Ava's Roulette

Chapter 9: Say Goodbye

After the signing of the contract, much like Charles, I excused myself and left the room. After closing the door behind me, I heard voices start again. I did not care at that point to listen to them. I felt washed out, like an old towel that had lost the brightness of its colour from use. I needed to process what had just happened in that room. I asked a maid for the jacuzzi to be turned on and left.

I slid the glass door in the living room to the outside where the pool and jacuzzi were. It was starting to steam. The lights were off in every room. I was alone. Not a surprise. I laughed bitterly. I took my heels off and undid my dress, I let the silky fabric fall off. I took all my accessories and placed them on top of the dress. I sat at the edge testing the water in my underwear and bra. Every so often, a chilly wind would brush over me. Making me shiver. I then heard the door slide open and close. I whipped around. It was Charles again.

He must have seen that I had taken my dress off because he turned his head towards the wide-open space of land, to give me privacy. How polite. I laughed internally. The soft moonlight barely making his face visible to me. He had taken his jacket and waistcoat off. He had loosened his tie, unbuttoned his collar, moved his shirt cuffs to his forearm, and his hair looked messy. He could be a model. I smacked myself mentally, just remembering the cursed contract was enough to set a blaze in me again. I grabbed my dress and covered myself up with it as my legs dangled in the warming water.

"What the hell Charles?!"

He did not answer. I struggled to read him, but that may have been the Thanksgiving dinner replaying in my head, drowning out all other senses.

"Did you sign it?" He asked, I barely heard him. I was confused as to why he was asking; I know he left early but did either of us have a choice?

"Obviously" He scrunched up his nose and ran a hand through his hair, further ruffling his curls. For the first time he seemed frustrated. His eyes were darkened by the lack of light, but his intense stare also made it appear like it was the situation that gave him a shade of grey over his usual blue.

"Why?" He said through gritted teeth. Now it was my turn to be taken aback. I furrowed my brows further and deepened the lines in my forehead. The flames in my stomach reached my tongue and were seconds from escaping.

"Are you serious? You signed it too"

"But I had no choice" he said snapping his head at me, his eyes looking wild for a second and then, as he realized I was holding my dress over myself, he looked away again. He turned further, showing his back to me. His shoulder blades and muscles looked well defined through the white shirt as he raised both his hands to the back of his head. He took a second and then put them back down. His posture changed. He was no longer stiff and unstable, or even innocent like in the dinner room. He had returned to his relaxed, confident posture. "Well, I guess we better get to know each other then"

"No, we don't" I blurted out. He turned towards me, his face still looking away. The demi-god of good manners. I mocked as the light from the jacuzzi slowly revealed his marble face. I opened my mouth to say something, but he shot me a warning glance. He, once again, disregarded my personal space as he sat down beside me, looking on into the trees behind us. I froze, again, I felt really uncomfortable. This time, I felt more vulnerable than ever. I clung to my dress as I was hyper-aware of his arm brushing over my exposed skin. He leaned even further so his lips were inches from my ear.

"So, you want to make this the most miserable three years of our lives?"

"Anything to piss you off" I seethed.

"Perfect" but his face was deadpan, once more I was not sure if he meant it. Or what he meant by it. He stood quickly and walked around me and the pool to the sliding door. He walked with his hands behind his back, looking determined. Yet, his contracted shoulders gave off hints of fury. He went to open the door, stopped, and looked up. "You could have torn that thing apart, but you refused." He twisted his head ever so slightly so I could see a smile across his face "I'll see you Echo"

I sat wondering if I heard him correctly. I was confused but the flames inside me took over, burning away any interest I had in his comment. I watched him go into the living room and take a whole bottle of whisky from the bar. First thing I can understand.

The jacuzzi warmed up and I fully submerged myself in the water. I felt my muscles relax and tears finally streamed down my face. I could no longer hold them back. I sunk my head under water.

I screamed.

---

The next morning, I had my luggage packed early, the contract was in full swing, so I was getting out of there before I saw my parents. Parents, who did not stop by my room or send a maid after everything that happened yesterday. Parents who cared more about the contract than me. As I asked Bernard to pack my bags into the car, and drive me to the airport, I felt compelled to at least speak to Charles about the night before.

As I got close to his room, I was careful to be quiet. I did not want to also run into Mr. Larson. I knocked quietly on the door. I heard nothing. I knocked again, slightly louder this time. There was some rustling and movement in the room. Soon it was quiet again. As I brought my fist up to knock once more the door opened and the two maids that helped me with my hair, and makeup the previous night froze in front of me. I was shocked to see them barely dressed, with their hair looking like a bird's nest. We stared at each other for a couple of seconds.

"The maid's quarters are downstairs" I said and waited, but both maids were stiff. They could not look me in the eye. I was angry, but I was not sure why. I did not expect Charles to break the rules of the contract so quickly but after a couple of seconds, and yesterday's events, seeing two ladies sneaking out of his room seemed like the most normal thing in the world. "Did you not hear me knocking?"

"No Ms. Dallinger" they both mumbled, ashamed. They really were trying to sneak out. As I came to my other senses, I smelled – a lot of things, but alcohol was what made me roll my eyes.

"Get out of here" Both of them scurried away, too afraid to ask if they were fired. But I could see the question linger in their eyes as they glanced at each other. The door was still ajar, and I could see Charles splayed out in the middle of the bed, shirtless. His body rose and fell with his soft breaths. The cover was tangled around his legs and over his butt. I could not see his face. He was facing the window. If it had not been for the fact that his father was next door, I would have filled a bucket with ice and water and poured it over him. Instead, I closed the door quietly and left that fucking house once and for all.

I turned and left every memory I had ever had there in the dust. There was nothing worth remembering. No one worth saying goodbye to. Not anymore. I would have said goodbye to Rose, my old babysitter. She did not live there anymore. My parents decided I did not need a guardian when I was 12. I still kept in contact with her, but she was no longer in that house.

At the airport I did say goodbye to Bernard. I even shook his hand. He had worked for my father since I was young, and he was always kind to me. So, I guess he was also worth saying goodbye to given I would likely never see him again. He was older, and technically part of DALLINGER INC. so, he could not be sent as a messenger anymore.

I boarded the plane and went home. However, I was not excited. I had not spent the weekend with my parents like planned. Rob and Liz would have a million questions, and I could not answer any of them. I lay in the plane staring at the ceiling, already weaving some illusion that would satisfy them and the wretched contract. I guess I could always tell them a half-truth, that way I would not stumble over myself in the future. The secret would be safe.

But, what about Ace?