Page 34 of Secret
I eat for a bit, not really tasting anything, which is a shame as bacon is my favourite. I listen to their conversation about school before saying, “I enjoyed your fight last night, Elliot; nice win.” His fork drops, and there is silence as they all look at me in shock. I try not to grin as Seb chokes on his food, and Elliot whacks his back.
Harley finally says, after clearing his throat a few times, “What the fuck?” I almost smile because he sounds so different from the in-control brother I’ve gotten used to knowing.
Sebastian chimes in next, “It's not as bad as whatever you’ve been told.” He looks guilty as I glance at him. I hold my hand up to stop him as they clearly didn't listen.
“I didn't say anyone told me. I said I watched your fight, but I didn't stay long after you finished it off, Elliot,” I say calmly, but my body is tense, and breakfast is forgotten. I pour myself an orange juice while they stare angrily at me.
I hear them whispering to each other before Elliot says, “How the fuck did you get in? Who were you with? You can't just walk in.” He fires these questions one after one, getting angrier by the second. If looks could kill, I would be worried for my wellbeing.
“I went with a friend,” I say loudly, letting him know I won’t be intimidated before turning away and grabbing my keys and my phone.
“I’m going to be late for school, you guys chat about what you’re going to tell me when we are all home later,” I say, walking past Sebastian who tries to grab my arm to stop me, but before I can leave, Harley blocks the way.
“There is no way you are leaving, Elizabeth. We clearly need to talk, and you need to tell me who your friend is.” He draws on the word ‘friend’ and looks at me like he expects me to answer his question because he used my full name.
“No, I'm not missing school because you idiots–yes, I mean all of you–decided not to trust me. What did you think I would say? Harley, you saw where I was from. How could I judge you?” I shout at him, and he looks shocked for a second before looking strange.
“It’s not that we don't trust you . . . it’s complicated, Izzy,” Sebastian says gently, and I look over to see the worry in his eyes, but his worry just makes me more pissed at them all.
“Well, tell me then? I'm your family, you can trust me. You’re all I have, so why would I risk that?” I say with tears in my eyes because I know his answer before Elliot even says it.
“No, we can’t and won’t. We don't want you involved with this life. So, answer the fucking question. Who took you?”
“Why the fuck would I tell you? You don’t trust me with your secrets, so I’m not going to tell you mine!” I shout, knowing after I say it how childish I sound.
“Yes, you will while you live here,” Harley says, backing up Elliot and walking over to me.
“Fuck you, Harley,” I say, full of hurt now and less anger. Being small has its advantages as I slide past Harley before he can get me, and I slam the door on my way out. I hear Harley shout for me to stop. Considering he doesn’t follow me, I’m guessing one of the others stopped him.It’s for the best anyway.
I sit in the car for a moment, calming my breathing. I decide going to school is pointless today, as I won’t be able to think, and I call Blake as he might have answers my brothers won’t give me. Honestly, all I want to do is to run into his arms, he makes me feel safer than I have in years. He answers on the second ring.
"Hey, Izzy, are you all right?" he answers.
“Yeah, erm . . . do you want to skip school with me today? I need to speak to you, and I just can't go to school.” I sniffle.
“You’re a bad influence on me, beauty, but yes.” He laughs, making me smile. “You sound upset, what’s wrong?” His tone changes so quickly that I don’t respond for a second.
“Can’t speak about it, can I come to your place?” I ask, hoping he is all right with that. I seriously don’t want to cry in public today.
“I’ll send you my address. Mum’s at work, so we will be alone,” he says,and I smile in relief.
"Okay, I'll see you soon." I put the phone down. Not long after, I have his address, and I make my way to his house wondering why none of my brothers follow me. I’m guessing they think I need time to calm down, or worse, they need time to make up an excuse.
The first thing I notice is that his house is as big as mine, maybe even bigger. It looks as big as a god damn castle! It's beautiful, with that old kind of feel, with stone walls in grey and old-fashioned glass windows, there’s even ivy growing all over the walls, speckled with pretty, purple flowers. There is a stone driveway that matches the colour of the house, and the gates are open as I pull up. Tall trees surround the house like mine, and as I drive near the front of the house, there is a newer looking extension to the old house, with a garage to the side. I imagine it’s where they have added more modern parts of the house. The garage door opens when I get near it, and Blake is standing there looking as handsome as always in three-quarter length jeans and a tight, white top, which shows off his amazing chest with his arms crossed.
My breath catches in my throat at the stern look on his beautiful face, and, for some reason, I'm so scared I’ll lose him when I tell him about Tris that I almost start the car again to drive off, but I'm not that kind of person. I take a deep breath, reminding myself that I can do this, and get out of the car.
As I walk up to Blake, his whole expression softens, and he opens his arms when I get close. I practically run into them as he hugs me tight. His hand winds into my hair, holding my head against his chest, as tears run down my face and Blake leans down to whisper into my ear.
“Whatever it is, it's okay, or I’ll make it okay.” I hear the silent promise of protection and safety in his words, and that brings me to more tears. Blake gently moves me so he can wipe my tears away and holds my face with both hands before giving me a sweet kiss.
When I’ve calmed down, he kisses my forehead then takes my hand, and I follow him through the garage to a door. Blake presses a button on the wall, causing the garage door to shut, and we walk into a kitchen. It’s filled with white cabinets that look brand new and out-of-place in such an old house, with appliances littered around, too. I don’t get more time to look as Blake tugs my hand.
I walk with him to a massive entrance room with a huge, wooden double staircase in the middle, and as Blake leads me up the staircase, I notice the little roses carved into the bannister, which are very pretty. At the top of the stairs is a long corridor with little chandeliers littered down the middle of the ceiling, lighting the hallway. There’s a huge picture of two people holding a baby in a painting right at the top. I let go of Blake’s hand to have a closer look.
Blake wraps a hand around my waist, chuckling slightly and whispering, “I’m sure my mother will spoil you with baby photos soon, but, for now, I’m keeping that mind of yours innocent.”
I laugh loudly, making myself feel a little better as he leads me into his bedroom.It’s quite manly, is my first thought. There is a king-size bed with a black-leather headboard and a gigantic TV on the wall opposite the bed, with a black sofa in the corner. The room’s painted a light-blue, and the bed sheets match. There are two doors in the room, which I guess are a bathroom and wardrobe. Paper and pencils litter the area around his sofa and bedside cabinets. There are a few sketch books on the bookcase in the corner, and I want to investigate his art, but not now.
