Working for Malfoy

Chapter 31: Genuine

As soon as I was back inside, I sought out my sister. I found her at the dining room table with a glass of water in front of her and her head in her hands.

I approached her, careful not to startle her. I put a hand in her shoulder, causing her to jump and slap my hand away.

"It's just me." I say gently.

She relaxes and put her hands in her lap without saying a word.

"Are you ok?" I ask.

She shrugs.

Knowing that I wouldn't be able to get her to talk unless she was willing, I kneel down and pull her into my arms in a brotherly hug.

She wraps her arms around my waist and rests her head on my shoulder. We sit there for a minute before I feel her take a deep shaky breath.

"Aviana, are you ok?" I ask softly in her ear. "You don't have to tell me exactly what's wrong, just give me a simple yes or no."

After a minute, she shakes her head no and pulls away, putting her hands in her lap and her head looking down.

I pull back until I am on the balls of my feet and my hands are holding onto the armrests of her chair for support.

We sit in silence for a moment before she decides to speak.

"Has something ever happened to you or someone else that makes you wonder what you did wrong, or whether or not you were part of the reason and can't help but think that it was your fault?" She asked.

I am stunned by her bluntness but recover quickly. "I would be lying if I said no."

She nods before looking behind me with a blank stare.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion and turn around to see what she is looking at.

I jump into a standing position, half guarding my sister as I stare at the man in front of me with as much malice and hatred as I could muster.

The man paid me no attention as he looked passed me and right at my sister.

"Now now Draco, don't be so sour."

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't hex you right here and now." I snap.

"You wouldn't dare." He snapped back.

"Oh yeah, try me."

He rolled his eyes before looking back at Aviana. "When did you get back?" He asked.

I look back at her and see her eyes filled with anger and a tinge of fear. She looked at me and her gaze softened.

She looked back at the man before standing and moving up beside me.

"It's been a while." Was all she said.

"That it has my dear. So tell me, how have you been?" He asked.

"Better." She shrugs.

I look between the two of them with a sketchy expression.

"Elaborate. You know I don't like short answers." He snapped.

When Aviana just stood there without replying he glared at her angrily. "I want to meet with you in my study tonight. You know what happens if you don't show up." With that he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.

I looked at Aviana who looked as though she was about to burst into tears. I walked over and pulled her into a hug. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. Just know that I am here if you ever need to talk."