𝐎𝐇 𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐀 ; lord tewkesbury

XI.

            ╔═══════꧁꧂═══════╗

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude, I didn't know you had a guest." The girl flashed me a quick smile.

The tone in the room felt awkward, but that was understandable. He backed away from me quickly, as did I.

She joined us at the top.

"Ophelia, Ophelia Brookings." I extended my hand out to her which she accepted with a firm grip.

"Enola, Holmes." She replied, her last name she said quietly but it was such a prominent  name that she couldn't hide it even if she tried.

"Holmes? As in-"

"Yes." They both spoke in unison, she must've have dealt with the question a lot. Makes sense for her to be annoyed with it.

"What brings you here? Is everything alright?" Tewksbury said towards Enola, his voice was filled with concern.

I wasn't sure what the relationship between the two were but it was obvious he cared for the girl.

"Yeah, sorry, I was just checking up on you that's all." She responded, I could tell she wasn't speaking truth.

It's something boys don't notice, Tewksbury not being immune to it himself. She clearly wanted to say more but I'm sure that it was my presence that interrupted her thoughts.

"Well, now I know that you're fine, so I guess I'll be on my way." She nodded and made her way towards the treehouses entrance.

"No wait, stay." I said, in all truth, I was just hoping for another friend and curious about who she really was.

She looked a bit wary, like she maybe didn't trust me. We didn't know each other well, I assumed that was likely the reason. But maybe it was something more, possibly she just felt protective of Tewksbury, and felt threatened by me. Tewksbury was all hers, I wasn't trying to steal him.

"Fine, but not for long." She shot Tewksbury a look even though he was not the one who asked her to stay.

All three of us sat on the floor of the treehouse, forming a circle in its center.

Enola looked as if she was constantly figuring things out in her head, I found it to be mesmerizing yet eerily similar. Her brain just never stopped, it made sense for her to be a Holmes.

"How did you two meet?" She asked, her face didn't allow her to show any emotion. The words that fell from her mouth are usually ones that are filled with dread, yet you wouldn't be able to tell that by the way she said them, like it wasn't a question but a statement.

"Oh," Tewksbury turned to look at me, he was terrified. It might have been awful of me but I almost found the situation humorous.

"We met at a dance," he said reluctantly.

"A dance? That sounds terrible." She responded, I really tried to read her but it was a lot harder than most people I've come across.

"It was, believe me, I was forced to go." I tried to cut the tension, but it seemed my humor failed me this time.

She nodded and smiled, I think she felt bad about my attempt.

"What about you two?" My curiosity got to me.

I wondered about what they talked about when I saw them in London, why she would come back so soon?

"It's a long story," Tewksbury said.

"Well it isn't like we haven't got the time," I responded, why was he acting so reserved?

It was a simple question, maybe not the story, but it wasn't known to me that we were in any rush. Maybe Enola had to leave soon but it wasn't like he couldn't tell me himself.

"I suppose not," Tewksbury sighed.

My intentions weren't to annoy him.

The two of them told me of their adventure. From jumping out of a train, to running around London. It sounded almost incredible, minus the nearly getting killed multiple times. And Enola, I may have underestimated her a bit. Her quick thinking was incomparable, I now saw why Tewksbury cared so deeply for her.

I could also see that the both of them shared a bond that couldn't be broken. When they began to tell the story, the room felt lighter and Tewksbury didn't look uneasy anymore. Their giddiness cut through me like a sharp knife.

They liked each other.

I tried to not pay that any mind, but the words kept returning to my mind, interrupting my focus. Even though it broke me a bit, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that Tewksbury had someone out there for him that cared about him just the same as I did.

Enola was brilliant, I couldn't help but want to ask her more questions about everything. Maybe I was being greedy but I had never come across someone so profound.

But of course, I began to sabotage myself with my thoughts.

Looking at Enola, her eagerness and poise, it started to bring back familiar feelings. Something began to slowly creep into my mind, something that had been hidden in the deepest darkest place for my whole life.

My mother.

If anyone could help me figure out what truly happened to her it would be the girl sitting in front of me. I didn't want to end up coming off as rude but this may be my only chance, it had haunted my mind for months now.

I didn't want to continue living my life chasing after what my mother left behind, her reputation, her wishes, her secrets. I needed closure from all of that, and this may have been where I found my peace.

I gathered the little courage I had and decided to ask her.

"Do you think you could help me figure out what happened to my mother, it's just been on my conscience lately. What really happened and why it happened, I just need to know, regardless if I receive help or not." I mumbled, it was worth a shot.

It may have not been a major deal for some, but it just kept me up at night. It was like a nightmare except I didn't have to be dreaming to see it, it was always there. I never bothered to care until I grew into my years, and I realized how important it was to me.

For me.

"What do you need to know about your mother?" Tewksbury questioned, his voice remained quiet as it did this whole conversation.

"If her death was an accident or not," It felt odd to say out loud to someone for the first time. It felt so shameful to think, let alone say. But here, I didn't feel as though judgement would reach me. "I've been told things, by Lilia and the girls at school. And I just need to know if it's true."

"I need to know if she, if she did it herself." I managed to say.

The two of them just stared at me, the room was silent besides the hush of the wind.

Enola's eyes scanned me but they were filled with comfort.

"I'll help you." She said softly.

            ╚═══════꧁꧂═══════╝