Chapter 118
1528words
"I haven't the faintest idea where my brooch could be," I said and began to pace.
"Then why don't you go find out? And while you're at it, please check my jewelry box for mine. My brother will be back, and when he does come back, I want to shove it up his face for having the gall to come speak to me in such a rude manner because of some damned brooch."
I stopped pacin and looked at her, “But you really don’t know where it is?” I asked, surprised,
“Do I look like I give a damn about such a thing? If my dearest brother hadn’t made his way to Africa in search of me, I’d be gazing at giraffes and having the time of my life. I don’t care about a damned brooch.”
“So what would happen if you can’t find yours ? What if Paris comes back?”
“I don’t think he will. We already had a conversation, a heated one. He thinks I’m careless. I couldn’t care less. I could always get my parents to get me a new one if it comes down to it. But… perhaps I should know if that one still exists, I suppose.”
I sighed and ran a hand over my face, “so much is happening.”
“And I’m locked in the cell, too restricted to know what is happening, too restricted to actually live the life I want.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t done enough to get you out.” I said softly and she shook her head,
“It’s fine.” She said surprising me and looked like she was lost in thought, I pressed my lips together before shaking my head, "something is coming, Christina. Something big. And I don't like where it's going."
Christina sighed and lost some of her edge, "yeah, I've felt it too." she said and leaned against the wall, "it almost makes me grateful that I'm in here,"
"why?" I asked confused,
"because it feels like recompense and retribution. In here, I know I'm already paying mine. I know that it doesn't get worse than this,"
"And out here?"
"Everyone is guilty. Everyone is at risk."
~~~~
Christina's words about recompense and retribution stayed with me as I walked back to the house. My crutches and broken ankle made everything ten thousand times harder.
Okay, maybe I was being a bit dramatic. But walking was such a labor right at the moment and it only made me feel worse that Paris didn't even give me a second thought. And it only made me feel only more angry when I thought about the fact that, if it were Ember who was in my position, he would have moved heaven and earth. How had I gotten to this point?
When I got to the house, I wanted to see Paris. But decided that he was probably going to ask for my brooch when we saw each other again, it seemed like a better idea to simply get it, and maybe use it to get on his good side.
Lately, it felt like I was always looking for any means to get on his good side. I was so desperate that even the most minute things seemed worthwhile, even if I knew better.
I opened up my jewelry box when I got to the room and expected to find it immediately. I didn't always wear it, but I had worn it recently, but even after getting to the bottom of the box I couldn't find it,
"no. now, this can't be," I said and turned the contents of the box onto my bed, and began to search them one after the other, but it was a useless move because I still didn't find anything.
I pressed my hand to my temple and suddenly felt a wave of dizziness. Could it be that I had misplaced it the last time I wore it and the brooch in Paris's possession was actually mine?
Was that why he was suddenly asking about the brooch? He wanted to know whose brooch he held on to.
"if he so much as knew that brooch was mine if that brooch Is actually mine…" I sat down to keep from passing out. The outcome of Paris knowing the true owner of that brooch was too much for me to conceive.
Because something told me he wasn't looking for the brooch's owner just to give It back.
I sat in my bed for ten minutes before it came to me. Certainly a whisper from the devil on my shoulder. But I was too desperate, too afraid to sit still and do nothing.
I packed up all of my displaced jewelry and put them back in the box, before rising and making my way to Christina's room.
It was surprisingly opened, making my life easier, and I headed straight for her jewelry box I found sitting cozily on her vanity table.
For a woman who seemed to not care about pack matters, her brooch sat on top of all her other jewelry as though she had recently used it and kept it back.
"I'm sorry Christina." I whispered as I picked up the little precious thing, "I'm so very sorry." I said and placed the brooch in my pocket, before rising.
I wasn't afraid that Paris would notice it was his sister's because every brooch looked the same. But I was going to have to examine it to make sure Christina had not made markings to indicate that it was.
I hoped she hadn't thought about it though.
"Kate?" I froze, when I heard Paris's voice behind me, as I was making my way back to my room. I knew I was going to look for him, but right then he was the last person I wanted to see.
"aren't you going to look at me?" he asked after several seconds had passed, and I plastered an innocent smile on my face, before turning to look at him,
"Paris," I said and slowly made my way toward him.
"What are you doing here? You rarely come to this wing," he asked curiously. And I searched for the right words because truly this wing only had Christina's room, as well as Paris's parents.
"I.. Wanted to speak to your mother, about … following me to the physiotherapist." I blurted out, thankful for the lie that came to me so easily.
"the physiotherapist? So you're finally ready to go?"
I shrugged, it's not that I wasn't ever ready to go. It's just that I wanted you to follow me." I said, trying to look pitiful enough to get his affections,
"Have you ever actually asked me to go with you?"
"I know I haven't. instead, I pressed on you being here with me always. But one thing leads to another if you ask me." I said, and he slowly nodded,
"Well then, is she going with you?"
"Who? your mother. Right. I didn't ask her. I had cold feet."
He raised a brow at me, "cold feet?"
"yeah. I just felt if you, my mate, have been too busy for me, why would your mother have my time of the day?"
He let out a slow breath and ran a hand over his neck, and I fought a smile because I knew that move. That was the move that told me that he was slowly giving in,
"I would go with you today, but I've got something to deal with. So what about tomorrow?"
My smile came quickly and I reached out to take his hand, "that works fine. As long as you're with me,"
"All right then." he said and patted the hand that held this before slowly collecting his hand, "I'll see you," he said and turned away, and I could only stand there frozen as I watched him leave.
Surprisingly, he hadn't spoken about the brooch. it was possibly because of what I brought up, or perhaps the matter he had to tend to was too pressing.
In any case, I had to be becoming too apt to do evil things because I had barely broken a sweat.
I made my way to my room as quickly as I could manage and placed that brooch somewhere safe. I was going to have to think of the perfect lie to tell Christina about her brooch, but not yet. I would give it a day or two, then go back with a lie about not finding her brooch.
After all, she had said she didn't know where it was. She probably didn't know it had been sitting prettily at the top of her jewelry box.
In any case, as she said he was safe in that cell. She already told Paris she had no idea where hers was, he probably thought she was careless. Nothing was going to happen to her.
It was me who I had to be worried about. me, who would be at the receiving end of Paris' retribution if I didn't have a brooch coming.
Because something was coming, and if I didn't move right, I was going to be at its mercy.
