Antithest

Chapter Two

The car ride was eerie and awkward. Abel made me sit in the back seat while he drove. Neither of us said a word, except for when we entered The Strand and the guard at the gate of the Capitol Building asked Abel for his enterance code. The Capitol Building housed the ruling family, the help, and the elite guards and board members that helped run our city.

I'd never been this close to the Capitol Building. When they told me that my parents were being jailed, they took me outside to the front bench at my school and gave me a lollipop when they were done with me. Like sugar can fix devastation.

There were tall, metal columns lining the walls. Every piece of furniture from the waiting area chairs to the vase on the side table was made of a metallic material that burned your eyes when rays of sun shone off of it. There was a burly old woman with a hairy mole sitting at the front desk playing solitare on her computer, not a care in the world for her duty. Abel, looking annoyed as ever, smacked a hand down on the silver bell on the desktop. The loud ping snapped her out of her card game hypnosis and she looked up at us.

"What did you do this time, Abel?" Her voice was gruff, like she had been smoking three packs of cigarettes a day before they were banned. Abel rolled his eyes.

"We're here to see my father. "

She looked at me up and down, and I could see her slightly raise in her seat so she could see my full uniform. I could just imagine her thoughts. What would the Chancellor possibly want from an Antithest?

"He's in a meeting. Come back later." Her eyes never left the label on my top.

"Well, tell him it's urgent. I have the girl he's been looking for." Abel flared his nostrils, looking quite angered for just a moment, but then managed to compose himself before he boiled over. The desk lady shrugged and turned back to her computer.

"Oh, fuck this," Abel mumbled. He grabbed my arm forcefully and dragged me towards the elevator.

"You're gonna regret that, Abel Rexford." She called from her perch.

"I don't give a damn, Norma." Abel yelled just as the doors slid shut. He pressed the highest number of them all, level eight, and we began our venture up. I still felt his fingers burrowing into my skin, most likely leaving finger shaped bruises, and I tried to yank my elbow away.

"You can let go of me. I may be an Antithest but I'm not a dog." I told him through gritted teeth. He gave me a look that would put meerly anyone in their place and let go.

"Are you going to tell me why we're here now?"

"No,"

I turned to him, trying to look as intimidating as I could, and yelled, "And why the hell not?"

"Because you'll find out in a few minutes. Can you quit yelling? I'm getting a migraine," Abel rubbed his temples with his finger tips. I punched his arm with my tiny, girly fist. His eyes shot open and he ran his open palm over his bicep. "What was that for?"

"Tell me why you brought me here or I will scream as loud as I can and I'm sure that won't help your precious little head." I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms over my chest.

I was thankful when the elevator doors opened. That ride was possibly the longest I've ever been on. I ran out the doors and looked both ways, like I suddenly knew where I was going. Abel walked down the hallway opposite of the one I was going down. I tried to make it smooth when I turned on my heel and ran after him.

He stopped at a door with a plack attached, the word "Chancellor" engraved in gold letters. He didn't bother knocking, just walked in. The Chancellor was facing the window behind him in his cushioned chair, staring out into the clouds and tops of skyscrapers. There was a small glass of what I assumed was scotch on his desk. "Norma said you were in a meeting." Abel quietly poured the glass out into the potted plant on his desk and silently sat the cup back down in its original place. Chancellor Ian Rexford rolled around to face us and I wondered how he was Abel's father. His eyes were a deep, bitter coffee brown while Abel's were a weird shade of green and his hair was brown, not blonde like Abels. That made me wonder if I had ever seen the Chancellor's wife. I knew her name was Natalie, and she came from a line of elites in the French Province, but I was almost sure I had never seen her.

"Good morning, son, I'm fine, how are you?" He said breathily. He picked up the empty glass, realized it was empty and sat it back down. I sensed a growing drinking problem. Abel rolled his eyes and pushed me towards the desk.

"This is the girl. Indiana Kane. The one you've been asking about." He gestured to me. I felt awkward standing in front of him like this. I was out in the open, a vulnerable lamb under his lion eyes, and I hated it. I wanted to hide behind one of the many fake plants he had in his modern office and watch from afar.

"I see that." Chancellor Rexford said, folding his hands over each other on his desk and looking up at Abel.

"You can leave now, Abel. I'd like to speak to her alone."

He gave me a gruff look, turned on his heel, and left. I'm in an office with his alcoholic father, what could possibly go wrong?

Author's Note-

THE PICTURE ABOVE IS JEREMY IRVINE AKA ABEL