? ANYTHING
FOR
RACHEL ?
???????
?Episode_9
Like I had suspected, the week was going by quic-kly.
Maybe because I have been throu-gh this whole ordeal before, or maybe I’m just better tempered, but regardless, the time was ha-rd on Logan, but didn’t really bother me. He just couldn’t un-derstand why we were being locked up like prisoners. I’d tried to explain to him, to make him see, that outside of this room is nothing but intense danger, not only for me, but for him too.
Even seeing a place like this, and having Pedro show him some of what he could do, Logan often still seemed skeptical, like he thought at any moment the c@m£ras would come out and surprise him and we’d be laughing about this back at home on our couch by tomorrow.
I’d done my best to keep him distracted, but there was little to do in this room. Luckily, I was eating like a true queen. Logan took full advantage of the little kitchen, only ever having to call the kitchen when he’d nee-d more supplies.
At night, or day, I’m not really sure which, but when Logan would fall asleep, I’d be lying in be-d beside him, my mind wandering to what is going on on the other side of that door. Octavia said I could leave whenever I wanted, but I knew I nee-ded to wait. I was curious though, what, or who might be right outside. I often would l@ythere, staring at the door until sleep would finally pu-ll me un-der, leading me right into a fit of vivid dreams, and then another long day in the blue room.
On the fifth day, Octavia finally c@m£ throu-gh with getting me a call to Rose. She’d come in all bright and cheery, carrying one of those old satellite phones I’d used here before.
“Momma?” Rose’s sweet little voice filled my ears and warmed my heart.
I had tears in my eyes instantly. “Hi, baby, how are you?”
“I’m good.” She said happily. “Guess what!”
I sat on the edge of the be-d, Logan hovering beside me. “What?”
“Papa Pedro and me went on a plane!” She cheered. “A big one.”
“No way!” I faked shock. “That is so cool, so you went flying?”
“Yep.” She giggled. “Oh and there was a sto-re at the place with the planes, and guess what they had!”
“Tell me.” I smiled, her cheer ma-king me feel whole.
“There were fairy figures.” She announced. “Lots of them, and Papa Pedro bought them all for me!”
“Oh, wow!” I laughed and I could see Logan smiling. “You better tell Papa Pedro that he had better not be spoiling my sweet little girl.”
She giggled again. “I don’t want to tell him that.” She laughed and I did too. “Are you and daddy having fun?”
“Yes, baby, but we miss you so so so so much.”
“Can I talk to daddy?” She asked sweetly.
“Of course.” I smiled, but I noticed the look on Octavia’s face, and it was not a happy one. “I love you so much, Rose.” I told her. “Be good for Papa Pedro, yes ma’am?”
“Yes ma’am, and I love you too. To the sky, the moon, the sun, and the stars.”
“To the sky, the moon, the sun, and the stars.” I repeated, then pas-sed the phone over to Logan.
“Rosebud!” He smiled into the phone, his face lighting up like I haven’t seen in days. “You flew on a plane?” He asked her. “Wow, that is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard.” He paused, letting her talk. “Really? How many?” He asked her.
“Nice.” He said nodding his head. “Guess what!” He told her. “We flew on a plane too, but our airport didn’t have any cool sto-res like yours did, you’re so lucky.” They continued to prattle on, back and forth, and Octavia waved me over into the kitchen areas with her.
I walked over warily, not liking the way her expression seemed frozen. “Yes?” I asked and she pursed herl-ips, taking a de-ep breath as she closed her eyes.
“Rose calls him her father?” She asked quietly.
I crossed my arms over my che-st. “I don’t see how that is any of your business.”
“She has a real father.” She fired back.
I wi-de-ned my eyes, leaning back from her slightly. “Oh, really?” I asked. “Because I haven’t seen him, and neither has Rose.” I snapped. “Logan has been the only father she has ever known, and she adores him.” I said angrily. “So whatever personal problem you have with Logan, you can keep it to yourself.”
“Look, Rachel, it is isn’t that I have a problem with him, but I am very close with…”
I tried to keep my face indifferent. “With Calvin.” I finished for her and she nodded once.
“I care about him, and he is a very good friend to me, I don’t like seeing him get hurt.”
I had a ha-rd time looking her in the eyes because of the stupid tears that were filling mine. I didn’t know if I was bothered by the fact that this stupidly gorgeous girl is close to Calvin, or if it was her admission that my being here with Logan was hurting Calvin. I blinked away the tears. “You look,” I said sharply. “I was very close with Calvin once too, and guess what? I didn’t like getting hurt by him.” I told her. “It’s been five years since I was here last. I was just a kid, and he hurt me like you can never imagine, so you can keep your judgments to yourself on what I have chos£n to do with my life since I was kicked out of here. You have no idea what I’ve been throu-gh.”
Octavia dropped her eyes to the floor between us. “I’m sorry.”
She whispered. “I just…care.” She said shaking her head. “I don’t mean to come off abr@sive to you, I swear.” She told me, glancing back up un-der her lashes. “I admired you so much when you were here before. I will just have to remember that there are two sides to every story, and I’ve up until now, only seen his, so I’m sorry if I offended you.”
I swallowed ha-rd , the tension still hanging between us. I wanted to ask her what his side was, but instead I just sighed. “It’s fine.” I told her. “I’m kind of known for saying things I shouldn’t, and for being a tad h0theaded, especially about things or people I feel pas-sionate about, so I un-derstand.”
She half smiled, then puckered herl-ips. “Oh,” She said, leaning back against the counter. “I hope you don’t think I meant I care for him in that type of way.” She said narrowing her eyes and tilting her head to the side. “I only mean we are very close friends, he would never…” She pu-ll-ed her bo-ttoml!pinto her mouth, st©pping herself from going on.
I wasn’t sure how to get the t©pic of conversation to something more comfortable since I didn’t really know her very well yet, so I just went with a very uncomfortable t©pic that at least didn’t have to do with either of our feelings for Calvin. “So when is the meeting?”
She smiled, straightening up, obviously happier to be talking about something else too. “Because we think a lot of the unrest has died down thanks to Calvin’s speeches, proclaiming you had no p@rt in your dep@rture, and the decoy room that has led to the arrest of many of the people involved in plots against you, we have moved it up to tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I repeated her, feeling a little faint. “Ok,” I nodded, trying to wra-p my head around it. “What should I expect?”
“Nothing too bad.” She told me. “You, the king, and the council will meet in a conference room pri-vately, where you will give your side of the story.”
“My side being what?” I asked.
She smiled. “Mostly the truth.” She shrugged. “Calvin is saying that on the night that you left, he arranged a car to take you out of here because he had felt pressured into marrying you just because of his father’s rules. He told everyone you didn’t know what was happening, and that he had a man drug you and you woke up back home.”
“So I am pretty much just getting up there and telling the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Ok.” I nodded. “I can do that.”
She smiled at me. “Yes, you can, and after they will deliberate, and you should hear the verdict either later the same day, or the next day at the latest.”
I glanced back over at the be-d and saw Logan la-id back, still talking to Rose about whether or not airplanes or fairies can fly fas-ter. It was obviously a heavy debate and I smiled watching him. “Best case scenario we are out of here in two days and we can go get Rose?”
Octavia tilted her head back and forth. “Best case you two are out of here in two days, but you’d nee-d to go somewhere else for a few weeks until we find and kill the threats to Rose.”
I sighed. Of course it couldn’t be easy. “And worst case scenario for me?”
Octavia looked nervously around the room and frowned.
“Officially the punishment would be death, but you and I both know that Calvin wouldn’t let that happen. He’d throw away all of his power to save you, so don’t be concerned about that.”
“Great.” I frowned. “I don’t know why I didn’t miss this place at all.” I said sarcastically.
“Right?” She smiled. “Who wouldn’t love all the danger and threats of death around every corridor?” She joked and we both laughed.
“Babe, come tell Rose bye.” Logan called me and I walked over.
“Bye sweetheart.” I said then turned to Logan. “We love you.” We said in unison and Rose giggled.
“Love you, bye.” She said and then the line went out.
I handed the phone back to Octavia and she excused herself while I la-id back on the be-d beside Logan. “She sounded happy.” He smiled, putting his arm around me and cradling me to him.
“Yeah.” I smiled. “She did.”
Logan put a hand un-der my chin and lifted my face. “Don’t worry about her, babe.” He said gently. “She’s ok.”
“I know.” I nodded. “Pedro will take care of her.”
“Not just that.” Logan grinned at me. “She’s tough as nails, just like her momma.” He laughed, then rolled over to k!ssme.
“What were you and Miss. Stick-up-my-bu-tt talking about?”
I rolled my eyes at him and sat up. “My meeting is tomorrow.”
“Oh, so early?”
“Yep.”
“That’s good isn’t it?” He asked, noticing my apprehension.
I nodded. “If it goes well, then yes.”
He pu-ll-ed me back down, k!ss!ngme again. “Then make it go well.” He said like it was simple.
“I’m not so sure it’ll be that easy.” I said quietly.
I know that Octavia is right, and that Calvin would throw away everything he’s worked for if it means saving me, or at least I thinks so, but I don’t want it to come to that. Why should we both have to suffer? And what would happen to Rose then?
Logan was right too.
I’d just have to make sure that it went well.
???????
Story_Continues •••••