I almost poke her with another pin. “I’m sorry, what?”
Suddenly, it’s Petra’s turn to flush strawberry red. “I’m just saying—he takes care of me. He likes being around me. He… loves me.” She says that last part like it’s something incomprehensible. “And because he loves me, he acts like it.”
“Rub it in a little more, why don’t you?”
“I wasn’t trying to ‘rub it in,’” she air-quotes. “Just explaining what I meant.”
“Funnily enough, I’m still missing that part.”
She rolls her eyes like I’m a toddler. “If Matvey hates you, why is he still with you? And if he loves you, why hasn’t he forgiven you?”
For a long time, I just stare at the fabric in my hands. If I’m being honest, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around that exact same question.
But then again, I’m the same, aren’t I? I hate h
