One Day Later:
Charlotte and I were finally home, fully recovered.
I was wrapped up in William's soft blankets in his room, burrowing my own little nest under them. Since arriving at the house late last night, the temperature never seemed to stop dropping.
Despite the Winter Manor being one of the greatest houses in the state, it was also really old, thus their heating systems were not so great.
The only ways to get warm in the damn Manor were to light up the fireplaces in every single one of the rooms, clothe yourself in like three layers of clothing, and burrow under five blankets. Which was exactly what I was doing at that moment.
I was alone though. William was out getting food for me. Charlotte was sleeping, and I can only assume so was Charles. Daniel was in his office.
I huffed and sat up, cocooned in the warmth of five, fluffy blankets.
I was bored. Extremely bored.
Let's go see what Daniel was up to.
~
Trudging slowly in my cocoon, I finally reached Daniel's office. I didn't even bother knocking and barged in. Daniel looked up swiftly from the game of chess he was playing and raised an eyebrow, "What is this? Has the snuggle monster finally come to stuff me into bed?"
I crinched up my nose and replied, "Gross."
I threw myself into one of his leather chairs and put my feet up under me. After looking at the game board he was playing on, I said, "Are you seriously playing chess against yourself?"
Daniel smirked and replied, "Yes, I am. Why? Would you care to substitute yourself in instead?"
I shook my head, "No, I played once. I was undeniably bored."
Daniel scoffed and murmured, "Then your idea and my idea of entertainment must be 'undeniably' different."
I gasped, my eyes wide, "This is your idea of entertainment?"
Daniel's eyebrow raised again, taking in my scandalized voice. "Yes? And? What is your idea of entertainment then? Please, enlighten me."
I smiled wickedly beneath my blankets and stood up. "Please, follow me, Mr. Winters."
Daniel sighed and stood up as well. "Now, now, don't think of anything too physical or adventurous; you're still recovering from your...last adventure."
I blushed angrily and furrowed my eyebrows. "Har, har."
Daniel laughed behind me as I shuffled out of his office, leading him to the theater room.
I turned on the Apple TV and went to the movie section. Staring, I asked, "You guys are rich, right? So you guys wouldn't mind spending $15 to buy a movie?"
Daniel laughed out loud and nodded, "Yes, my dear, we're rich. Buy as many movies as you want; I doubt it would be able to make a dent in our bank account."
I smirked and browsed through the genres. "Daniel...close your eyes. I want the movie I pick to be a surprise."
Daniel groaned and laid his head back, eyes closing. "I am already frightened of the movie you decide to entertain me with."
I whacked his arm, shouting, "Hey! I'm not going to choose a scary movie. The only movies I like are romance and comedies."
Daniel nodded and whispered with dread, "That is what I was frightened of."
I gasped loudly and raised my hand to whack him again when an idea popped in my head. I lowered my arm and grabbed the remote, knowing exactly which movie to play.
Once the movie was set up, I dimmed the lights and snuggled into my blankets.
I hit play.
"You have a choice in this world, I believe, about how to tell sad stories..."
Daniel groaned again loudly.
Ah, the sweet, sweet sound of revenge.
~
William shifted through the papers as he sat in his office, Anna's food placed next to him. He should already be on his way home, but was called into work for an emergency.
After correcting the mistake, Will stayed behind for a little longer to make sure that there were no more problems to deal with. William sighed and placed the papers back in the file, content that he had solved everything that needed fixing.
As he was getting ready to leave, a knock on his door sounded.
"Come in." He said, looking up from gathering everything he needed to leave.
Simon, one of William's investigators, stepped inside, a small, thin box in his hand. "Hey, boss. I have something here I think you need to see. It's regarding Miss Charlotte's and Miss Anna's attempted kidnapping---"
William growled and slammed his hand down on the table. "I think I've heard enough about that damn situation. We've already caught the people responsible. What more is there? Is it any potential danger to Anna or Charlotte?"
Simon furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a second before answering, "No, it isn't, but---"
"Then I don't need to hear anything more. Anna and Charlotte are fine and will remain that way just as long as no one talks about the events that occured, alright? Whatever you have, throw it away please."
Simon opened his mouth to disobey, but rapidly closed it, noticing the looks William was giving him. "I...of course, sir. I'll just--- throw it out."
Simon walked backwards a few steps before reaching the trash can, quickly throwing the box inside.
Unbeknownst to William, if he had just opened that little box he would have seen a certain pregnancy test inside, taken by a certain girl at a certain gas station.
Now, it seems nobody would ever know the results of the pregnancy test, as Anna had never looked at it, and, now, neither had William. With all that had occured after she took the test, Anna had never once glanced at it to know the results.
And the hospital, after asking William if Anna was pregnant or if they were trying for a baby, had not thought to do an ultrasound once Will denied their questions.
So, it seems, they would not know if Anna was indeed pregnant or not.
~
"You don't get to choose if you get
hurt in this world but you do have
a say in who hurts you.
I like my choices. I hope she likes
hers. Okay, Hazel Grace?"
"...Okay..."
I blew my nose into the tissue, tears streaming down my face. I gave out a few gurgled moans and wailed, "He should of...He should of lived, damn it!"
Daniel released a long sigh and patted my hand, "There, there, child. It's only a movie. Augustus Waters and Hazel are only fictional characters brought to life by a director and a bunch of actors. None of it was real."
I shoved his hand off mine and rapidly turned to him. "I know that. But that doesn't stop me from-from getting these feels. It looks real, and that's enough for me."
Daniel nodded his head understandably, "Yes, yes, my dear. I completely understand. Now---"
"Hello? Anna? Father? Anybody home?"
I smiled suddenly, hearing the familiar voice of my fiancé. Still wrapped in blankets, I followed the sound of Will's footsteps, walking out of the theater room. The second I stepped outside though, I felt the weight of his arm's around me.
"Oh, hello," Will said, tightening his arms around me, "How are you feeling?"
I looked up at him and nodded my head, "Good. I feel a little sleepy, mostly hungry."
"That's good because I bought your favorite food!"
Oh...sweet goodness. I'm in heaven!
•~•
Claire:
"Is it positive now? You have the doctor's note?" Claire asked, eyes scrutinizing the strawberry blonde in front of her. Brittany nodded and handed her an envelope. After looking and reading the contents inside, Claire nodded, handing it back to the girl.
"Well done. It's remarkable how fertile you are. Once- or I guess twice in this case- and you're already pregnant. How lucky you are..."
Claire shook her head at the terrible memory that popped up in her mind, touching her stomach gently. Never again. Never again would she go through that.
Claire stood up from her chair and gave a small smile to Brittany. She rang a bell and waited as a servant entered the room before saying, "Please show Miss Coleman here to the Pink Room. The room right next to the nursery."
She gave her hand out to Brittany to shake, but her arm started to tremble once being lift up.
Brittany furrowed her eyebrows in concern, "Claire, are you all right? You look a bit shaken..."
The truth was that Claire was far from all right. After returning home from rehab two days ago, her father thought it would be a splendid idea to reintroduce his daughter to the 'new and improved' Dark Room.
She was still recovering.
See, this time, her father made sure to tell his goons not to leave any marks where they are able to be seen, and to not break any bones. Though his father had most hospitals paid off, his daughter's growing list of broken bones and injuries seemed to be getting unwanted attention.
And Senator De Monte could not have that.
~~~
AN: Heyyyy. Look at this! I kept my promise. I updated quickly, right?
So, how was this chapter? I know the beginning was pretty much a filler. But what about the end? How do you feel about that?
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-RavenMoon06 (aka Vivianne Saldaña)
©RavenMoon06 ©VivianneSaldaña ©2016
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