Obliviate My Choices {Book 4}

14. You have a choice

A/N Important author's note at the end of chapter

Sam followed me inside with a smirk and a nudge, kicking the door behind her. "Don't do that, I only painted it in the summer." Arthur whined.

"Bloody hell, what happened to you?" Sam said loudly, and I looked up from my feet. In the brighter light of his hallway, it was clear that Arthur had a large purple bruise under his eye--and I swore some of his hair was missing from his fringe.

"Nothing." Arthur waved off. "I'm fine."

"You're a crap liar." I said, all thoughts of confessing feelings vanished. I reached up and held Arthur's face in my hand, examining the bruise. It was nastier up close, reaching from under his eyelid to his cheekbone. 

"It's fine," Arthur snapped, but as I rubbed my finger over the bruise he visibly winced.

"Clearly not," I said, removing my hand from his face. "Who did this to you?"

"It's no big deal, please, just drop it." Arthur begged, and he looked nervous as he pushed his glasses up his face.

"Right then, I'm going to get truth telling serum then, you stubborn bastard." Sam said. "I want to know who I'm out to kill."

"Same here," I added, feeling angry. "I won't hesitate to give them a matching bruise, see how they like it."

"Well considering your luck with potions recently, I'd say no to that." Arthur said dryly to Sam. "I''ll tell you both, okay? Just don't freak out."

"I'm getting an icepack." I declared, and while Arthur whined I ended up in his freezer to find a squidgy ice pack behind a large pack of frozen waffles.

When I got into the living room, Sam was sprawled across an armchair with a paper party hat on her head, though with a steel like expression. Arthur was curled up on one side of his sofa, and I noticed he winced as he folded his legs under him.

"Got it," I said, sitting next to him, and pressing the ice against his face. He gave a little smile, reaching out his hand for mine, but thought better of it, putting it on his lap.

"Thanks." Arthur said. "Right, so I was over Aunt Elena's and I couldn't sleep last night, and um I heard Cole trying to sneak out of the house. He, he was heading out to find Cameron."

"WHAT?" Sam and I excaimed together.

I was honestly taken back. Cole, going voluntarily after his abuser of so many years? What was he thinking?

"Well, you both know about those kids Cameron killed?" Arthur said timidly, and Sam and I both nodded. "Cole thought it would be wiser to hand himself over to Cameron so he wouldn't kill anyone else--and obviously I didn't like that."

"What happened next?" I asked. "Did you follow him?"

"He didn't make it out of the door, I tackled him." Arthur snorted. "And he got pissed off, and started hitting me. He only stopped when I hit him over the head with a lamp, he realised what he was doing. Then he cried, I cried and Camille almost hit us with a baseball bat thinking someone was trying to break in."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here alone on Christmas day." Sam pointed out.

"You knew I was here though?" Arthur said, and Sam shook her head. "How were you expecting to get in then?"

"Break-in, eat all your mum's Christmas cake." Sam said with a smirk. 

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Well I thought it might not make Cole's Christmas day any better if I was over his house--especially since I told his mum what he was planning on doing. So I've been hiding out here eating and watching Nightmare before Christmas."