Disconnect

Chapter 9

     You continue to regale Cyn with a story you got from the internet until you’re suddenly struck with a sight that is blessedly familiar to you. You find the hall where your room was located. That also meant that your parents room was nearby. You looked at Cyn with a finger up to your mouth. “My parents are in that room over there,” you point at the aforementioned door, “We’ve got to be quiet.”
     Cyn gives you a thumbs up while pretending to zip and lock her mouth. She then fumbles the imaginary key and makes a show of trying to catch it.
     You muster all your willpower to not laugh at her antics, “Don’t make me laugh right now.” You exhale air repeatedly in a strangled sounding laugh that you try to keep quiet. Once the giggle fit is over, you slowly creep down the hall.
     Cyn follows close behind you, “Sneaky, sneaky.”
     You move a little faster, “Please no.”
     “Sneaking away,” Cyn continues.
     “Cyn,” you turn to her and see her acting as if everything is normal. You then realize that she might not know that she’s vocalizing her actions. She might not even be aware that she does it at all.
     At hearing her name, Cyn looks at you with a questioning glance.
     You realize that you may have passed the point of no return, but still don’t want to bring up what may be considered a disability. Your brain flatlines and starts spitting out words that you hope make a coherent phrase, “I really enjoyed being on your team.” Ew, sappy.
     Cyn continues to look at you when you turn your head away. She’s stopped vocalizing her actions, but kept moving. You’re curious how that whole thing works, but you’re not opening that can of worms for aforementioned reasons.
     Soon you clear the hall and you finally have an idea where you are. You point in the direction you remember the dining room being, “I think I remember the way from here. That way for flowers, and hopefully victory.”
     Cyn lets out a monotone sounding cry, “Wooooo.”
     “Woo, indeed, Cyn. Woo, indeed,” you tried to be funny.
     You walk your way down hall after hall until you reach a familiar room. Even though you had eaten here some hours prior, the place seemed unused for a long time. It was perfectly cleaned, even the fireplace was clean of soot and ash. Atop the table was your prize: The vase full of white roses. You get up close to the table, grab the roses by the stems, and pull them all out. They begin to drip water back into the vase and you hesitate on whether or not you should let them drip on the table. Your computer desk knows that water damage is real. With your quick thinking, you put the martini glass that holds the lightbulb and candle under the flower stems so the water flows into the glass. Problem solved. Well, it might damage the lightbulb, but what you can't see isn’t real. Isn’t that right you rich fu-
     “Victory at last!,” you turn to Cyn, hoisting the flowers into the air for all two of you to see.
     “Woooo, yawn, Let us go back to Tessa’s room to claim our prize. It will be morning soon,” she hovers her hand in front of her mouth as if she were yawning while she talked.
     You yawn seemingly in reflex, “Yeah, I’m getting kinda tired too. Hopefully we can get at least a couple of hours of rest before morning.” You start towards the door, but stop as you exit the room, “Cyn, do you know the way to Tessa’s room from here?”
     “I do. It’s not far. Follow me, and we shall have victory,” Cyn marches with some pep in her step.
     You chuckle and shake your head at her, “Lead the way, captain.” You follow her as she leads the charge.

     With some time, you arrive at Tessa’s room. There seems to be some noise within, so you two appear to be the last group to finish. Not surprising considering all the setbacks you’ve experienced today. You wait for Cyn to open the door, but realize that her hands are also full. You tuck the flowers into the inside breast pocket of your suit, then open the door. Upon entering, the two of you suddenly become the center of attention. You shut the door behind you as Tessa makes her way over to you.
     “Where’ve you two been? We finished ages ago,” Tessa looks both you and Cyn over.
     You rub the back of your next nervously, “Yeah, sorry. We kinda got lost in this place. Cyn doesn’t know her way around real well, and I don’t have a good sense of direction I guess.”
     You see J murmur something under her breath, but she’s too far away for you to hear what it was. Whatever it was must have been bad, because V gives her a look that mixes surprise and indignance.
     Tessa sighs, clearly tired, “Right. Guess I coulda picked better teams…”
     “No no no. It was great. I had a lot of fun despite getting lost for a while,” you look at Cyn for her to give her opinion on the situation.
     She looks at you curiously for a moment before looking in Tessa’s direction, “(Y/N) is nice and accommodating.”
     Tessa looks surprised, having to blink a few times while her brain rebooted, “That’s good. I’m glad you enjoyed yourselves.” Tessa stands there for a moment, lost in thought. After a few moments passed, you were about to speak, but Tessa suddenly became animated again, “We should tally your points so we can get some shuteye.”
     N walks over to your group awkwardly, “Yeaaah, both our teams kinda found all our items, so it’s a tie.”
     You strike an arrogant pose, flashing your pearly whites, “Well I think we may have you guys beat.”
     “And what makes you think that, hot shot?,” Tessa looks at you with an amused look.
     You gesture to Cyn to put the statue down, “Do you have the list?”
     Cyn puts the statue down a little less than gently then digs in a pocket in her skirt for the paper. Upon finding it she holds it to you, “I didn’t let it escape.”
     “Creepy as always,” you take the paper, “Thank you,” you then hand the folded paper to Tessa as well as your lightbulb, martini glass, and candle. “I think you’ll find everything in order.”
     While you wait for Tessa to tally up points, N, J, and V walk past the humans to inspect the lion statue for damage. Though it seems the floor may be what they have to worry about. It didn’t break the floor beneath it entirely, but there were clear signs of splintering wood at the corners of the statue’s base. Cyn decided to take a step back while the other three drones approached, content to sit back and watch people interact for a while. It’d be creepy if it was anyone else. Or her. It’s creepy.
     Tessa looks through the list again, then to your items, “You’re one short, mate.”
     “Am I?,” you reach into your jacket and pull out the roses you had stored away. You present them dramatically like the grand reveal at the tail end of a play.
     Tessa is stunned at the display. Not because she thinks it's cool or anything, but because in her time doing witchy things, she’s learned about the language of flowers. White roses are meant to symbolize youthfulness, innocence, loyalty, and young love. Her face goes hot as she begins to stammer, “I- What is- So sudden- I- You-”
     Though you were oblivious to it, J was trying to edge her way closer to you, but was being held back by the combined efforts of N and V. If she could get her hands on you right now, she’d make what she did to your hand look like a mosquito bite. Luckily you were too preoccupied with running your assumed victory in Tessa’s face. That must be why she’s stunned right? Because you got more points from the extra flowers?
     Tessa drops the paper and the martini glass holding the other items, causing the glass to shatter on the floor but leaving the bulb unharmed. She reaches out and takes the roses gently in her hands, accepting the perceived romantic gesture. She gives the roses a good sniff, and a smile makes its way onto her blushing face, “Thanks.”
     You look at her with your victorious smile, but it wavers slightly at her word. You keep your smile, but lace it with a confused flick of the eyes.
     Tessa, now worried that she’s said something wrong, tries to clarify, “For the flowers, I mean.”
     You’re confused now. You guess you did just hand her something, so maybe that’s what she meant? You decide to chock it up to that and just continue with the plan. You look at her smugly and ask, “So, do I win?”
     Tessa’s mind races, thinking of what to say. She’s never even really had a human friend before, let alone a crush. Now that crush was reciprocating?! She was at a loss. She wanted to hide, grab you in a hug, and run away screaming all at the same time, but couldn’t decide which one was the right answer, so she just stood in front of you awkwardly. She was lost in her own head to the point she seemed to be staring at the flowers, hiding her face behind them. This was a failure of a plan however. This only made it more obvious that her face was half a dozen shades darker than normal.
     This is what it took for your brain to finally click that you have given a girl a bouquet of flowers when you only needed one. You wanted to clear up the confusion, but were too embarrassed. Unlike Tessa, your brain drew a blank. It was like an incomprehensibly deep void reverberating a single sound, ‘Oh shiiiiiiiiiit.’
     N, bless him, was beginning to lose the fight against J’s will. V’s feet were beginning to slide on the floor from J’s stoppable march forward. Though not a word was spoken by the three, they all continued their efforts with great effort. Like most wars, however, there is always a loser, and today it is the poor floorboards. Much to both N and V’s surprise J halts her advance while staring forward in shock. They both give their attention to you and Tessa, V having to turn her head around, and they too are surprised.
     Tessa lunges for you and wraps her arms around your neck in an embrace. She avoids looking you in the eye, but you can see she’s nervous. Once your brain catches up with reality, you try to return the embrace by wrapping your arms around her waist. It is then that she makes eye contact. You look into her eyes and you feel that creeping anxiety again, though this time it’s different. This hug isn’t like the one you shared with her before. It felt different, more intimate. It made you feel something you’ve never felt before: A feeling that made you nervous to the point of nearly making you sick. Nevertheless, you hold onto her tightly, making her feel safe in your embrace. That safety is something she craves more than anything else, and now she knows that being close to you provides it. You do remember, though, that there are other people in the room.
     You lean into Tessa’s ear, making her tense, “Tessa, there are people watching.”
     This seems to snap her out of her daze and she looks over your shoulder to see J, V, N, and Cyn all watching your little PDA. While Cyn looked amused, the other three looked to be in varying levels and flavors of shock. N’s face portrayed utter confusion with a slight blush near the bottom of his screen. V looked surprised but intrigued to know what exactly was going on. J’s expression showed more fear than shock along with mild disgust.
     Tessa pulls away from you begrudgingly, still holding onto the roses, “Thank you, (Y/N). Think tomorrow we could have a walk and talk?” She tries to put on a confident face, though by now you’re beginning to learn to see through it.
     You, still slightly stunned, nod in affirmation, “Yeah. Totally cool with me. Yeah.”
     Nearly as soon as the words leave your mouth, Tessa climbs up and leaps onto her bed. She lays down on it with the roses still clutched in her hands and resting on her chest like a corpse at a funeral. She waves over to you and everyone else, “Well it’s been fun, but I’m knackered. See you tomorrow.” She puts her hand back on the flowers and closes her eyes. She then opens one eye every so often to peek at you to see if you’re gone yet.
     You laugh a little at her, “I see where Cyn gets it from.”
     Said drone opens the door and takes her place as the first to exit the room. She stands in the doorway, turns to Tessa, and speaks, “Goodnight Tessa. I, too, will need to speak with you tomorrow. I’ll find you.” Without waiting for a response, she turns and leaves down a hallway.
     With Cyn rudely leaving the door open, you wake your way over to it, “Goodnight Tessa. Today was fun.”
     Though pretending to be dead, Tessa can’t stop a smile from making its home on her face.
     V thinks it best to be the next one to exit as to not allow J to have easy access to you. She pulls N along with her. He doesn’t protest, but he’s a little embarrassed to have his arm held by V. You’re starting to assume things about the two of them. J looks traumatized and stands still for longer than most would deem normal. It was like she was hesitating to leave. Eventually though, she realizes that she has to. With all of you saying your goodnights to Tessa, the four of you are in the hallway, about to go your separate ways. You make your way towards your room while N and V make their way to where their usual places to enter sleep mode. J, however, stayed put. She glanced in your direction for a while and stared as you walked away. Once you were gone, she glanced at the floor, then to the direction that N and V had home down. They had both stopped and returned J’s stare.
     V’s face warped in concern, “J, aren’t you coming?”
     J closed her eyes for a moment to collect herself before letting out a sigh, “You two go ahead. I’m going to put in some overtime here. I’ll catch up.” She leans against Tessa’s door, taking a cool and collected pose with her arms crossed.
     V and N exchange a worried glance between themselves. V wants to argue, but N speaks before she can. He says, “You always work the hardest. Just be sure to come back when you’re done. I’ll stay up to wait for you for a little while.”
     Normally, J would tell him to do whatever, leave her alone, or openly belittle him, but she didn’t. Her eyes went hollow and she seemed like she was more looking past the pair then at them. She looked at the floor in front of her, then gave a nod. This wasn’t the J either N or V knew. They’d seen her get like this before, but never this bad or this long. Normally she’d snap out of it quickly and put a confident face on, but she’s not even trying to hide it. Without any idea of what to do, N and V say their goodnights and walk away, leaving J alone in the hall. Once she’s sure she’s alone, J reenters Tessa’s room, and closes the door behind her.
     “J? What’re you doing back?,” Tessa sits up from her lying position on her bed.
     J stands quietly for a few moments before walking over to the assorted items on the floor, including the martini glass fragments. She speaks plainly, “Just cleaning up the mess, boss.”
     Tessa swings her legs around to sit on the side of her bed. She puts the roses down next to her and watches J slowly gather the pieces with her hands, “You’re acting different again. What’s gotten into you?”
     J’s body stiffens for only a few seconds before she’s back to picking up small glass shards, “What do you think about (Y/N)?”
     Tessa is caught off guard with the question, but just being the two of them, she feels no reason to be embarrassed, “He’s, I don’t know, a good guy? He’s been nothing but nice to me since we’ve met, he’s been super welcoming to Cyn and the others, he doesn’t mind my hobbies, and he seems really genuine.”
     J nods her head at the answer. Once the glass shards are all gathered, she deposits the pieces into a pocket in her uniform for later disposal. She now gathers the lightbulb and the candle, “You act differently around him.”
     Tessa lets out a groan as she rubs her face, “Is it that bloody obvious?”
     “So, when are you going to tell him?,” J asks in a monotone voice, bracing for the answer.
     “Eh? Why would you-,” Tessa realizes something, “J, I’m not ganna-”
     J cuts Tessa off by loudly speaking, “I know you won’t throw me out.” Silence hangs in the air for an uncomfortably long time before J continues, “I want to know you won’t throw me out. You say you won’t, you promise you won’t, you haven’t done that to anyone, but I can’t shake the thought that you might from my head!”
     “J,” Tessa says softly, “Come here.”
     J hesitates, but does as she’s told and sits on Tessa’s bed next to her.
     “I’m not getting rid of you just because I might start seeing someone soon. You’re important to me. That’s not going to change just cause some boy came here strutting around being cute,” Tessa tries to reassure her.
     “If you two do hit it off, and start seeing each other, then you’ll get your own home and more staff-,” J says before being interrupted.
     “Christ J! I’m 14, not 40! I can’t move out for another 4 years,” Tessa gets a little red in the face, “And you’re thinking farther ahead than I am! I hadn’t even thought about a first date, and you’re already on us moving out together?!”
     Though Tessa was trying to raise the spirits in the room, J was unaffected. She muttered, “Sorry, boss.”
     “J, I’m not mad. You’re just thinking about this all wrong. When I do finally leave this hell hole, I’m taking as many of you with me as I can,” Tessa explains.
     J’s hollow eyes shoot to Tessa’s face, scanning for any sign of deceit. When J finds none, she starts to feel a piece of herself believe that she won’t be thrown away again.
     “When I do, if (Y/N) is involved, I wager he’d want you all to come too,” Tessa’s eyes move to the roses at her other side.
     J looks confused by that statement. Her eyes narrow in suspicion, “What are you talking about?”
     “(Y/N) loves you guys. Did you see how cheery he was with Cyn? He was bantering back and forth with N and V all day too. He saw you weren’t happy with your team and volunteered to switch with you. Has he done anything to make you think that he doesn’t like any of you?,” Tessa counts each event she lists on a finger.
     J thinks to the day, and focuses on every time she’s seen you. You’ve done nothing to imply that you hate her, and that only further breaks down this unfounded fear of being discarded again. She’s unable to speak with all the thoughts running in her head. Her mind refuses to let her feel like she’s safe from disposal. That’s why she works hard to be the best maid in the manor. If she’s useful, there wouldn’t be any reason to get rid of her.
     Tessa waits for J to speak, but when she doesn’t she decides to do so instead, “J, we’re going to keep working on your separation issues, but for now you need some rest.”
     J nods, eyes finally returning to their normal full forms as her mind is put at ease, if only slightly, “Right boss. J gets up and walks to the door.
     “J,” Tessa calls out, “Why don’t you sleep here tonight? Could use someone to stand guard near the window.”
     A few puffs of air exit J’s mouth in a weak laugh, “Are you still afraid of wendig-”
     “Don’t say its name!,” Tessa whines, pulling up her blanket to cover herself.
     J smiles, “Right away.” J walks over to the large window in Tessa’s room and takes a seat in front of it. N said he’d be waiting for her, but he’ll figure it out eventually and go to sleep. Probably. For now, J was happy to perform this task. She looked out into the trees that surrounded the manor, and felt her power beginning to wane. She soon slipped into sleep mode to recharge for the day to come. She wouldn’t be fully charged with only a couple hours of rest, but neither would anyone else. She’d still outperform them anyway, because she’s just that good. That’s what she’ll keep telling herself to make it through all this anyway. If (Y/N) makes Tessa happy, maybe he won’t be so bad to get along with. She’d at least try for Tessa.