s truly overwhelmed, she goes quiet for a half-second. Then loud.”
As I said it, Delaney’s fingers drifted without thinking toward her necklace, a tree fashioned out of small crystals.
She caught herself, and her hand dropped as though she’d been burned.
Goldie bit her lip so hard I thought she might injure herself.
Color rose in Delaney’s face, her shoulders pulling in—but when every head turned her way, she drew in a deep breath and quickly responded on the exhale. “He avoids eye contact when he’s processing. If he’s in overload, he stands very still. As if he doesn’t move, nothing else will move either, and it’ll give him time to figure out what to do next.”
I inhaled slowly.
She had described me with precision. Without the typical mockery.
“That’s an accurate read,” I said.
“I know.” She waited a beat, her gaze drifting to mine before she said softly, “I didn’t always know that.”
Something shifted in the room. Goldie didn’t laugh. Glamma didn’t smirk. Even Martha sat very still for a moment.
Then Goldie slapped down the next card. “What does your partner need when they’re emotionally hurting?”
My spine went rigid.
