Don't Touch Her Act 2: Finding Peace

Chapter Fifty-Eight

𝓥𝓲𝓸𝓵𝓮𝓽

Mini put the leftovers from dinner into tubawear for me to take home for Clara. I declined, but she insisted as she stubbornly did.

I thought about what Mini said. There was some secret circling in that family. I wanted to know, but I felt it wasn't my place to ask.

Despite this, there was a gnawing curiosity in my brain. My fingers itched to dial Dominic's number and demand he tell me.

... You should not ask for things that you do not deserve or that are not meant for you...

I sat my phone on the counter, putting space between me and the black rectangle.

Clara arrived home not long afterward, putting her car keys on the little hook on the door.

I didn't look at her.

"Violet?" She began, walking closer to the couch. "Is everything okay?"

I looked at the window, seeing the subtle reflection of myself. The eyebrows drawn close, a look of confusion and curiosity over my features.

I relaxed, nodded, and forced myself to look her in the eyes. "Yes."

She stood a moment longer and then walked towards the kitchen to fill herself a cup of water from the sink.

I watched as she drank the water in slow sips. Cautiously, as if the water itself couldn't be trusted. I looked at the wisps of hair that had fallen from her braid to frame her face. The soft yet traumatized almond shaped eyes.

"Clara," I finally managed to say. "Is something wrong with Mini?"

She held her glass, tapping a nail softly on its surface. "No... Her cough is concerning."

I nodded. "I asked her myself, but she wouldn't tell me."

Clara started softly, quoting one of the many rules instilled into us at the orphanage. "You must not ask for things you do not deserve." She stared into her cup and then looked at me. "You should go to bed... School."

After a moment, I nodded and walked past her to the short hallway and then to my bedroom.