Angel Face

What's Going On?

LII

"You should sit down." I focused my attention on Clarissa, who was quite visibly pregnant and tired. She was a little hesitant but sat down nonetheless.

I slowly crept into the room, feeling smaller under their watchful eyes. Coming to a stop a few feet in front of them, I made sure the distance stayed. My eyes stayed focused on the heavy drapes hiding the darkness outside, refusing to wander anywhere else. I rubbed my cold sweaty palms on my shorts, in a desperate attempt to keep them from twitching. There was too much on my mind but I was drawing a blank. There was just an echo of their conversation, and I knew they were waiting for my reaction, if the fact that Duncan just stood there like a marble statue, unmoving, was anything to go by.

"What's going on?" My voice was cold even to my ears, as my eyes refused to stray from the drapes. When there was no sound of even the start of an answer, I let my eyes wander. Clarissa was staring at Duncan with a sorrowful look, while he just kept his cool gaze on me, his face covered by his mask of indifference. "I think I asked a question." I pressed, drawing Clarissa's eyes on me.

"Maybe we should do this in the morning. It must have quite a taxing nig--" She tried to rush out to buy them some time, but I cut her off.

"I don't think so. It has been pushed off long enough, and I'm done being accommodating." The words were stern and left room for argument. They told me to wait, to be patient and to be understanding. But my patience was frayed and I realized with every passing moment I was failing to hold on to my ability to be understanding.

"There's nothing going on, that you need to know."

My eyes came to a rest on Duncan, when he decided to answer. Although that wasn't the answer, I was expecting. But what bothered me more was the fact that how calm and composed he was being about this, almost clinical. "Is that what we're doing now? 'Need to know basis'?" When he continued his silent inspection, I let out an annoyed huff and glared at him. "Do you really expect me to forget what I heard?" I exclaimed. "If this wasn't the first time something like this happened, as per what Clarissa said, it clearly is not related to me."

"Exactly, and that's why, you don't need to know the details of it." He cut me off.

"So, you admit that this has happened before and is not related to me." I mused, making his jaw twitch. "But clearly it is related to you. So I 'need to know' about this because I'm associated to you. Closely, if I might add." Amusement flashed through his eyes before disappearing as his mask came back on.

"You eavesdropped on our conversation, didn't you?" He didn't expect an answer as he continued. "So, you know, why I don't want to answer that question of yours. I don't know why would you still push for an answer. I've told you things about me, I didn't tell anyone else because I trust you. Can't you trust me enough to tell you the truth when I'm comfortable about it?"

"Don't you think its too late for that. You had claimed that this was the safest place for me to be in. You lied. They came into our house. Our house, Duncan. And turns out, not for the first time. What is stopping them from coming back?" I argued, before pausing as I remembered something. "Wait a second, should I even call you that?" I almost spat. "Clarissa said you're not Duncan Marshall." I pointed out, and watched his eyes widen, making it clear that it might be true. My stomach dropped. I'd hoped, that I misheard them or that maybe it was a miscommunication. "Who are you?" I asked softly, too scared to voice it out and get a reply that I didn't want.

Duncan blinked as if he had been knocked off his feet. I chanced a glance at Clarissa, who to my worry, had turned pale. "I..." I brought my eyes back to Duncan as he started. "You know who I am." He spoke, careful of every word that left his lips.