Thin Ice (MPHfPC Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-Six:

Note: August sort of has a temper tantrum in this chapter and lets out a few curse words. That's all, but I just wanted to warn you.

At this, I freaked out, jumping up and running out into the hall, around in random hallways, until I was sure no one would find me for a while.

Everything felt so false, now. My life felt fake, my words felt fake, and just everything felt like it wasn't true. I had thought my family would have been unimportant, or insignificant compared to others. But my family was a line of powerful peculiars, some of them traitors and some of them just plain wicked.

Then there was Bentham and his false promises and his false shelter and his temporary kindness and his maybe-false statements that caused this whole mess. Well, maybe it hadn't caused the mess, just my part in it. And he was my great uncle.

I felt like a storm.

I growled and kicked a box full of something metal. I kicked another box that sounded like it was full of something porcelain, shattering something.

"Damn damn damn DAMN!" I said in between kicks. I hadn't let it all loose in a while. I preferred not to at all, but I was done. I had officially reached my limit. "I didn't want ANY of this SHIT!" I hoped no one with innocent ears was hearing my short meltdown. My stomach twisted and my chest heaved. I wasn't sure why I was so upset, after all, there are good people in my family too.

Soon I was done and slid to the floor in the corner of the room. I sat, dizzy, crying until I heard footsteps. So much for staying quiet to hide.

"Are you all right?" It was Miss Peregrine. One of the last people I wanted to talk to right now. But she didn't know. She couldn't have.

"No," I answered. It was true, and it was obvious. It wouldn't have done anything to say yes. "Leave me alone. Please." I knew it was in Miss Peregrine's best interest to stay, but I just couldn't take this much. It was too much already, and I didn't need another conversation today.

"Did something happen?" She wasn't leaving.

"It's obvious that something happened, isn't it?"

"You're not going to give me a straight answer, are you?"

"No, I don't think I will." It was no use lying.

"Do you need anything?" Miss Peregrine asked. "And I do discourage you from the use of more inappropriate words."

"I'm done," I said flatly. "Please leave. I'm sorry, I just... have a lot to think about."

"One thing I need to know is this: Is it anything that can hurt anyone here?"

I thought for a second, then decided that it was best if I told Miss Peregrine about one thing.

"They know we're here."

"What?"

"Bentham told them that we're here."

Miss Peregrine looked murderous.

"But they made a deal!" I said quickly before anything could happen. "They won't come for another week. They don't know we know. They think we'll be easier to control if we think we've escaped."

"Did he tip them off about the plan?"

"I don't think so," I said, not quite sure why I was defending Bentham. "He sounded angry at them for almost shooting us. I think he cares, if only a little."

"So we still have a week left." Miss Peregrine was relieved. But I could tell she was angry. So was I, but I wasn't sure if it was for the same thing or the... other thing.