His blood on my hands

Jamia four

With only a few more days until my deadline, I can't give up. For the last couple of days, the air has been stiff and as much as I wish Belle didn't shun me, I have a job to do and she can't get in the way. I wait for a moment alone, but either Belle is in the room, or Kendra's in the room. So, I talk to Belle .

"Hey."

She doesnt look up from her book, "Hi."

"Belle, why do you hate me now?" I say bluntly.

"I don't hate you, I'm just... whatever."

It's not whatever. It's anything but whatever.

"Can we talk?"

"Yeah."

She puts her book down. I miss looking into her eyes when we would talk all night. It feels like years ago, but it's only been a couple days.

"So, i'm not really supposed to tell anyone this, so you have to promise to-"

"I promise."

Ah that perfect movie moment. It makes me feel like crying for some reason.

"So, basically there's a whole bunch of stuff about England and Italy. We don't hate each other, it's just that, well, England stole a lot of money from us a while ago. Then a war happened and in all the chaos it was kind of just, forgotten. And they never paid us back, and there was no one to hold them accountable. Because they were and they are more powerful than us."

She looks at me so intently, so intrigued. It makes me feel so warm and... loved again. I know I'm making the right choice. I can trust her with this. I can trust her with anything. I could put my life in her hands. No it's only been two years, I can't trust her like that. But I do, regardless.

"And my aunt and uncle, who I live with ever since my parents died, sent me here to find out secrets about England, AKA Kendra. And they want revenge I guess, and they know that England is hiding something. They've been so quiet. It's like a calm before a storm Belle , something's going to happen and if we find out before it does we could use it as like..."

"Blackmail?"

No.

I mean, yes. But, I thought she was just understanding. I thought everything would be okay. I thought this story would be enough. Now that I think about it, not that I haven't been thinking about it for days, maybe this isn't the best idea. Maybe she wont understand, as much as I want her to. She's like a butterfly pollinating plants, or like a giant tree that all the animals in the forest live in. And if she was gone everything would turn to chaos. And I'm a trickster, sly, cunning, liar. I can't burden her with me.

"Hey, get those worry lines off your forehead." she reaches up and places her warm palm on my forehead, all the tension immediately gone. "I never said blackmail was bad."

She gave a sly smile that I have never seen on her before. It's so different. It makes her feel so human, so attainable. And before I have one moment to think, I lean in. My heart's at my feet, my stomach in a knot. And she leans in too. Then our lips meet and this moment feels more magical than any other. Like a million fireworks. I put my hand on her face, her hand on mine. For 15 long seconds, I forget about everything. Then she pulls away and smiles. I see golden flakes in her eyes.