I remember being in the orphanage and watching the older girls when they had boy problems. I thought it was silly of them to run away and avoid the boys when there was a problem. I thought they should've just faced the facts and talked to them.

Little Alex wasn't a coward like adult Alex is.

In fact, adult Alex now understands why the older girls would run and hide from the boys. She's doing that right now. Little Alex would be ashamed.

I haven't interacted with Garroth for days. Three, maybe. When I see him during the day, I turn the other way and briskly walk. I haven't had a conversation with him. I can't even hear his voice without growing embarrassed with myself.

"Alex, if you don't move your fingers, I will end up hitting you."

I fumble with the nail in my hand and move my fingers away from the head of the nail. I glance back to Travis and slowly nod my head. "Is this better?"

He looks at my fingers and nods curtly. "Better. If you get hit, it's because I'm not good at using a hammer." My eyes widen at this. I can't tell if this is a joke or not. I look over at him in fear, but he laughs at my expression. "Don't look so terrified. The chances of me actually hitting you are 50/50."

"50/50! You can go get your bestie, Kandi, if that's the case."

He continues to laugh at me and holds onto the hammer. I close my eyes when I see it begin to move, and slowly open one eye when I hear it hit against the nail and not me. He swings again and reaches his target. It's then I open my eyes once more.

This goes on for a little while longer. Travis has us go to a new corner to begin to hammer once more. Standing here holding onto nails is possibly the most boring thing I could be doing at this second.

"Bet you wish you would've chosen to babysit the children," Travis snickers. I glare up at him, unamused. I wasn't going to say it was so out loud, but it's so.

He's right. I'd much rather be with the children right now. At least with the children, I can do much more than hold a nail. I could even prepare lunch for everyone. Plus, there's a less likely chance of me being hit by them than Travis.

"The children talk back less than you do," I comment.

He goes quiet. Travis doesn't dare sound another word and goes back to pounding nails into wood. It's monotonous and never ending. We all must do our part and hold the boredom within us.

Seconds pass before Travis is tapped on his shoulder. All color drains from my face during their short conversation as I focus on the nail in my hand.

Garroth has urged Travis to go speak with Aphmau regarding what is next to be built and where. He nods his head and happily leaves. This is after he looks back at me with a cocky smirk.

Asshole.

Travis hands Garroth his hammer. He turns to me, but I don't dare make eye contact. I avoid it at all costs and look at the nail in my hand. My back is to him, and the extra nails are to my side.

We begin to work silently. It appears that neither one of us wishes to speak about what is happening. Even if it's quiet, it doesn't mean the situation between us isn't any less awkward.

My mind continues to rewind the events of my accidental confession. I find myself to be such a fool for letting my tongue slip the way it did, and in front of him nonetheless.

Now he knows how I feel about him. I can only imagine the thoughts that run wild in his head. Especially with the past events that have happened recently.

Garroth clears his throat. "Are we just going to remain silent?"

"I was hoping so."

My words don't seem to please him, as he stops using the hammer. I groan at this and reach for it myself. But due to our height difference, Garroth is able to easily keep it from me by holding it above his head.

"This is childish, Garroth."

"And you avoiding me for the past three days isn't?"

My eyes widen. I slowly drop the nail with the others and drop my hand to my side. I look down at my feet, ashamed of my actions. He slowly lowers his arm.

"I did not say my actions were childish," I sigh. "In fact, I'm ashamed of myself for acting this way. But with what happened. . ." My voice refuses to produce any more works. It appears that it has decided to remain silent instead.

Even Garroth has fallen quiet. Between the two of us, an eerie silence takes over. I slowly bring my stare back up to him, and we lock eyes.

I stare at each other for what feels like minutes, but he drops his gaze down to his own feet. "It appears even I have some thinking to do. Let's just get back to work."