CONFINEMENT

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

   Sunday came and went without Castania noticing how fast the time was passing. Much to Harrison's annoyance, she had chosen to stay in her room for almost the whole day, only peeping out to cook breakfast and dinner for the two of them, and a shower before bed. He had sat at his living room desk and watched her through hooded eyes as she had prepared their meals, until she had glanced up at him for a brief second and he had felt a twitch behind his navel, and he had gotten scared for his own sanity.

   He hadn't thought their fight would affect her so much, but here she was; hiding away in her room again. But what he didn't know was that it had nothing to do with the fight, actually, she had forgotten it completely. She had only had the urge for some peace and quiet, some peace before the so dreaded Monday came knocking on her door. And distancing herself had been the only way to keep her thoughts straight, the only way she could focus on her plan. After countless hours of thinking without coming up with anything useful to guarantee the success of her escape, she had started to wonder how she was actually supposed to survive tomorrow. Would she still be locked up in the carousel? And how would the other Savings see her now that she had fought Emmeline. Would they try to fight her too, or would they let the Officials go ham on her? Was there anything she could do to avoid her punishment, and if so, what would it take? Pleasing the public hardly seemed like something she wanted to do, but if it would make the Council happy, then she had to do it.

   She cursed herself a little for being so weak. This was what they wanted, her being too scared to act out. They were only punishing her because they couldn't control her, it was as simple as that. Would she really just comply and obey every order to avoid a beating? It seemed kind of pointless, now that she thought about it. No matter how hard she tried, how much she performed, how sweet she acted, they would never treat her like how she deserved to be treated. They would always find something she had done wrong, just look at Agatha and Matilda; getting beaten just for sitting down in their cages. She realized that she could never be good enough for them, because they simply didn't see her as worthy. She was a nothing to them. Maybe a little more difficult than most, but still just a Saving, who they would just lock up, tase and beat till she was nothing more than a shell of herself.

   So, as Monday morning rolled around, she had prepared herself to face them all with her shoulders squared and her chin high in the sky. Fuck them, she thought as the driver pulled into the parking lot in front of the back entrance, fuck them all.

   Harrison hadn't slept a wink the whole night, worried, and actually a little annoyed, that she was still too mad at him to speak or even look at him. He didn't understand how this argument had been any different from the ones they usually had. Fighting was just what they did, it was never that deep, but apparently it had been this time, even though she had been the one to start it. What did she have to be mad about? She had brought up his parents, she had defended his mother like she had known her. If anyone were to be mad it should be Harrison, so why was she acting like he owed her an apology? She wouldn't get one, if that was what she hoped, he had already done everything he could to convince her that he would make sure no one would lay a hand on her.

   He chose to stay in the car and not walk her in, just to piss her off really, show her that he was mad as well and that her behavior was childish. She didn't seem to notice though, only slamming the car door without a word of goodbye, and he watched her walk into the zoo with arrogant strides, greeting the heavily armed Officials with such an attitude that you would think they worked for her.

   An irritated huff escaped his lips as they drove off, and he felt his body tense up with irritation over the whole situation. Exiting the vehicle when the driver pulled up at the Academy, his head was still so very much not in the present, continuously retracing what was said in their argument, and he stormed up the marble staircase and into the Academy without noticing anyone around him.