"Watch your steps, Dylan." Cassen rebuked softly with another flick on Dylan's forehead. The sound was light, but the warning in it wasn't.
Dylan's eyes were now open, wide and glassy, looking at Cassen unblinking. The heat of his earlier revenge plan had evaporated the second he hit the floor. Now he looked at Cassen like a drowning boy looks at a rope. His saviour.
"You are the best." Dylan started wailing with a snort, snot and tears making a mess of his face as he clung tightly to Cassen — who hates being touched by anyone else rather than Chloe.
The room seemed to hold its breath.
"Let go." Cassen's bossy attitude became alive in an instant. His eyes dropped to the place he was touched, and his mouth twisted with pure, unfiltered disgust. He didn't shake him off. Not yet. But his whole body went rigid, like a blade pulled from a sheath.
