dedicated to trenches for the absolutely lovely banners she made for this story as well as her comments on the chapters!!
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"You're telling me that Sophia was the psychotic child back then?" Alec asked. Looking past Alec's head, I saw Elijah trying to sign me out of the hospital at the front desk. Technically, he was arguing with one of the doctors to let me go and it seemed as though the doctor was losing as the debate went on.
Of course he was losing. Elijah had been captain of his speech-and-debate team back in his rebellious teen years. And tonight was Halloween-I was to be responsible for getting rid of the three-thousand tons of candy Elijah had bought during the three days I had spent in the hospital. There was no way he was letting me stay another night if he could help it.
"Bratty," I corrected. "Psychotic isn't the right word to describe a child. I mean, she wasn't ripping apart bunnies." Yet.
Ever since the incident, I had kept my mouth shut about the return of my memories. Only now was Alec finding out about what I remembered. The other individuals who knew were Archer, Elijah, and Xavier Fell (one administered my health exam, the other two had access to those files). I hadn't been able to talk with Minnie or Zen about the truth because every time they visited the hospital, Logan was with them.
That boy had quite the explaining to do.
On one hand, I wanted to confront about why he lied. On the other hand, I wanted to give him the best right hook I had.
Maybe I really am a violent person.
"She set a cabin on fire and caused the both of you to have amnesia," Alec sighed. "Psychotic would be a lenient term. Stop being the bigger person about this. I want you to go find her and punch her."
"I can't reasonably punch her for something that happened eleven years ago."
"Why the hell not? Flynn left when I was ten and I still want to go find him and punch him the face because that's what he deserves," Alec scoffed. "You know what, go punch Logan while you're at it. Why did he lie to you when she nearly killed the love of his life?"
I was in the midst of taking a sip of the soda my brother had given me before he went to get the car, and suddenly, I couldn't breathe. Alec watched as I leaned forward in my chair, thumping on my chest as I tried not to spit out all the soda.
"Shut up, Darkwood," I coughed out. "I am not the love of his life, for the last time."
Mentioning Logan's name out loud made me wonder what Six had in plan for him. I had forced Logan to take a day off despite his insistence on guarding me home. After I reminded him that I would be in the care of two Dragons, he finally agreed for a day of freedom but then Six snatched Logan's Halloween away.
"Wow. For a moment there, you sounded exactly like a fish on dry land," Alec commented.
"Go punch Sophia and Logan yourself if you're experiencing such violent urges," I said. Alec merely shook his head.
"Logan, sure. But I can't punch girls," he argued. I gave him the you-did-not-just-say-that-to-me look then pointed at my eye, which, a couple of months ago, had been completely black.
"You're special," he said cheekily. "I had to punch you in the face, you held a gun to my head."
I hadn't even noticed that my brother had arrived until Archer said, "You punched her in the face?" Like a ghost appearing out of thin air, my brother stood right by Alec's chair, his presence completely unannounced and quite silent. Archer raised a brow at me. "I'm disappointed, little Sparrow, I thought you were preparing to become an amazing fighter."
"I disarmed him and two others in less than five minutes. Plus, his black eye was worse than mine," I retorted.
"Was not! I landed way more punches than-" Alec's voice trailed off as his eyes darted towards Archer. "Yeah, uh, I didn't even hit you whatsoever. You barely got a scratch on you at all."
Archer watched Alec with narrowed eyes. From what Elijah told me, Archer had interrogated the Darkwood boy so badly that Alec couldn't be in a room with him for a full day. The end result was that Archer deemed Alec trustworthy, but Alec remained on his tiptoes around my brother.
"Rivers," Archer said as young couple passed through the front doors. "I have an important question to ask you."
Alec shot me a dismayed look, like he was terrified that Archer was preparing to slay him on the spot.
He was spared from having to answer as Elijah waltzed into our group, the most superior expression on his face as he stopped by Archer. "Done and done. The little Sparrow can return to her nest as soon as she wants to."
"I thought that the hospital was set on making her stay for another two days for further check-ups?" Archer cocked a brow.
"Did you know that spitting rapid-fire Cimerian scares people?" Elijah snickered. "That doctor wasn't too keen to hang around me after that so he gave me the forms and practically ran for the hills."
"Have you heard yourself speak the language?" Alec snorted. "You sound like you're summoning the dead."
"The language of my soul," Elijah grinned. "Come on, I have to get the candy ready for the trick-or-treaters."
The four of us left the hospital and Archer rolled his eyes at Elijah's statement. "You know, you're probably more into holidays than Martha Stuart."
"That woman has nothing on me."
No truer words had ever been spoken.
The chill of the air bit at my cheeks so I pulled my black coat around me a little tighter. The air smelled of crisp autumn leaves and a few of the trees were already losing themselves to the upcoming winter cold. Gold and scarlet drifted along the roads. Cars parked underneath grand oaks were blanketed under leaves that shifted with the small breeze that drifted through the parking lot.
"Back to my question," Archer piped up. "Darkwood--Gwen Stacy or Mary Jane?"
For half a second, Alec looked completely thrown off by Archer's random question but then he let out a scoff. "Mary Jane, obviously."
Archer feigned getting shot in the heart and he stumbled around the parking lot, performing a dramatic fall when we came to Elijah's car.
"You're not welcome here," he cried out as Elijah fished the keys out of Archer's coat. "I don't ever want to see your face again."
"I guess I know who got Mother's dramatic flair," I snickered while Alec skirted away from Archer's outstretched arms.
"It's called the art of theater," my brother grumbled.
"We're not in a theater, are we?"
Archer pouted as well piled into the car. However, after Elijah drove out of the lot and headed onto the road to his house, Archer turned around in the passenger seat, a much more serious expression on his face.
"I need your help."
"She just got out of the hospital," Elijah interrupted right off the bat.
"I'm not asking her to destroy the Great Wall of China," Archer argued. "I just need her to be my eyes and ears.
"Archer, you said that to me the other day and I ended up getting your lazy ass a soda," I interrupted. Alec sniggered but quickly stifled his laughter when Archer shot Alec a glare.
"One slip-up and I lose your trust," Archer sighed. "I promise you, Park, this is a serious matter. What you gather from this can set me miles ahead of our enemy."
He held out his pinky. I raised a brow. "I'm not eight years old anymore, Arch."
My brother only gave me a crooked grin. "It's worth a shot, isn't it?"
Archer used to make these little promises with little ol' me. He had made the mistake of going back on one of the promises once. As a result, I broke his pinky. He never made another one of these promises again.
This got me a little curious. What kind of errand would he risk his bones for?
Reluctantly, I wrapped our fingers together, feeling like a child all over again. "This better not be a joke."
* * *
This was so a joke.
How the hell did I end up wearing a dress on Halloween night, waiting in an Italian restaurant with Vincent while we waited for Logan and Sophia to show up?
That's right, you heard me.
I was having dinner with Sophia and Logan.
"This is important," Archer had said. "You'll make our ancestors proud."
On the ride home, Archer had barely said a word after I agreed to help him. It was only when we got to Elijah's house did my brother acknowledge me by throwing a dress at my head and telling me that Vincent would be arriving in two hours. When I tried to argue, he simply chucked a waist belt and a pair of shoes at me.
It was after Vincent's arrival that my brother poked his head out of his room and told me that I needed to keep a careful watch on Sophia. Then, he had pushed me onto the porch and locked the doors behind me.
So now I sat in a cozy little Italian restaurant in the middle of Paradise that was famous for its mushroom ravioli. Vincent had donned a black dress shirt tucked into perfectly ironed slacks, the outfit complete with spotless dress shoes.
Contrasting him completely, I wore the white dress Archer had so graciously given me. The brown belt wrapped nicely around my waist, but I had ditched the heels Archer had gotten and opted for my ankle boots instead.
"I'm going to murder him," I declared nonchalantly after sipping the last bit of my water.
"It won't be that bad," Vincent said with an apologetic smile. "It'll only be a few hours. If you don't want to talk, I'll do it for you."
"Trust me, Vincent," I grimaced. "Even you wouldn't be able to hold a civil conversation with her."
I figured that Sophia could potentially have a big part in Archer's grand plan to get his crown back. But unless his plan involved a bratty attitude and an obsession with Logan Cross, I doubted his course of action would have any chance of success.
Alec suspected that Sophia had secretly recovered her memories and was now plotting my demise behind everyone's back. His theory was that Archer had discovered Sophia's treachery and was trying to antagonize Sophia into revealing her true self.
"Keep her away from fire," Alec had said when Vincent picked me up. "And have a fire extinguisher on hand!"
Right then, Logan and Sophia walked through the doors. My eyes darted over to the fire extinguisher locked behind a glass case by the bar.
When the two reached the table, Vincent and I stood up. Vincent offered his hand out to Logan first, then Sophia. Logan had dressed casually, with a black v-neck sweater thrown a white t-shirt matched with dark jeans and his favorite burgundy sneakers.
Sophia, on the other hand, looked as though she had waltzed out of a spring catalog with her floral peach vintage dress and white blazer thrown neatly over her small shoulders. Her blonde hair was brushed to the side, looking like sunshine dripping down her chest.
That glare on her face was nowhere near sunshine though.
After the two of us sat down, Logan instantly switched his language over to Cimerian. "Why didn't you let me pick you up? It would've been safer than going with Vincent."
"It's your day off," I reminded him. "Besides, Vincent here is perfect capable of protecting me."
Vincent choked on his water.
Sophia tugged on the sleeve of Logan's sweater, reverting his attention back to her. "Sorry," he apologized. "I forget you don't know Cimerian."
"How does Alex know Cimerian?" Sophia inquired, not fully meeting my eyes. I guess the lab incident was still fresh in my mind.
"I used to tutor her. She needed a foreign language credit and I managed to help her pass her credit exam," Logan lied smoothly.
"Well, I'd appreciate it if you guys didn't speak in Cimerian," she grumbled. "It's rude to rub it in my face that I don't know something."
"What, you want to listen to us talk bad about you because that's exactly what we're doing," I retorted. Sophia's jaw dropped in outrage. Logan rubbed his face with his hand, not saying a word while Vincent tapped on my wrist, raising his eyes flashing a cautioning warning.
A waiter came by right at that moment, setting down four more glasses of water and then proceeded to place three glass jars holding candles in the middle of the table. The guy lighted the candles and smiled, telling us he'd be back with more menus before leaving.
Dearest brother, I thought. Just thought I should let you know that you sent me to my death.
"Alex?" Logan called out. "Alex, are you okay?"
I jerked back to reality, realizing that everyone was watching me with concern. Excluding Sophia, of course, who continued glaring at me like usual.
I leaned forwards and blew out the candles. Then, I moved the jars to my corner of the table, far out of Sophia's reach.
"I'm accident prone," I said, responding to everyone's stares. "You should know that." I flashed a smile in Sophia's direction. The effect was instantaneous. She glanced away from me, but a blush crept up the side of her neck.
An awkward atmosphere settled in our booth. Vincent was immersed in his menu while Logan was suggesting dishes to Sophia off the small 'Happy Hour' pamphlet.
Things never really do change, I thought as the memory of him trying to calm Sophia down before the fire came to my mind. It was the same soothing tone, the same body language that directed her attention away from me.
"Sophia, have you ever been here before?" Vincent asked after a few minutes. I flipped open my menu, scanning the list of pasta. For some reason, the only thing that sounded appetizing was soup.
"No," Sophia answered in a petulant manner. "I've been inviting Logan for weeks, but he's always been a little busy." She peeked over at me, the blue of her eyes flaring up for a second. "It seems I can only go somewhere if his ex-girlfriend tags along."
"Sophia, stop," Logan sighed, irritation leaking into his voice. "I thought we already went over this."
"I'm sorry! Look, I get that she had some kind of freaky accident around me, but it doesn't make me like her and it sure as hell doesn't mean I want to spend the time I have with you with her around," Sophia blurted. "She acts like some kind of third wheel and it's really starting to get on my nerves."
Her nerves?
Dearest Archer, you should be pleased to know that Sophia Misser doesn't show any distinct characteristics of a violent and unstable person who's burning with a thirst to destroy her enemies. However, I am. Have fun bailing me out of an asylum.
"I'm going to get some air," I announced, placing my hands on the table as I stood up. "Just call me when the food's ready."
Even though I had said "air," I headed towards the bathroom. Luckily for me, I was the sole individual leaning against the polished counter top, trying to keep calm.
Everything she kept saying--the snide little insults, the complaints--kept grating on my bones. No one liked being insulted--especially me. It didn't help that I was dying to pay her back for what she did all those years ago.
However, I had to swallow all of this anger down. I wouldn't give Sophia the satisfaction of giving in to her taunts so she could go running to Logan or Six and pin everything on me for making the first move.
Think about happier things, Park, I thought as I looked at my reflection. Harry Potter, food, unicorns, punching Archer for making me do this.
My quiet moment was cut off when Sophia walked into the bathroom, her white heels clicking harshly against the tiled floor. Logan must have sent her to create some peace between the two of us.
"I'm guessing the food is ready?" I asked in a polite tone. I was spending the next hour or so with her--playing nice was the only way to keep my sanity.
"I know what you're up to," Sophia sneered. "You want Logan back, so that's why you came here with Vincent. You're trying to make him jealous so he can start wanting you again, aren't you?"
"I came because I was forced," I sighed. "As well as the food. Not everyone is trying to steal from you, Sophia, nor is everyone yours to steal."
"Don't pull such a stupid excuse on me. I'm giving you a free pass today because of your freak show stunt from earlier-which you and I both know was just a cry for attention. But you need to stop, Alex. Logan and I have something, and you need to get over yourself and quit messing with our happiness."
Giving me a free pass? A cry for attention?
Oh, screw this little ray of sunshine, I thought as my fist went flying.
Sophia let out a blood-curdling scream as she stumbled and tripped over her heels. The next thing I knew, she was on the ground, clutching her nose while a large crowd paraded into the bathroom. A few of them servers, the majority of them diners-all with phones in their hands. Many of the people began to aim their phones at me and I rolled my eyes, realizing that I had become the show before dinner.
The next people to push their way through the crowd were Vincent and Logan. Instantly, the two boys hauled Sophia to her feet before Logan rounded on me, alarm all over his features.
"What the hell is going on?" he asked in Cimerian, seeming completely bewildered by the scene before him.
"I owed her one," I answered simply, cracking my knuckles. "She's had it coming a long time."
I left the bathroom and the crowd formed an aisle for me to pass through. Everyone eyed me with apprehension, some with harsh judgement in their glares. Behind me, I could hear Logan trying to calm down a hysterical Sophia and again, I couldn't help but think how it was the same phrases, the same voice from eleven years ago.
And just like eleven years ago, Sophia didn't calm down. She let out another scream and I turned on my feet just in time to watch her charge out of the bathroom and grab the nearest object before chucking it at me.
On the bright side, I managed to dodge the flying plate. On the downside, the pasta flew from the porcelain and splattered all over me, partially covering my face, completely staining my torso, and dripped down the hem of my white dress.
Well, at least I'm in the spirit for Halloween.
After that, she lunged at me, and everyone--including Logan and me--had been to startled by the flying pasta to anticipate her attack. She and I toppled over and her fingers clawed at the roots of my hair.
My fingers pulled at her wrists in a frenzied manner but it was too late. When her arm drew back, the red wig went with it. For a single second, Sophia faltered, her lips forming an 'o' as my brown hair spilled everywhere.
In a flash, she was pulled off of me and something black was wrapped around my face. Tender hands helped me to my feet and I pushed the material back so that it covered most of my hair. Vincent was pinning Sophia's arms behind her back while she gawked at Logan and me with astonishment.
"Why do you have-" she began to say but Logan intervened.
"What the hell is going on between the two of you? We're in a damn restaurant, for the gods' sakes!" he snarled.
"She started it!" Sophia snapped, seizing the opportune moment to place the blame on me.
"Yeah, I did, I'm sorry everyone missed it," I said. "I can do it again, if anyone wants to see."
"You just got jealous!" she shrilled, struggling against Vincent's arms. "I know more about him than you ever will! He trusts me more than he'll ever trust you!"
Her face grew more and more red until she was synonymous with a cherry tomato. "You don't know half the things I know about him and you never will! So go ahead and try and force yourself between us! Try and take him from me! Did he ever tell you his secrets? I know who Logan is-you don't! You don't know he's an ag-"
"That's enough," Logan cut in. He hadn't yelled, the volume of his voice hadn't raised a bit. His tone remained quiet but the coldness, the harshness of his words sliced through her snarls and the entire restaurant descended into an icy silence.
Sophia blinked, realizing that she had gone too far. The rage melted off her face as regret took over. "Logan, I'm so sorr-"
Without another word, Logan strode off. The door slammed open and shut with the exit of his presence and the bells tied to the handle of the door jingled ferociously, the twinkling melody sounding more like metal grinding against stone.
I sent Vincent a look and he nodded, offering me a small smile before beckoning his head towards the door.
I smiled in return. Then, I grabbed the red wig off of the floor before rushing out of the restaurant, Logan's sweater still on my head. I had a bodyguard to return it to.