"It cannot possibly eat the merpeople," Lily decided. She had nothing to base this on, and she bumped her shoulder lightly to his again. "I mean, really, they share a lake. The squid can't very well go around eating its sentient neighbors. No, I'm sticking with the fish theory," she insisted.
Her expression softened at his next words though, and she tightened her hold on his hand. "I know. I ... I missed you, too. All summer. I thought about coming to see you a few times, but ... I didn't feel like I could. Not after ... I mean, I was really." She hesitated. "I could have handled it better," she decided. "I suppose we both could have."
She smiled, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "Sometimes I'd hear noises outside my window. Just animals, I'm sure, but I used to kind of hope it was you. Leaving me some sign or something that it was okay ... that you knew ..."
She shook her head, laughing faintly as she dropped her eyes.