A Trash Novel's Only Reader-Chapter 44: Invite

Shu looked down at her for a second and nearly laughed from pure exhaustion.

’Of course this is happening now,’ he thought, keeping his face still. ’Why would I be allowed to go home in peace for once?’

Raniel did not move back.

"Well?" she asked, her eyes locked on his face. "You were inside a restricted dungeon before the strike team fully moved in, and somehow you came out alive after all that mess. Want to explain that?"

He stared at her, then let out a tired breath through his nose. "You really picked the perfect time for this."

Her brows pulled together. "That is not an answer."

"No, it isn’t," he said, shifting the bat on his shoulder. "But it is the one you are getting right now."

For a second, neither of them spoke.

Her gaze moved over him properly then, from the dried blood near his mouth to the tears in his clothes and the way he was standing a little too stiff for someone pretending to be fine. The sharp look in her eyes flickered.

"...You look terrible," she said, quieter this time.

"Yeah, funny how that happens when people almost die in dungeons."

She clicked her tongue at that and folded her arms. "Don’t do that."

"Do what?"

"Answer everything in that annoying way where you are clearly dodging me while acting like I am the problem."

He looked away for a second and dragged in a slow breath. ’She is not wrong,’ he thought, then immediately felt annoyed about it. ’Still not answering her though.’

"Raniel," he said, turning back to her, "even if I wanted to explain everything, this is not the place."

That made her pause.

The street around them was quiet, but not safe quiet. Wind moved trash along the road, a broken sign creaked somewhere above them, and both of them knew monsters were not the only thing worth worrying about anymore.

She exhaled and glanced down the street, then back at him. "Fine," she said. "Then give me the short version."

He almost told her no again, but the look on her face stopped him.

She was serious now, not playful, teasing or trying to push his buttons for fun. She looked genuinely worried, which made this way more annoying to deal with.

’Damn it,’ he thought, jaw tightening. ’Why does she have to look sincere right when I am too tired to be heartless about it?’

"The short version," he said at last, "is that I had my reasons."

She stared at him in silence, then her expression flattened, "that is such a trash answer," she said.

He let out a tired breath and rubbed at the side of his face, already feeling a headache building behind one eye.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked. "That I saw a restricted dungeon, thought it looked fun, and decided to trespass for the experience?"

She folded her arms tighter and kept pace with him when he started walking again. "I want you to say something that sounds even a little honest," she said, matching his speed without much effort. "Right now it feels like you are giving me whatever scraps will make me go away."

’Because I want you to go away,’ he thought, then clicked his tongue at himself when that sounded meaner in his head than it should have. ’No, that is not even true. I want a bed, food, and about twelve hours of silence.’

He looked at her from the corner of his eye and let out a quiet breath. The way she said it made her sound less annoyed and more... disappointed, which was somehow harder to deal with.

"It is not like that," he said, his voice losing some of its earlier edge. "I am not trying to brush you off just because it is you, I just..." He paused for a second, searching for the least bad way to say it. "Some things are my business, you know."

She went quiet right away.

For a moment, he thought she would argue again, push a little harder, or throw some teasing line at him to break the tension, but none of that came. She just looked ahead and gave a small nod that felt way too calm compared to how persistent she had been a minute ago.

"Right," she said.

That was all.

The word was simple enough, but it still came out softer than before, quiet in a way that made it obvious she was backing off for real this time. She kept walking beside him, though the energy around her dropped so suddenly it almost felt awkward.

’Of course he wouldn’t tell me,’ she thought, keeping her eyes on the road. ’I kept following him around, cornered him the second he got out, and pushed way too hard when he already looked exhausted.’

Her fingers curled a little against her sleeves while she replayed the whole conversation in her head and liked it less the more she did. What probably sounded like concern to her had to look completely different from his side after the dungeon and when she barely even knew him properly.

’I am just annoying him,’ she thought, her lips pressing together. ’I came on too strong again. Maybe I should keep my distan-’

Shu’s fingers lightly tapped her cheek before the thought could finish.

She stopped mid-step and stared at him in complete confusion, a faint blush rising across her face before she even understood why, while he looked away first, which honestly told her more than if he had held eye contact.

His jaw tightened a little, like he had already started regretting whatever came out next.

"If you still want to," he said, sounding more awkward than he probably meant to, "you can come inside my house."

She blinked once, then her eyes lit up so fast it was almost ridiculous.

"Really?" she asked, the sadness from a second ago vanishing so completely it gave him emotional whiplash.

She stepped closer, looking way too bright for someone who had just been sulking in silence. "I can really come? Right now? To your house?"

He immediately regretted opening his mouth.

’Ah, shit,’ he thought, already feeling it. ’Should I have said that?’

"You just looked like you were about to start pitying yourself," he muttered, refusing to look directly at her now. "Don’t make it weird."

"I am not making it weird," she said way too fast, then ruined it by smiling like a kid who had just been told yes after expecting a no. "I just didn’t think you would actually invite me."

He clicked his tongue and kept walking, which she took as enough of an answer and hurried after him with an energy he absolutely did not have the strength to deal with right now.