Encrypted Souls

Chapter Eleven.

            I’m caught.

            The only thing I can think of doing is: scream.

            That night I had screamed until Tabby’s mother was woken up and she had hurried into the bedroom. By that time Tabby was in my arms shaking and crying, and her father was nowhere to be found. Her mother had demanded that we tell her what was wrong; she shook us by our little shoulders and yelled – clearly confused and distressed. Being so young, I didn’t know how to properly explain to her that her husband was sexually assaulting her own daughter. I didn’t know how to tell her that I had watched him on top of her – while she painfully struggled. All I knew was that it was wrong.

            Tabby’s mother called my parents immediately after realizing that I wasn’t going to say anything to her, and that’s when I broke down and told them everything I could remember. Tabby told her mother that it wasn’t the first time her father had snuck into her room to have ‘alone-time’ with her. My parent’s called the Officials immediately.

            Tabby’s father was found at a local pub, drunk on his ass – murmuring about how what he does is ‘no ones business’. The Officials arrested him for being dysfunctional and put him under permanent analysis. Her mother was taken into custody, and determined an ‘un-fit’ mother. She is never allowed to reproduce again, even though her mate is locked away forever. With that being said, the Officials deemed my parents the best option, and Tabby and I have been like sisters since.

            Through thick and thin, we have always had each other’s backs.

            I smile at Tabby as I walk through the workshop door.

            “Way to take your time!” She yells as I head to the workbench.

            I laugh at her enthusiasm. “Sorry, I didn’t get much sleep. Plus,” I look over the order sheets for today. “You said that it was okay if I came in a little late today.” I wink at her, and she laughs.

            “Yeah, yeah I know. I’m just bugging you.” She dismissively waves her hand in the air.

            “I’m going to go and grab the lilies and hydrangea from the back fridge for this order that has to be done by this afternoon, need anything?” I ask, already walking towards the back area with the order form in my hand.

            “Uh, no need. Kathy’s back there retrieving everything already.”

            I stop mid -track, remembering the bold small woman that was only just recently hired.

            “Oh! I totally forgot that she started today.” I make my way back to where Tabby stands, sipping coffee from a mug. “So is that your evil plan?”

            She arches her brow in question, lifting the mug to her mouth.

            “Hmm?”

            “Hire a new girl, and make her do all of the work?”

            “Oh my! It seems that you’re not just a pretty face after all!” She tousles my hair with her hand, and I squirm away laughing.

            “On a more serious note, give me that coffee!” I grab the mug from her hands and evilly laugh in her face.

            “On a more serious note, you are seriously deprived of sleep. What did you get up to last night?”

            I dance a little on the spot and chug the liquid caffeine from the mug. She watches me intently, a mischievous smile lighting up her face.

            “Let’s just say that everything is sorted for now.”

            “Uh-uh. No way are you getting off the hook that easy girl. I need details…now!” She grabs the mug from me and looks inside of it before placing it down on the worktable. “Sit.” She pulls me over to a stool and makes me sit.

            “Alright, if you must know… Things with Ethan and I were getting pretty heated. The amount of desire and lust that filled me is completely unexplainable, and I could tell that he was feeling it too.”

            Tabby’s eyes are wide and intrigued.

            “Uh-huh…”

            “And Ethan told me that he had accepted me as his mate the very first day that we met… but he also knew about the situation with Ross, so he didn’t want to verbally say anything until I had sorted that out. But then he said that he knows that I have feelings for Ross too, and that I need to figure things out.” I shake my head as the whole night replays in my mind. “I just wanted to forget about everything – so I pursued Ethan and we started to get intimate again.”

            “Ooh! Continue!” She excitingly says - I roll my eyes.

            “And then, all of a sudden I just remember being so…angry. It was out of the blue, and I can’t recall when exactly it happened – but it did. I was completely and utterly engulfed in this fury that wasn’t mine. But I was surrounded by it.”

            “Oh my… Evaline… I think I know where that came from.” Tabby looks at me with eyes full of guilt, and I’m just realizing the heavy bags under them.

            “You do? But wait… That’s not even the worse part.” Tabby closes her mouth and continues to listen to me. “Just as I’m straddling Ethan, I get pulled off of him, buy none other then Ross himself.”

            Tabby gasps, and throws her hands to her face.

            “Eva, I did something really bad last night.” She squeaks.

            I suddenly remember our plan. Somehow I got so caught up in the actual plan, that I forgot that we had planned it at all. Tabby was going to seduce Ross in an attempt to break any bond that we had, or at least see how strong our bond together is. I was at Ethan’s place at the same time as…

            “The anger…” I mumble, lost in my own thoughts.

            “Was because of you and Ethan…” Tabby trails off.

            “Because he could feel what I was feeling with Ethan…”

            “And you felt his anger…” She connects the dots with me.

            “I slept with him.” Tabby blurts.

            I stare at her in shock, my vision becomes blurry – and before I realize what I’m doing, I wind my hand back and thrust it towards her face. We both look at each other in awe.

            “Here’s all the flowers you need, although I couldn’t seem to find the extra greenery that you were talking about earlier…” Katherine stops in-between us carrying two buckets of flowers and greens. “Uh, sorry. Did I interrupt something?” 

            I look at her and plaster a fake smile on my face, because for some reason I get the feeling that it’s the best thing to do around this woman. Be fake.

            “No, it’s fine.” I grab a bucket from her hand. “Let’s get these orders done.”

            I spare one last glance towards Tabby that I hope sends her the intended message:

            We’re not finished yet.