7
1095 Words
I looked without breathing at the door that had just closed. Of all the torturous situations I had fantasized about coming here, and God knows there were many, I hadn’t imagined this one. I was shocked.
How dare he? I wanted an explanation!
As I was about to bang on the door with all my might, it opened without my having to touch it. After a little hesitation, I entered.
I jumped when Elgin slammed it behind me.
I turned on him, he was leaning against the door, his arms crossed over his chest. Silently, he waited.
I could have thrown all his horrible lies at him, but I didn’t. Motionless and silent, I looked at him without blinking. I had never found him so intimidating as he was then. Even in his wolf form, he hadn’t scared me so much.
I suddenly had a nervous laugh that I couldn’t control. I wanted to calm down, but I couldn’t. I tried to close my eyes and take a deep breath, nothing helped.
Elgin didn’t flinch. After several long seconds, and under the pressure of his relentless stare, I managed to calm down.
“Finished laughing?”
“I... yes.”
I was red.
“How could you do such a thing?” he almost whispered.
That was the best!
“How could I? Are you asking me?”
“Yes, I’m asking you. You know I don’t want you to be around them.”
“You don’t want? You don’t want! And me, what I want doesn’t count, maybe?”
“And what exactly do you want, Scarlett? A ton of problems? To fall into a hellish nest? They. Are. Dangerous. Why don’t you stop your nonsense and finally decide to trust me?”
“Trust you? I woke up to realize that I was billions of light-years from the truth!”
“You’re starting again! Speaking without my understanding anything!”
“Then I’ll try to be clearer, Elgin Sutherland. First, I don’t believe Rucker and Minah are the demons you told me about. On the contrary, they struck me as very friendly and much more outspoken than you’ll ever be. Second, it isn’t enough for you to flutter your eyes for me to fall into your nets. Trust is a response to sincerity, to the truth. Two things that you probably haven’t quite integrated. You took mine and gave me lies in return!”
“Damn, Scarlett! What lies are you talking about?”
The anger that invaded me gradually gave way to a ball of anguish. I lowered my head for fear he would notice. I swallowed hard and bit my lip. Elgin took me by the shoulders and with one hand he lifted my chin to look at him. The contact burned me.
His green eyes were dazzling. He probed me and as always, I felt that I was going to give in.
“Third,” I said, pulling away, “never again dare to... manipulate me by dazzling me like you are doing!”
He looked distraught.
“You lied to me,” I whispered sadly. “I know about Georgia.”
“Georgia? What do you know?”
“She was your girlfriend, for almost a year!”
“So what? I told you that I had relationships before you, didn’t I?”
“And you lived together!”
He sighed deeply.
“That’s true,” he finally said. “But what does that change? Our relationship is over.”
“I see. But has she understood this fact well?”
“Certainly, insofar as it was she who put an end to it!”
“I see. You’re living with a girl without even telling me, and I should accept it all without saying anything?”
“Wait, Scarlett, who told you we still live together?”
I was shocked.
“Isn’t that the case?”
“No.”
“Yet I... I saw her when I left here Sunday morning,” I stammered.
“Yes, because she came to collect some of her things. God damn it, but why haven’t you told me about this? If you had asked me, I would have explained everything to you.”
“I imagined that... (My voice choked.)”
“I didn’t lie to you, Scarlett. I told you the truth, except I didn’t go into the details. I didn’t think it would be helpful. I was wrong. Damn, but what a bad temper you have!”
He expressed such a mixture of bitterness and dismay that I didn’t have the strength to reply.
“How did you come up with all this?” he asked.
“Minah told me.”
“Obviously!” he sneered.
“It was I who asked her questions.”
“And, of course, she was quick to answer!”
“No. At first, she advised me to talk to you.”
“But you wanted to know at all costs.”
“Yes.”
He took a deep breath.
“It’s going to get complicated.”
Since I didn’t understand, I arched an eyebrow.
“Complicated if you stick your nose everywhere without common sense,” he clarified.
“At the same time,” I replied, “if you were less mysterious, we wouldn’t be here!”
I think for a moment before resuming.
“When you say it’s going to be complicated, what exactly are you referring to?”
He rolled his eyes
“Given your new friendship with the people from the Circle, I’ll have to inform you of certain things. You might have the idea to ask them more questions and the answers you get will be, once again, the wrong ones.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ll show you; it will be much more explicit.”
“What are you going to show me?”
“You should get some warm clothes from home, and also a good pair of shoes for walking. You won’t be home until tomorrow morning.”
“But... but... where are you... taking me?”
“You’ll see.”
“You’re still creating mysteries,” I reproached him.
“Because I’ve never taken a human with me to this place before.”
“Oh...”
“I’m not going with you to your apartment, I have to get my things ready. I’ll come to see you in an hour. Will you be ready?”
“Uh... yes.”
“So, see you in an hour,” he said, opening the door for me.
- Writer
