Raiola Hall

Chapter Fourteen

Kell sat cross-legged in Morbid's bedroom, staring at all the boxes she'd managed to pack up. There were only three in total; three total boxes that were filled with centuries' worth of personal belongings. Kell had been teary-eyed throughout the process, picking things up, staring at them for ten or fifteen minutes at a time and then putting them away. She'd forced herself to throw out all his clothes and shoes, got rid of everything materialistic he had and burnt all his papers. With a deep sigh, Kell pushed her feet against the floorboards. She ran her hands over her face, closing her eyes and breathing in deeply. Kell relaxed her entire body and sank against the end of the bed, resting the back of her head against the springy mattress.

It had been a full seven days since Morbid's death, but Kell kept replaying it as if it had only happened yesterday. For the first couple of days, Kell had locked herself in her office, refusing to come out. She hadn't eaten a single morsel of food, despite Ivy's trying. Kell had only been hurt more to see that every single staff member was back when she got home from Raiola Hall. She'd stayed sitting in Morgana's car when Maria had parked up in the driveway, staring at the front porch. Her body was numb, and her mind had shut down, her only thought being that of Morbid. Maria had tried to coax her in as best as she could, offering her a multitude of things that she would've jumped at had Morbid still been alive. Instead, Kell sat slumped against the passenger seat and continued to stare at the front door, leaving Maria to walk into Edenbridge alone.

When Kell had finally mustered the strength to get out of Morgana's car, she wandered wearily into the lobby and saw Ivy standing on the landing, looking down at her. Kell had met her eyes for a few seconds but had forced herself forwards, turning away from Ivy and going straight to her office. The maid had chosen to keep her distance, as had Reece and as had Adrienne, but at one point, Kell had heard Maria discussing with someone outside of the office door. She had perked up when Maria had mentioned all the staff and had sighed about how worried they were and how sad they were to hear about Morbid's death. The Contessa had talked so passionately but so dismissively of the situation and Kell had felt an anger trying to build up within her. She hadn't let it, turning away from the door and returning to her state of silence.

Kell shuffled about on the floor after pain started to build in her thighs. She stretched her legs out ahead of her and lifted her head, opening her eyes. Her eyes bore into the wall ahead of her, feeling her chest tighten. The urge to cry started to bite away at her somewhat calm demeanour, and tears even came to her eyes, but Kell shook her head dismissively. She wiped all the tears away from her eyes, biting her bottom lip. A lump formed in her throat again, a feeling that she'd felt too many times over the last week. Hanging her head again, Kell closed her eyes and pushed the balls of her hands against her face. She pushed them into her eyes, blinding herself and curling herself up into a ball. Her mind started to tick and whir as time went by, her body caving in on itself.

Kell remembered the time that she had met Morbid, deep within the snowy woodlands of Iceland. She remembered his little face appearing suddenly between the trees, not that far away from the farm she lived on. He'd looked so timid and so weak, and when Kell had approached him, he'd told her that he was lost and needed food. Kell had pushed him to talk, desperate to know more about him before she took him back to her home, to her parents. He'd told her his name, which Kell had laughed at, and he'd also said that he hadn't eaten a single thing other than berries for days. Kell had taken Morbid by the hand and led him through the forest the way that she'd gone to find him. She led him across a narrow ravine and over endless streams using stepping stones, laughing when he slipped. His foot had been submerged in the icy cold waters once or twice, and by the time that Kell got him to hop the fence that separated farm from woodland, he was complaining of excruciating pain. He had shown no fear, despite Kell warning him that her parents, especially her father, would question him intensely. Morbid had waved away any signs of fear or discomfort as he made the trek over fields to get to Kell's humble home.