Secrets And Sins Part 3: Happy ever after

Chapter 50

~Beatrice~

Sitting at a long, ornate table, a massive painting of Jesus with his sacred heart staring back at her, Beatrice was struggling to remain still. Her body was almost vibrating with nervous energy. She was on edge, out of sorts, and desperate to get this fucking meeting started. They were late and it was probably some sort of power play by the Pope. Beatrice's jaw twitched. At least she was coming into today well rested, the previous night's events had somehow led to a couple of hours of restful sleep.

"...call your parents."

Beatrice's jaw went slack in shock. Of all the things Mary could have said, she wasn't expecting that.

Beatrice turned to face her completely, reining in her surprise. "Why would I do that?"

Mary gave her a look that she couldn't decipher. "Well, um, Mother Superior told me they have been trying to contact you... Before we do this, I think you should talk to them."

She was already shaking her head; what a terrible idea. "I don't..."

"Bea, listen, whether or not you like it, after what happened in London, they are in your life now. Even if you don't call them to talk, at least tell them you're okay. If they show up here out of the blue, it could be problematic."

Beatrice frowned. Mary had a point. The last time her parents had stuck their noses into her business, Ava had nearly died. The thought sent a spike of fury through her chest.

"Fine. I'll tell them to fuck off. Happy?"

Mary looked anything but. "Do whatever you need to do, Bea."

Beatrice huffed in a mixture of frustration and irritation, spinning on heel to walk away, but her old friend had one more thing to say. "We're here for you, me and Cam, if you need us."

Beatrice's heart clenched, but she kept moving, running away from the help offered, and returned to her room.

With a few minutes of calming breathing, Beatrice summoned up her shield of cold indifference, and called them.

Her father answered on the second ring.

"Hello?"

She felt like she could have been sick. "Dad."

"Beatrice! Oh, thank God. Olivia!" She heard him shout on his end of the line. "Olivia, it's her!"

Beatrice caught the end of a muffled reply from her mother, obviously rushing into the same room as her father, her heart rate doubled.

"Are you okay, Beatrice? It's been so long. How is Ava?"

Her shield cracked at his mention of Ava, but she pulled it back together. "I'm fine..." Beatrice started, readying herself to demand they not contact her again.

"Beatrice!" Olivia's voice called down the phone. Her mother sounded so full of worry. "Beatrice, we haven't heard from you in months! What's going on? Are you okay? Did Ava recover after..."

"I need you to stop contacting me." Beatrice interrupted. She was barely holding herself together. "No more calling, nothing."

There was a moment of silence down the line before Philip answered. "We haven't been contacting you, Beatrice. We've wanted to of course, but we didn't want to overstep after... you know."