Against All Odds

Chapter Eight

"Well, I'm glad you decided to stay but you haven't called me in days. That's very unlike you," Ida quips, gently.

I sit down on the park bench, watching the sway of the trees in the autumn wind. "I know. I- haven't really felt like myself lately."

"Well what's up? You sound down."

I squint, pursing my lips, trying to figure out a way to tell her about him without breaking my contract. "I met a man, here."

"A man?" I hear the surprise evidently. "When?"

"The night I performed here. I've spent... well, every waking moment I could with him since then."

"Well, that's great! Who is he? What does he do? Does he work at the theatre?"

I shake my head. "No, no... He's important, kind of like John. But he's kind."

"Like John... I don't like the sound of that."

"No, Ida, honestly. He's an- amazing person. We love spending time together."

"Then... why do you sound so upset?"

I feel myself getting emotional, so I look down, pressing the side of finger to the rim of my eye to stop the tear. "It's just- difficult. It's not going to work out."

"Why not?"

"He has a lot of obligations, a lot of people who depend on him."

"Does he work in the government?"

I chuckle, to myself softly. "You could say that, yeah."

"Why are you being vague? Just tell me who he is, maybe I've heard of him."

"I can't."

"You can't what?"

"Tell you," I whisper.

The line is silent for so long, I'm afraid I've lost the call. "Ida?"

"Mia, please for the love of God, tell me you did not sign anything to protect this man."

I look up, towards the sky, sighing. "Ida..."

"Mia, you are smarter than this! You have witnessed what giving power to a man is like! You have and so have I! I had to sign one too, letting him get away with nearly killing my niece! How could you sign it?"

"When I told him I wouldn't sign, he didn't push. But things escalated... I was going to leave him and in order to do that, I had to sign."

"You had to sign? You had to?"

"Ida, you're not going to understand this. I promise you. And this isn't going to work out anyway, so there isn't a need to panic."

"What if he doesn't let you go? What if he holds something over your head?"

"He would never do that. He isn't John, Ida."

"You loved John. And he loved you, truth be told! But that didn't stop him from his actions! It didn't stop him from slamming your damn head into a wall!"

"Ida!" I breathe, closing my eyes. "Please, stop."

I hear her exhale, angrily. "You are coming home in two days, Mia."

My hand closes into a fist on my lap. "Have a good night, Ida."

I hang up before she can say anything further, pressing the button on the side of the phone to turn it off. And then I look up, taking a deep breath.

...

I'm approaching the King's Inn, when I notice one of Henry's bodyguards, standing beside the Bentley at the curb. I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, grabbing the door to the small hotel.