A Thief's Kiss

10| Orders

Chapter 10: Orders (Alexander's POV)

We all sat at the table, waiting. It's nearly time for dinner and Aria is nowhere to be seen. 

Mr. Harry informed us earlier in the day that she had gone to bring some of her stuff from home. But that was in the morning. It's nearly seven now and she still isn't back. We're all starting to think she's run away. My leg continuously bounced up and down while I held my chin in the palm of my hand, waiting for somebody to bring in some news on her. I even sent out two guards to search for her. 

 The doors opened and the two guards showed up, one of them holding Aria with her hands behind her back, the other holding a bag that I assume is hers. She was huffing and was clearly annoyed. The guards let her go and then handed her bag to Mr. Harry. 

"You sent out guards after me?" she asked, aiming her question directly at me. 

I was the one who sent guards after her, but she doesn't need to know that. "You were missing for the entire day, what were we supposed to do?" I asked. 

"We?" my dad asked. "No, no, no," he chuckled. "You. You sent out the guards, not us. We didn't even know until now." 

I shot him a pointed look before turning to Aria. 

"Where did you think I was going? What did you think I was going to do?" She walked over to me, standing right behind the chair to my left. 

"I thought you were going to run," I shrugged. 

"To where?" 

I stared at her for a minute. 

"Where do I have to run?" she snapped. 

"Aria..." 

"No, tell me. You think I ran away and you were so sure that you sent guards after me. So where did you think I was going to run to? Tell me." She pulled out the chair and sat down beside me, facing me completely, clearly furious. "Tell me." She took her hat off and put it on the table, running her hand through her hair. She raised her eyebrows, looking at me expectantly. 

"You could have gone anywhere, that's not what had me worried. What had me worried was bringing you back, all right?" I stood up, pushing away the empty plate. Suddenly, I'm not so hungry anymore. I walked out of the room while unbuttoning my blazer and straightening it out. I heard rushed footsteps behind me until she grabbed my arm and ran out in front of me, blocking my way. 

"Why was it so important that you had me brought back?" She narrowed her eyes at me before stepping closer. "Why were you worried?" 

Why was I worried? 

I shrugged, "Because unfortunately, my entire reputation lies in your hands, on your shoulders. I didn't want you going out and about spreading lies about what happened." I pushed past her, continuing up to my room. 

"What lies would I spread? Aren't the bruises enough?" she asked, following me. I didn't look back at her and headed upstairs. "You know what your problem is, Alexander?" I continued ignoring her and pushed the door to my room open but before I could close it, she blocked it with her shoe and slipped inside. "Your problem is that you always think you're right and everything is about you. You don't care what the situation is for other people. You've always been like this and your grandparents never bothered to correct you. I've seen you and known you long enough to know that," she said angrily. 

I clenched and unclenched my jaw. "Don't talk about my grandfather." 

"Why? We both know the things he taught you weren't the nicest. But you blindly obeyed his rules, didn't you?"