COMMAND

Twelve

No one came for me.

I heard voices. I heard movements throughout the house, and then I waited and waited, but no one came for me.

I finally relaxed when I realized that Rogue had left me alone. It shocked me. He wasn't the kind of man to let anyone get their way, but he didn't force me to meet his guests. I was glad for it, and I was glad I didn't force myself to stay in my room. Miriam kept me company in the living room. We played chess, even though I had no idea how to play, and I found out it was Rogue's favorite game. I wasn't surprised at all.

Miriam left me alone afterward. I tried to get the hang of the game, which I saw as an improvement a lot. When I got tired of playing, I felt like sneaking in on Rogue's friends but decided against it.

I was standing by the window, looking up at the sky and wondering where I would be right now if I had been at home, and the next thing I knew, I felt pain at the back of my head. Another sharp one came that had my knees buckling under, and the dizziness came. I tried to blink my eyes open to see who it was, but darkness wrapped itself around me.

I opened my eyes, finding myself lying on the couch. My head hurts so much, and I groaned, looking around the living room. That was when I saw Rogue sitting on a chair across from me, his attention far away from me. I tried sitting up, but pain and dizziness had me lay back down again.

"Rogue," I moaned out, rubbing my forehead. "What happened?" The last thing I remembered was standing by the window, pain, and then nothing.

"Ameenah." His voice rang out clear in the quiet room. My eyes darted to the maid that quickly appeared, eyes eagerly setting on her employer. Rogue waved his hand. "Repeat what you told me."

I looked back and forth between them, then decided to settled my gaze on Ameenah, who looked nervous and unhappy about his question. She darted a glance my way, and a sly smile curved at the corner of her lips.

"I was coming out of the kitchen when I heard noises. I thought it wasn't something out of the ordinary because you had guests over, but still, my heart was telling me to check. When I did, I found Beth walking into the living room. Her back was turned to me, so I thought it was nothing, and I prepared to leave when I saw it." Her voice went a little pitched high, full of disbelief and confusion.

My eyebrows shot up. What did she see?

"To my horror, she was holding a phone in her hand. I don't know how she got it, but she was preparing to call someone. I panicked, so I picked up a lamp and hit her to unconsciousness."

"Excuse me?" I shouted as I shot up into a sitting position. "What the hell did you just say?" She glared at me. I swept my gaze to Rogue, whom I now realized was holding a phone in his hand. The phone he must have thought was mine. "Rogue, you can't believe what she's saying."

"I would never lie to you, sir," Ameenah rushed out in alarm, throwing a glare my way. "Beth has been doing a lot of things behind your back."

"Shut up! You're lying through your teeth right now." I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I knew she didn't like me, but to lie to this extent? To knock me unconscious and plant fake evidence just to get me in trouble with Rogue? I knew I shouldn't have underestimated the bitch.

She crossed her arms. "Am I? Are you going to deny that you and Ms. Veronica haven't been plotting behind his back? Didn't she plan to get you out in three days? Did that not happen too?" she demanded with a satisfied smirk.

Panic choked me. No. No. How did she know about what Veronica and I had discussed? Was she eavesdropping on us that day? I can't deny it. I couldn't get myself and Veronica in trouble with him. I can't deny it. It was my word against Ameenah's.