Page 30 of Where Your Scars Meet Mine
Jacob clears his throat, unaware of the quiet shift that just happened between us.
“Maybe I can suggest something,” he says, leaning back slightly in his chair. “Octavia, you barely go out anymore unless it’s for class. And Silas hasn’t exactly had much of a chance to meet people.”
His eyes move between us.
“Why don’t you both go to that study session tonight? It might help Silas meet some of his future classmates.”
I start to speak out of habit, ready to shut the idea down.
“Oh, I’m sure Octavia would never-”
“Fine.”
The word interrupts me sharply.
Octavia doesn’t even look at her father when she says it. Her voice is tight but controlled, the earlier heat now tucked carefully beneath the surface.
“If I can’t get rid of him,” she says, pushing a piece of food across her plate with her fork, “I might as well drag him along.”
Then she turns toward me.
Her eyes meet mine again. This time there’s the faintest hint of something else in her expression, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly, not quite a smile but close enough to feel intentional.
“Maybe there’ll be games at Kadin’s.”
The room seems to quiet around us for a second.
I watch her carefully now, not the casual glance I’ve been forcing myself to maintain since sitting down, but the kind of attention reserved for something that deserves it.
Alright, Octavia Marrow.
You want to play games with me?
Fine.
Let’s see how long you can keep up.
CHAPTER 6
Octavia
Any rational person would have screamed the moment Silas’s hand slid onto their thigh like that.
That’s the part I can’t stop circling back to.
I should have screamed.
For as long as I can remember, letting people touch me has been a battle. Even harmless contact can turn my chest tight and my thoughts frantic. Too close. Too sudden. Too much. My body has always reacted before my mind could catch up, panic clawing its way up my spine.
Steph made the rules clear the moment the Marrows took me in.
Tell us if someonetouchesyou.
Tell us if someone makes youuncomfortable.
Tell useverything.
She said it gently, like she was building a safety net beneath me…and I promised I would.
