Immaculate

Conversations

Part 113

Mr Blackbourne's POV

I wanted to get her out of the house before the removers returned, in case her father came back with them. Kota and the others knew what was left to go and Kota would be able to sign for the furniture that was arriving later on this afternoon if I couldn't get back. Sean would bring her back here after his shift finished and she could help with how she wanted things laid out. Although I knew what she was going to do. She was going to stand there, lip between her teeth, fingers hovering around her throat as she murmured her way through it being my furniture, my house, it would be my decision where I wanted to put things, not hers.

I had tried to get her input on what sort of furniture she had wanted, but it was like getting blood from a stone, and in the end I had just handed the whole thing over the Gabriel with the strict instructions to keep colour schemes neutral, and no neon colours whatsoever. I wanted her to feel at home, to know it was her place really.

If I had control everything would be in greys and whites and would look like the ground floor of my house and I knew she hated that. I liked the scheme, it was clean and calm, it was best to keep it like that if I wanted to ever move on; it would make it easier to sell.

Sometimes I really had to dig deep to find some patience with her. But I also know that it was far too early to push her like that. She said she trusted me, us, and I know that she trusts us more than she did in the summer, but I also know it's a long way before she trusts us the same way I trust Sean, North or any of the others. That had to be built over time and we were going in the right direction, so I just had to keep a lid on it for awhile and maneuver her gently.

She did stand up for herself sometimes. I had wanted to redo her bedroom completely, but she had put her foot down on that and I had enjoyed watching her stand up to me. It had been done really quietly, her hands folded on her lap, and I had been pleased to see no lip biting at all. She was becoming more comfortable with us, more able to exert her opinions and ideas when she really wanted to. I just needed to convince her that Sunnyvale Court was still her home and that she could arrange the furniture anyway she wanted to.

I was going to talk to Sean about the empty room beside his bedroom. It was identical in layout to the snug and I was thinking it would make an excellent room to make into a third bedroom. I wanted her to make it her room, to decorate it how she wanted, so that she had her own room that she could go to when she was with us. I don't think she'd ever sleep there, unless some of the others boys were over and they were in there with her, but it would give Victor somewhere more comfy to use now that Sean was in the room he used to use.

My phone vibrated and I opened it seeing Sean's name on the screen.

Sean: Can talk more for a moment, what happened?

I rang him and he picked up on the first ring.

"Owen?"

"Sean, her father discovered I own the house and he lost his cool. Threatened to drag us through the courts because we're her teachers. She rounded on him before I had chance. Made him realise that it wouldn't only be us who would get damaged by it. He backpedaled very quickly though."

"He's a bastard. Is she ok?", he asked and I could hear the worry clearly in his voice.

"No, she wasn't at first, she appears to have cheered up slightly but she's hurting inside, Sean, you can see it in her eyes. He keeps coming back and taking the scab of her wounds. He tried to make Marie go with him but she has opted to stay here by her own volition. Her father was going to hit her, but North stopped him and I think it surprised her that he would stick up for her."