Sugar • Hiram Lodge

Hiram's Betrayal

I will not water myself down to make me more digestible for you.

You can choke.

   Now that the Black Hood was dead, there was no need for Mira to be living with the Lodge's for any longer. Hermione had made sure of that as she had basically asked her to pack her things the very next morning. And to Mira's surprise, Hiram hadn't exactly objected. 

   "I'm going to miss you," Veronica whined just as Mira had finished zipping up and boxing the last of her things. She would seriously miss the guest room, which was nice enough to be a five-star hotel room, as well as the pre-made meals and free rides. God, she had been spoiled, and going back to real life wouldn't exactly be easy. 

   "Me too," she smiled at her friend and the two hugged. "You can come sleepover at my place whenever." It's not like her parents were going to be there. 

   Soon, butlers came in and helped carry her belongings downstairs and to the car that was waiting outside to take her back home. There was nothing left that was keeping her from leaving, but Mira still looked for Hiram whom she wanted to say bye to. From the living room, she saw him approach, his eyes wary, his demeanor tense. She smiled at him, but before he could reach her, Hermione appeared behind him. 

   "Hiram," she said. "May I have a word with you?" Despite his apologetic eyes, he turned from Mira and walked in the direction of Hermione. "Bye, Mira," Hermione said, following Hiram out of sight. 

   Mira stood frozen for a moment, confused as to what had just happened. That was weird and there was no doubt about it - but he would surely call her when she got home. 

~~~

   He didn't call. In fact, a whole day had gone by and she hadn't heard a single thing from him. She'd tried calling and texting, but there was no response from his end. She'd even called Veronica and somehow managed to casually ask her where her dad was, only to have her answer with at home, which somehow hurt her more than if he'd been out somewhere. He was ignoring her and she had no idea why. 

   She tried giving him the benefit of the doubt. She tried explaining his actions to herself, but not knowing the reason for his absence was maddening. She felt powerless. And she hated feeling powerless. 

   So, she tried busying herself with unpacking her things. It took a lot longer than expected. Well, she should have expected it. She had returned home with more things than she'd left with, after all. All those designer bags and shoes and clothes he had gotten her, they needed places to go, and finding space for them in her seemingly much smaller bedroom was no easy task. But eventually, she finished unpacking and checked her phone, hoping to find at least a text message from him, but her screen was empty.