Arielle
Isabelle returned to the room shortly and I clung onto her almost immediately which I could tell was a relief for her. "I'm sorry," I uttered quietly after several moments. "I shouldn't have just run off. I could have at least told you..."
She was silent for a good minute. I held my breath, tensing up a bit in the embrace as I waited for her response. "I understand why you didn't," she said quietly after a moment.
I slowly sat back on the bed and she reached over me for the bowl of soup on the nightstand. I hadn't touched it yet and she slowly began to try and feed me spoonfuls. It took me a few minutes of silence to process my thoughts enough to speak again. "I just spoke with Clara," I said softly. "She told me that she managed to turn on my phone so you could track me."
Isabelle nodded. "I'm very grateful that she did," she said solemnly. "I'd been searching for you day and night. I-" She hesitated a moment. "I was so afraid that I had failed you."
"Isabelle...you could never," I protested. "It was my decision...and I paid the consequences," I admitted.
"You never should have had to pay such a price. You were just trying to bring your sister home." She said firmly, grabbing my hand again.
I looked away. "She said I shouldn't have." I said, unable to mask the slight bitterness in my tone. "She said she'd gotten used to life with Tristan."
Isabelle squeezed my hand gently. "It's been years that she's been with the Vincenzos. It can't be easy for her to adjust. Have you heard of Stockholm Syndrome?"
I nodded silently, still not looking at her. "Worst of all it sounded like she meant what she said to me."
"She needs time. We will provide her with the necessary supports. She can go to therapy. I'll have a bodyguard with her. They won't get to her under our protection," Isabelle reassured me. "She's your sister and that means she's family to me too." I felt my heart flutter at this.
Then she reached for my chin, turning me to face her. She was looking more stern than I could ever recall. "As for you, Missy, you are not leaving my sight. I'll take time off work. If you're going to the washroom, I'll be right outside the door. When you feel well enough to return to classes, you'll stay with Marcel at all times."
"I want to go back tomorrow," I said without missing a beat.
Her eyes widened at me. "Arielle-"
"I have to," I insisted before admitting in a quiet tone, "I promised myself that I wouldn't let what happened to my sister prevent me from living my life. I can't miss anymore classes. I need to pass this term and I need to catch up. Besides, it'll take my mind off things." I added the last part softly.
She let out a heavy sigh. "Arielle, I have my own classes to teach as well. I don't feel safe letting you out of my sight right now even if you are with Marcel. We should really give it some time for things to boil over."
I sighed. "Isabelle...I'll wear that wig and the makeup you told me to. I'll even wear coloured contacts if you want. I can't stay in hiding. That's not me."
Isabelle went silent again before muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "stubborn brat".
I chose to ignore this. "I want to see Chase. There are...some things I need to ask him," I added after a moment. "And my parents."
Isabelle glanced at me again. "I had a feeling you would say that." She stood up. "I called Chase Evans in case you wanted to see him. He's downstairs. I didn't call your parents because I didn't think you would appreciate the heart attacks they would suffer. I'll go bring him up."
I nodded gratefully as Isabelle stood and walked from the room. I stared at my fingers mindlessly for several minutes until I heard footsteps ascending the stairs again. I felt myself stiffen instinctively until I saw Isabelle enter the room again. Chase followed behind her, his head hung.
"Ari..."
I suddenly felt a wave of emotions come over me. "No, you have some explaining to do." I had bottled up a lot of emotions and questions inside for quite some time, but only now that Clara was home did I feel the need to push for answers.
Isabelle said quietly that she would leave us be. "Please stay," I said softly. She looked surprised but sat by me.
I turned back to Chase. "I never asked you this, because I guess I was willing to do anything to help my sister." Chase looked confused at first, but I caught a hint of guilt in his expression. "Isabelle is right. Why did you recruit a teenager? What do you have against the Black Phoenix?"
"Tristan Vincenzo and his father are monsters and you know that firsthand." He said quietly, avoiding the question and not making eye contact with me.
"Tell me, Chase!" I could tell he was shocked. This was the first time that I had called him by his name in that tone to his face.
He stared at me for a few moments before reaching to hold his head in his hands. "Look, Arielle, you've accomplished what you wanted. You don't have to do anything for us anymore. I wanted to help you-"
"Oh don't worry, she won't be." Isabelle said in a steely tone.
"If you wanted to help me, you could have done it without involving me. You approached me as a child and recruited me. You didn't have to train me. Why? All these years I've been looking for Clara but I've also been fighting alongside you for a cause that I don't even know. Every time I ask, you say it's not important." I rubbed my eyes in exhaustion.
Chase glazed between me and Isabelle. "Look, Ari, can we do this in private-"
"No," Isabelle interrupted in the same tone.
Chase stared at me, his expression flashing between uncomfortable to stressed to a flash of anger, but it was unclear who the anger was directed at. "Tristan Vincenzo and his family deserve to be brought down. You're not the only one who's lost family and friends to him." He didn't elaborate on that.
"But why me? If you wanted someone to fight for you, I'm sure there had to be better choices than a teenaged girl!" I pointed out, only now understanding why Isabelle had pointed out how preposterous it all seemed. "Even Celine...and the others...you didn't let them join until they were 18..." I began to reason to myself.
"Because I knew you were desperate!" Chase practically spat out. My eyes widened. Isabelle was still for a moment. Then her expression darkened and I swore she could have lunged at him. "I'm not proud of it, Arielle, but I saw myself in you! I knew I was willing to do anything to get what I wanted, and I saw the same in you. I had initially only intended to reach out to your parents, to meet you, to offer my condolences, but when I saw how you handled your sister's disappearance and the strength of your bond-"
"You were watching me." I deadpanned. Chase didn't deny it.
"I know I shouldn't have involved you but you were my best chance. Our best chance-"
"We are not alike," I snapped. "I would never have done the same if the roles were reversed. I would never have used your anger to have you help me fight towards a shared cause if I knew it would potentially get you killed. I especially wouldn't keep my reasons from you."
Perhaps I was being unreasonable here too, but I was suddenly so angry. Chase still hadn't told me what he had been hoping to achieve. Finally, he spoke again. "I promised I'd help you bring your sister home. She's home now. Even if you wanted to help, I wouldn't allow you to anymore."
"Because you feel guilty? About what happened? About all this?" I gestured to myself.
Chase was silent for a long time and when he spoke, I could barely hear him. "Yes." He looked up at me. "Arielle... I never wanted any of this to happen. I know I shouldn't have recruited you. I know I should've forced you to step back and I could have at any point. I'm sorry. I'll see myself out and give you some space."
Neither of us attempted to stop him as he stepped out the door. I managed to hold it together for another minute before bursting into tears in Isabelle's arms once again.
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*edited*
Hi everyone,
I apologize for the long delay in updating. I really have become a lot busier than I could have anticipated.
Lots of love,
-Cindy