Jeremy snorted when Celeste's snarky tone sounded in his ear. "Oh! I was worried that they've cast some black magic on you. Turns out my worries are completely unnecessary."
Celeste swore she could hear Jeremy rolling his eyes. "Oh! I was worried that you've been kidnapped by some alien. Turns out my worries are completely unnecessary, too!"
Jeremy let out a hearty laugh. "Smartass!"
Celeste laughed, too. Goddess! She hadn't realized how much she missed his laughter.
But the moment was short. They both fell back into silence again.
Celeste could hear his breath on the phone. The little noises seemed to have vibrated through her phone and stirred the air around her ear, tickling her skin. She shivered.
"Uh… So… Why do you call me?" She couldn't stand the silence.
That seemed to have brought Jeremy to reality, too. Because the next second, his deep voice rumbled. "And you have the gut to ask me why!? Well… No. Let me restart our conversation…"
He took a deep breath before continuing, "Why didn't you tell me you're going to meet that hunter? Do you have any idea how dangerous it could be?"
Celeste laughed. Given how much she knew about Jeremy, she wondered if he had that written down as the opening of his speech before he called her.
If she didn't call him back but waited till Jeremy called again, he could have delivered that speech with a solid amount of anger and concern as soon as the phone was connected. And no doubt, now she had ruined the vibe royally and undermined his angry speech significantly.
Seemingly noticing that, Jeremy coughed. "I almost had a heart attack when I heard about your daring adventure."
Celeste pursed her lips in dissatisfaction. "Well… I thought about telling you. But… you know, you've been avoiding me. And now suddenly you're the one who can accuse me of not telling you anything?"
"I'm not avoiding you!" He blurted out without a moment of thinking. But when he thought better of it, he corrected himself, "Um… Okay. I may have. But do you still remember our deal to never keep big secrets from each other?"
"Huh! I should be the one who shoves that accusation in your face! You've been avoiding me for what? About two weeks now?" Celeste wouldn't back down.
That seemed to have hit Jeremy hard. He was quiet for a few seconds before he whispered, "That's… That's different."
"Different how?" She demanded.
But she regretted it immediately because deep down, she did have an inkling about the answer. Her instinct told her that their relationship would only get more awkward once the secret was told. It had been two weeks! And they finally managed to talk to each other normally. She didn't want it to be ruined.
But the question was raised, and she couldn't take it back. She waited, holding her breath.
The following silence was expected. She was impatient. But she was also grateful for the silence. Because she knew this was the peace before the storm.
Finally, Jeremy heaved a long sigh. "I… I'll tell you. But I just can't talk about it on the phone. We need to talk in person, Cel. This is … huge. Can you wait till I get home?"
He sounded defeated yet sincere.
Celeste didn't want to doubt him, but the last time he had promised to talk, he had never shown up. Since then, he and she had been separated by either the distance or the locked door. And when there was finally nothing separating them, he had pinned her on the floor…
"Do not run away again, Jeremy. I'm so sick of this."
"I know… I'm sorry, Cel. I'm a coward. I'm sick of this, too. I don't want to run anymore." He said in a low voice. It was so low Celeste almost couldn't hear him.
She sighed. "When will you come home?"
"Saturday, I suppose." The day of the gathering, then. That was a few days away. It seemed too long, but the time would hopefully get them both prepared.
"You promise you won't run this time?"
"I promise I won't run," he answered seriously. "Hey, give yourself some faith. I'm going to the gathering and eat up all the food you made."
Celeste snorted. "Okay, dumbass."
That smelled like the end of the phone call.
She should hang up. So should he. But neither of them did. Neither of them said anything.
She didn't know what to say. It was not bad just listening to his breaths on the phone. She wondered if he could hear hers, too.
"Promise me. Don't ever risk your life or put yourself in danger again," he said suddenly. "My heart almost explode when I heard about the wolfsbane! You… I would never forgive myself if anything happened to my..."
His last sentence was so soft and blurred in her ears.
"What did you say in the end? I didn't hear you clearly," she prompted.
Jeremy grunted. Just as she thought he wasn't going to tell her, the man sighed loudly before he said in a deep, gentle voice, "Fine! I'll say it again. If you don't want to miss it this time, move your phone closer to your ear and turn up the volume."
"Okay." Without thinking, she followed his instruction as if possessed by the magnetic tone.
"You're an idiot!!!" He yelled at the phone and chortled loudly.
Screaming, Celeste pulled the phone from her ear.
"You jerk!!" She shouted at the phone and hung up.