"You're no fool," he answered uneasily. "In the position I've put you in, there is little to do."
Her hand traced over the circle on his palm. Involuntarily, he searched for signs of the red mark on her wrist. Would it have faded by now, or was it still as red as the night he last saw it? The thought unnerved him. He shifted in his seat. His body seemed far away from him. Not feeling it and not having his physicality at his disposal meant he could not rely on it to keep her close and under his spell. Just last week he could. After their run-in at the library, he was able to take her into his arms and make the difficulty of her situation matter less. He could not bring himself to do that now. He had very little to give her and it was the first time that he felt that way.
Feeling restless, he stood up and walked to the window. Her hand left his. The sky was darkening and turned a dirty grey, like a puddle on cobblestone.
"It's all more difficult than I thought it would be. I understand it less and less, the further I go," he heard himself say. He did not comprehend why he was saying it. Had he not just halfway succeeded in calming the waves? Why was he contradicting what he just said?
"I think I should leave," he said, disquieted. "Today there is nothing much I can give you to make this any easier."
The air in the room seemed to be cooling rapidly. He tried to suppress the shiver he felt. He had the hunch that the longer he would stay around her, the more he might say, and the worse this would get.
Her hand traced over the circle on his palm. Involuntarily, he searched for signs of the red mark on her wrist. Would it have faded by now, or was it still as red as the night he last saw it? The thought unnerved him. He shifted in his seat. His body seemed far away from him. Not feeling it and not having his physicality at his disposal meant he could not rely on it to keep her close and under his spell. Just last week he could. After their run-in at the library, he was able to take her into his arms and make the difficulty of her situation matter less. He could not bring himself to do that now. He had very little to give her and it was the first time that he felt that way.
Feeling restless, he stood up and walked to the window. Her hand left his. The sky was darkening and turned a dirty grey, like a puddle on cobblestone.
"It's all more difficult than I thought it would be. I understand it less and less, the further I go," he heard himself say. He did not comprehend why he was saying it. Had he not just halfway succeeded in calming the waves? Why was he contradicting what he just said?
"I think I should leave," he said, disquieted. "Today there is nothing much I can give you to make this any easier."
The air in the room seemed to be cooling rapidly. He tried to suppress the shiver he felt. He had the hunch that the longer he would stay around her, the more he might say, and the worse this would get.
