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Over dinner, both the girl and the young man tried to avoid eye contact. They were both upset by the uncomfortable situation that had occurred in the room, but tried their best to act naturally, as if nothing had happened. Without waiting for dessert, Craig excused himself by saying he had promised a friend to help with something, said goodbye to everyone and swiftly left.
“Meg, is everything all right? It seemed to me that Craig was upset about something,” Warren asked with concern.
“I don't know. I didn't notice. Maybe he has some personal problems; who knows! I'm going to my room; I want to have an early night tonight, you don’t mind?”
"Good night."
After saying goodbye to her relatives, Megan walked up to her room. She was tormented by a sense of guilt towards Craig, for possibly leading him on and giving false hope. She imagined how rejected he must now be feeling. Reason told her that it wasn't her fault. But to feel and to understand are two different things, and at that moment, they were battling inside her. The girl wanted to be alone as soon as possible to think over the day’s events: the call from her mother, preparations for Edinburgh, Craig…
Entering her room, she was greatly surprised to find Derek there. He sat in the chair by the window, legs crossed, arms folded over his chest. He was once again wearing his trousers and shirt, all in black.
“Derek!? You scared me! I didn't expect to see you so early.”
“Who were you expecting to see here? Craig?” he remarked, unable to contain his sarcasm.
“Did you see him? He joined us for dinner tonight.”
“Yes, I saw him; he just left, we passed each other a couple of meters apart. Why did he come?” Derek inquired.
“I told you before, he's Warren's friend, and he just came over for a friendly dinner.”
“I see. I think he's very interested in you.”
“What gives you that idea?”
“I don't know… male intuition.”
Megan had never seen Derek so agitated and tense, as if something was tormenting him inside. She decided to change the subject to find out what was really happening with him.