Safe Word: Rosé

Chapter 9

Narrator-

The large, almost empty dining room provided the perfect acoustic for the clinking of Cara's silver fork against the white ceramic plate, as she saw to nibbling away the rest of her food. But that alone proved to be a task, for Cara felt sad and found it hard to swallow due to the ball of unshed tears lodged in her throat. Somewhere along the way of burying her father and being taken from her home, Cara found that with every new face she met today, she hoped to see her father's face in one of them. Except she didn't. Joe's face always brought a smile and a sense of comfort to Cara's spirit. Now that comfort was permanently erased. This realization that she would never see her father again, no matter how hard she looked, caused reality to slam back into Cara's being like a rogue volleyball smacking against a human face.

Cara sighed and shook her head. The reality of her father's death turned her world upside down. It seemed that her old world died the moment her father's heart stopped beating. It was true that she was in a new world, where her father didn't exist, and for Cara, that meant no safety. Joe's smile was enough to melt all of Cara's fears and worries away, and now that she couldn't even have that, made Cara realize that she was truly alone.

This mansion, all these new people... Cara knew that this wasn't her place. She was in a new world alright, a place where she didn't belong, and a place where her hero could no longer come to her rescue. This caused a sorrowful frown to dent Cara's brow, and a heavy sag caused her shoulders to fold. And the only question in Cara's mind in that moment, was how would she survive?

As Cara contemplated this, and forced down her food, Jason found it hard to remove her image off his television screen, even as he dressed for the evening. This, Jason couldn't understand, because he was sure that he wasn't interested in Cara. Jason knew that there was a mischievous shadow underlying Cara's personality, and he was repulsed by it. He found Cara to be loud and rough around the edges when it came to manners. Jason was always attracted to women who were polished and well-behaved. Jason also hated that Cara wasn't naturally submissive, she had a flare for talking back and being defiant. Jason was aware that Cara was the exact opposite of what he has gone for in the past, and yet here he was, being intrigued to Cara's reactions to anything that involved him.

The thought of knowing Cara's ticks when it came to his world, gave Jason a reason to be cautious. He didn't trust Cara, nor did he like her, and Jason already knew that on Cara's part, the feeling was mutual, and yet still, he watched her.

Back in the dining room, Cara finished her meal and stood up when she realized that the entire group of entertainers left their plates on the table. Sucking her teeth softly, Cara began to walk out of the dining room determining that it wasn't her job to worry about it, but when she made it to the doorway, she stopped. Cara looked back at the table, and the disorder made her skin prickle in discomfort. Shaking her head, Cara returned to the table and began cleaning out the plates by sliding the spoons across the surfaces and dropping the leftover crumbs of food into one of the empty salad bowls. She then saw to stacking the plates and placing the utensils in one of the empty bread baskets.

Upstairs, Cara's actions caused Jason to pause while he buttoned his cufflinks. He found that her unexpected act of taking on an almost housewife-like role triggered a tremor of intrigue in his index finger, but before he could dwell on the reaction, a soft knock came from his door, which prompted Jason to turn off the camera feed on his television.

Jason didn't have to chance to demand who was at his door, for the knob turned and in walked Monique, dressed in a matching set of baby pink lingerie, embellished by satin-designed candies and artificial diamonds. The center of her bra was covered by a giant pink satin bow, and at the very center was pinned lollipop. She wore knee high white socks, decorated with lollipop swirls, and black stilettoes. Her outfit was only revealed by the long, open pink bathrobe that hung from her thin shoulders.