Chapter 8. Out of His Shadow

Xerina’s POV

“Come on, you losers!” Luca’s loud voice bombarded the grounds. For some unknown reason, he was overly excited this morning, dragging all of us outside to play tackle.

After breakfast, Papa gave in to his whims. Breakfast. The awkwardness and tension at the table were palpable, too suffocating. I had to swallow the soft pancakes Mama made with love. I didn’t know how they tasted or what type of syrup I spread over them. I avoided Rasmus like a plague. But that didn’t help. I felt his eyes on me throughout the breakfast, piercing and burning.

And that was also the reason why I didn’t want to stay inside in fear of running into him. The courage I had last night was now in hibernation. After crying for hours, I slept on the floor, and when I woke up, I found myself on the bed, cocooned into the blanket. I didn’t know how or who was kind enough, but the only person I could think of was Papa.

But the chances that it might not be him but someon