20 The universe is against me

***POV - Melaena

I jump onto Alejandro’s back, falling over his head onto his lap. He tickles me and I eagerly roll away to sit next to Kiara.

He tosses me a huge sandwich and says, “Here, I made this for you.”

I take a big bite, chewing slowly with closed eyes, and let out a small, contented groan since I’m starving and this sandwich is amazingly delicious. Silence falls over the group and when I open my eyes, everybody is amusedly staring at me.

“What? I’m hungry, okay,” I mutter and point at the bread in my hand, “and this is utterly divine.” I look into Alejandro’s teasing eyes and say, “You should think about opening a restaurant or something.” His eyes change, suddenly looking sad, although he keeps smiling.

“I’ve put it on hold for a while,” he says softly, looking over to where Noah is talking on the phone, and I wonder what he means by that.

I now also watch Noah … he seems worried or sad … maybe both, his free hand running through his deep red hair. He’s definitely of