The Criminal's Princess

Chapter 17

"Marinette? Please. Please, talk to us." Begged Tom from the other side of the trapdoor.

It was the fourth day since Marinette had locked herself in her room with nothing but water to help her get through the day. Tom's slight tapping on her door woke Marinette up. She hadn't got any sleep last night and had barely managed to close her eyes when her father woke her up. Every time Marinette had closed her eyes, she had been plagued with memories of Chat Noir.

Having had enough of 'give her some more space', Tom had decided to initiative and annoy the crap out of his daughter until she came out of her room.

Marinette stumbled out of her bed and onto her small flight of stairs. She could barely walk without hanging onto something. She slowly walked over to the trapdoor and unlocked it. Luckily, her father was waiting right outside the door and caught Marinette when she suddenly collapsed.

"Marinette?! Well, that wasn't as hard as I thought." Said Tom helping Marinette down the stairs.

Sabine walked into the living room and was surprised to see her daughter seated on the couch. But Tom was nowhere to be seen.

"Marinette?" Asked Sabine.

Marinette slowly turned towards her mother and heard her gasp. Marinette closed her eyes tightly and felt tears brimming at the corners of her eyes. She felt her mother's arms wrap around her and comfort her. Tom appeared with a plate of croissants and a baguette. He handed it to Marinette who shook her head pointing her chin at the croissants.

"What? You love croissants." Tom reminded.

"Not... Anymore." Rasped Marinette.

Tom shrugged and replaced the croissants with some macaroons.

"Marinette? Do you want to talk about what happened? You don't have to if you don't want to but remember, we will always be here to support you through anything." Advised Sabine placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder.

Marinette looked over at her mother and hugged her, losing her control over the tears that were threatening to spill.

"I-I don't know what to do! I don't know why I'm feeling this way. I feel like my heart has broken into a million pieces and it hurts me. I've lost control over my emotions and everything in my life has turned upside down!" Cried Marinette.

"Sweetie. You're just heartbroken. Everyone goes through it, at least once in their life when they lose someone they love. That's what you're going through. All you need to do is move on and hope for the best. Your dad and I will take care of the rest."

"Someone you... Love?" Whispered Marinette.

Sabine nodded and smiled at her daughter.

"Oh no! No! Nononono! I LOVE him?!" Yelled Marinette.

"Yep. She's back." Replied Sabine looking over at Tom.

Marinette jumped onto her feet with newfound energy.

"Mom! I'm in love! IN LOVE! But... He's g-gone..." Marinette's voice faded into a whisper.

She slumped back onto the couch and sobbed into her hands.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, sweetie. I didn't know." Whispered her mother rubbing Marinette's back.

Tom sat down next to Marinette and tried his best to console her.

"It's alright mom, dad. I guess I just have to accept it. But I know for sure that I will never forget him." Said Marinette slowly wiping her tears.

"That's our girl!" Encouraged Tom.

Marinette smiled and left to get dressed. She climbed into her room and stood in front of her mirror. She gazed at herself and understood why her mother had gasped. Her reddened eyes were sunken, her cheeks were a ghostly pale colour, and her hair was a crow's nest. She took a shower, combing her hair back into place still reliving the memories of Chat Noir. She came out of her bathroom and picked up the shattered phone from the floor under her desk. She sighed as she tried her best to turn on the phone, and failed.