Ms. Calloway (Book 2 in the For Better Or Worse Trilogy)

Chapter 6

     The next three days pass like the first few days in James's custody. Elena and Selene are the only two people I see on a daily basis. They bring me my meals and ask if I need anything. Both avoid eye contact. Neither will answer any of my questions. This place is a cell designed with elegance, jewels, and tasty food, but a cell nonetheless. They could disguise it as much as they wanted to, but I'm still here against my will. While Selene is cleaning the bathroom, I take the chance to talk to Elena without the strong influence of her mother.

     "Elena." I say from behind her as she dusts Roman's dresser. She doesn't make any indication that she heard me, but I know she has. I know Selene doesn't want her to talk to me because she thinks I can manipulate her daughter into helping me out of here. Now, I see why Roman's father is so fond of the woman."Elena, please."

     "I can't talk to you." She whispers back, moving knicknacks around her dusting.

     "I know and I don't want to get you in trouble. All I need is for you to talk to Scarlette. Tell her I need to see her." Still, she doesn't respond. Instead, she walks across the room to dust at his nightstand. Like a lost puppy, I follow at her heels, feeling more desperate by the second. Her mom will be finished with the bathroom any minute now. Desperate, I spin her around by her arm, forcing her to look me in the eye. "Please. I need your help." Pride is something I lost a while ago. At this point, if I have to fall to my knees and beg just for Elena to help me, I will.

     Nervous brown eyes shift between the bathroom and me as she considers helping me. All I can do is silently pray that she'll do the right thing. But what if the right thing for me isn't the right thing for her? Finally, a look of defeat glazes over her eyes, "I'll try. Now act like you're doing something else before my mom kills us both." Overwhelming relief steals my breath, but I do as she says. Returning to the single bed, once belonging to a teenage Roman, I clutch the journal they left me with. A sense of hope builds in my chest.

**********

     By the next day, a touch of worry is starting to fill me at a rapid pace, the same way a plague would. What if Elena's mom heard us and stopped her from following with my request? Did Elena tell me what I wanted to hear so that I would stop bothering her? Is it possible that Scarlette denied my request? What if she didn't want to see me? All of these questions and worries are staring back at me from the piece of paper laying flat in my journal, when the door opens and Scarlette comes walking in. Closing the door behind her, she starts towards the bed, but doesnt make it half way because a second later I'm throwing my arms around her. A surge of relief consumes me whole as I'm met with the person I consider closer to me than my own blood family. Arms wrap around my waist, reminding me of what a hug once felt like. What safety once felt like.

     "I'm so sorry I couldn't come sooner. Ever since you went missing, everything has been so chaotic." She holds my face in her hands with a look that I would imagine a mother would give to her injured child. "Are you okay? Did James hurt you?"

     Instead of answering, choking on my words, I shake my head when hot tears finally fall. Scarlette holds me closer, bringing me into a tighter hug than before as if she's protecting me from all the bad things in the world. "I'm so sorry that it's come to this. We never wanted this. Somehow, no matter how much we try, things always turn out dangerous for those we care about." She says this as if she has experienced this herself.

     "All I want to do is go home, Scarlette." Reluctantly, I leave her safe embrace to meet her eyes. "He's keeping me here against my will. I don't understand what's going on, but I'd never tell anyone anything." A part of me doesn't want to believe that Scarlette would be a part of this mess, but by the way they are all comfortable with my entrapment, this seems to be a family thing.

     Sadness floods her hazel eyes, but it contrasts to the shaking of her head. "Could you sit down?" This isn't the answer I want, but I do as she says. Even in this situation, even though she's on the opposite side, I still only trust her. Releasing a big breath like she's about to break the dam, she sits across from me and takes my hands. "There's so much you don't know. This isn't just about publishing. Actually, it's nothing to do with publishing. It's beyond your wildest imagination because it's just that insane."

     "What is it about then? If not publishing, what? Explain how I've gotten myself into this situation because I'm not getting it." I don't mean to sound angry, but that's the first emotion that comes to mind.

     "It's not my place to say. It's Roman's. He dragged you into this mess and he needs to be the one to explain it. I know everything is scary right now, but I can promise you that Roman would never hurt you. I would never hurt you. All of this is for your own safety. And I know how fucked up that is. You deserve to have a say in what you need to keep you safe, but in this situation, you don't even know the threat you're put up against. So, how could you possibly know what's best for yourself?" Her eyes are glistening with tears of her own, revealing to me how frustrating the situation is to her which is probably the reason I don't argue with her the same way I did with James and Roman. "We're gonna figure this out much sooner than you think. I'm not gonna have you stuck in here as some damsel in distress longer than you have to. Roman and I will talk. He'll tell you everything and the decision will be up to you. Just give me a little time. Without you and Roman at Berkshire's Publishing, everything has been crashing and burning. No exaggeration. The world beyond this room is not as great as it might sound right now." She laughs a bit in an attempt to lighten the mood, but I can't think of anything better than the world beyond this room. A world where I have complete control over every decision that affects my life. "I know this isn't exactly comforting, but, Sawyer-" Sighing, she rubs the back of my hands with her thumbs, holding them close to her knees. "-I will not leave you here. I will fix this. Roman will fix this. He's made mistakes, but he cares about you. It doesn't excuse any of this though. He's afraid. Afraid of the past. Afraid of the present. Afraid of the future. He likes to pretend like no one and nothing could ever hurt him, but it's the opposite. If you knew our past, you would understand better. All I ask is for you to trust me and be patient."

     I want to believe her. Everything inside me is desperate to believe the words falling from her lips. But how long do I have to wait? How long until I get an explanation? Is Roman a person I can trust? How much longer will belief and hope hold me over?

     When Scarlette leaves the room, I almost return tomy journal to write out the racing thoughts she's left me with, but stop immediately when I hear something. Well, the lack of something. There's no click from the door knob, alerting me that someone has locked the door from the outside, like it has every time that Elena and her mother entered and left the room. She left the door unlocked, whether on purpose or accident, that was unknown. All I know is this is my opportunity to get out. I can't waste it. Not even for Scarlette. 

Do you trust Scarlette?

Do you think that Sawyer should stop fighting or should she get out?

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