Chapter 104: Divided Loyalties

Athena As we settled outside, facing each other, he gave me the cup of coffee he had picked for me on his way over. "Thank you, you really didn't have to--" I fidgeted uneasily in my seat, acutely aware of the weighty conversation that was about to take place. His piercing stare, the palpable tension that hung in the air, and most of all, the very first words he had uttered upon walking into the bakery. 'We need to talk.' Those four words spoke volumes. "It's fine. It's not a big deal anyway," he slouched in his chair, his leg tapping up and down with restlessness that mirrored my own. Inside, I was freaking out because the last thing I wanted was to lose a friend. The air still hung heavy with an awkward silence that seemed to stretch on for eternity. It was a strange and uncomfortable situation, to say the least. I didn't want things to be like this, but everything was so scattered and our lives were just too complicated. "We need to talk, Athena," he finally spoke up, breaking the t