His throat bobs as he stares at me, his eyes darting between mine, searching for what? I’m not sure, but I don’t care to find out.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’m exhausted, and I need to lie down. Not that it’s any of your business,” I grumble, and to my surprise, he moves to the side.
I take my opportunity and bolt to my room as fast as I can, which isn’t fast at all. I feel breathless by the time I flop against the door, appreciating the separation between us.
My eyelids fall closed as I attempt to catch my breath, and when I pry them open again, a sense of dread washes over me. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end, freezing me in place as I glance around my room, noting every shadow that cascades across the space, until my eyes catch on the bed.
I left in a hurry when Baron arrived, the sheets all crumpled and disheveled as I slipped on a pair of shoes and a cardigan. Now, it sits neatly folded.
Ember, maybe? But she doesn’t usually touch it.
I part my lips to ask her, only to realize she didn’t follow me in here.
Rolling my lips, I push off the door, my hands clenching at my sides as worry gets the better of me. Stopping at the side of my bed, my eyes are glued to the new addition on my sheets.
A small bunch of red berries is framed by the familiar evergreens of ivy, placed over an envelope with blue ink scrawled across the center.
Ivy
Glancing over my shoulder,I half expect someone to jump out at me, but I’m most definitely alone.
Who would put this here, and more importantly, what am I supposed to do with it?
Ember wouldn’t leave a note, and I would assume she would tell me if she saw it, but none of that explains why it’s here. My mind fixates on the when and how instead of reaching for the note for what feels like an eternity.
I finally exhale slowly before reaching for the envelope.
A blue seal holds the envelope closed, but it peels with ease as I find a small piece of paper inside. Trepidation floods my veins as my fingers tremble.
Ivy,
Watching your father’s certainty flourish before my very eyes is a sight to behold.
You are a sight to behold.
Don’t worry, my Evergreen, times are changing.
You will be the catalyst to my plans and the center of my desires.
We shall meet again.
-L
Confused,I read the text three times before the paper slips from my hand and fear takes over.
They speak of my father, the man who murdered me, seemingly for his own gain, while my mother is nowhere to be found to console or nurture me.
Nothing makes sense, and this piece of shit only makes it even more insane.
I shudder, banding my arms around my middle as panic takes over. I have to tell someone. I have to swallow my vulnerabilities and find the strength to ask for help.
Archer.
I grimace at the thought, but he won’t let harm come to me. He enjoys it being at his hands far too much to allow someone else to do it, that much is clear.
Reaching for the slip of paper and the bundle of ivy, I yelp when I catch a prickly thorn, and a droplet of blood forms on my fingertip. Hissing, I press my finger against my tongue as I leave the ivy and take only the letter.
Fear tears at me, and I can’t figure out if it’s from the fact that someone’s been in my space, or the fact that I’m about to bring my troubles to Archer, but it spurs me out of the door regardless.
