The Forbidden Love of Aesop Sharp

Chapter 21 - Solitude

"Come on, you have to get out of here," Olivia exclaimed with her increasingly irritating childlike voice, slowly grating on my nerves.

"I have work..."

"...to do here," she finished my sentence with a deep sigh. "I know, it's always like this."

Her reaction brought a faint smile to my lips, and I momentarily left the bathroom to observe her. She sat on my bed, gazing toward the doorway where I stood leaning. Resting on her knees was one of the cushions from my bed, and she was nervously picking at its seams.

"You're ruining it," I pointed out, nodding towards the cushion in question. She lowered her gaze, then rolled her eyes before rising from the bed to face me.

I froze as she placed her hand on my shoulder and locked eyes with me. "Katie, it's been three weeks since you returned to Hogwarts, and you're still in the same state, sad, and unfortunately, you're isolating yourself..."

"I'm fine, Livy-"

"Don't lie to me," she retorted, digging her long nails into my skin, causing me to wince in pain. "You never leave the Hospital Wing anymore. You have all your meals here; you avoid the Great Hall and interactions with other students. You're even avoiding me."

"Well... I can't really avoid you..."

"Because I'm not letting you!" She interjected, giving me a dark look. "If I didn't come to see you every day, you wouldn't even try to know how I'm doing."

I lowered my eyes, feeling ashamed of my behavior. Olivia was right. Since my return from London, I had been nothing but a shadow of my former self. My life had lost all meaning since I couldn't be with him.

"What happened at the hospital?" she ventured, her voice trembling.

"Nothing important, don't dwell on it," I dismissed with a forced smile. Her grip loosened on my shoulder, and I seized the opportunity to escape from my bedroom, returning to the empty Hospital Wing.

That evening, the Hospital Wing was unusually quiet, despite the Quidditch match that had taken place earlier in the day. It was a small miracle that all the students had managed to avoid injuries for an entire day. I was grateful for the respite because, with my fragile mental state and the sleep deprivation I'd been enduring for weeks, I doubted I could handle a crisis as effectively as I had during the previous incident.

"Is it because of Mr. Grumpy?" Olivia asked as she joined me in the room, approaching an empty bed whose sheets I was changing.

"Don't call him that way!" I snapped in anger, abruptly letting go of the pillow I was holding.

"Sorry, I'm sorry," she replied, raising her hands in surrender. "Since Sebastian calls him like that, I thought..."

"How do you know he's calling him like that?" I questioned with suspicion. The only way she could be aware of that nickname was if she had...

"I read the letter he sent you," she mumbled, stepping back from the bed as I let out a loud groan of despair. "I'm so sorry..."

"Why did you do that?" I inquired, staring at her with disbelief. "It's my private correspondence; you have no right-"

"It was the only way I had to find out what was happening with you, Katie!" She interjected suddenly, cutting me off mid-tirade.

I cast her a suspicious and disappointed look, although I comprehended her perspective. I had withdrawn so much in recent times that I hadn't even explained the reasons for my trip to London to her. Even though our London journey was brief, it had been intense and had profoundly affected my heart, altering my behavior towards everyone.