Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

Chapter 17

"Whatcha readin there?" Arthur leaned his head over Amelia's shoulder.

"A book I haven't read yet," she closed it halfway, looking up at him, "you seem mighty bored, asking me a lot of questions."

"Because I am!" Arthur slouched back in his seat, "how long is this damn train ride?"

"A couple days-"

"Days?" Arthur stood abruptly, pacing around, "you've got to be jokin Amelia." He turned to face her.

"If you really this bored, they have a bar carriage."

"They do?" Arthur widened his eyes, seemingly excited.

"Yes," Amelia pointed behind her, "two cars down."

"If I don't come back in a couple hours, come find me." Arthur immediately began jogging towards where Amelia had pointed, not giving her a chance to respond.

Amelia chuckled lightly. "Noted." She opened her book back up and tucked one of her legs underneath her, getting in a comfortable position. She picked up where she left off and began reading. She had almost finished the book, not realizing how much time had passed until she finally lifted her head, looking outside the window. The morning sun was beginning to rise and she placed a thin sheet of paper between the pages before standing and heading back to the bar carriage. There, she saw a seemingly sober Arthur striking a conversation with the bartender.

Arthur had noticed the blonde haired woman walk in and looked over at her. He smiled and beckoned for her to come over. Amelia smiled in response and approached him.

"You seem sober." She implied.

"Well, that's because I am," he began, "see, this lovely man is very interesting."

Amelia hummed. "That so?"

Arthur nodded.

Amelia raised her eyebrow before looking at the bartender. "How much has he drank?"

"Just a couple beers."

Amelia nodded, looking back up at Arthur. He had an offended look on his face. Amelia laughed as she shook her head.

"How is this man interesting?" She asked, leaning on the bar.

"He apparently knows Mister Sebastian Davis very well."

Amelia froze at hearing her fathers name. She looked at the bartender who nodded to the man at the end of the bar. She followed his gaze at froze at the sight. It looked exactly like her father. Surrounded by empty beer bottles he sat with his head in his hands as he nursed another one. His hair was gray and thinning. His figure was skinny besides the beer belly he tried to hide with an oversized coat. His facial features were contorted with more wrinkles, making it difficult to see who he was at first. But after staring into his bright hazy blue eyes, Amelia knew it was him. Her father.

Her stance went tense. She wasn't expecting to see him until she arrived in New York the next night. Arthur noticed her tense and glanced down at the man she was staring at before back at her. He was sober enough to see that it was her father. Arthur placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and ushered her away from the bar.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, lifting her head away from the bar to look at him.

"T-That's him," she stammered, trying to find her words.

"Sebastian?"

"My father." She let out a low breath before pushing Arthur's hands away from her and turning, heading back to her seat.

Arthur glanced back at the man before setting his beer bottle down, half empty, and chasing after Amelia. He stopped her before she sat down.

"Hey, what's goin on?"