The Arrangement

Chapter Forty-Eight

Carter

"There, are you happy now? This is what you wanted right? The truth" Blair's words stab at me, her voice laced with a bitter sneer that masks the deeper pain beneath.  "Well there you go, I hope it was worth locking me up for"

I take a step back, everything she's just said hitting me at once. The full force on my mistake, the guilt of what we've just put her through.

"Blair I'm-" I begin, desperate to offer some semblance of an apology, but she cuts me off, her fury palpable.

"Don't even think about saying you're sorry," she snaps, a venomous edge to her voice that sends chills down my spine. "Sorry will never be enough."

Her anger intensifies, and she leans forward, her eyes ablaze with emotion. "Do you have any idea how fucking scared I was?"  she hisses, each word dripping with anguish. She thrusts her hands out, palms up, and my gaze is immediately drawn to the stark white bandages that wrap around her skin. "I mutilated my hands and feet because I was so scared—terrified of what you would do to me!"

Lennox interjects, trying to soothe the situation. "We were never going to hurt you," he insists, but his words hang in the air, futile and ineffective. I know they won't ease her frustration, yet he speaks out of instinct, a desperate attempt to calm the situation.

"How was I meant to know that!" she screams, her voice sharp and rising in pitch as she stumbles, the tremor in her legs a clear sign of her emotional and physical exhaustion. Ashton is quick to react, stepping in to support her as she sways, his hands steadying her fragile frame.

"You don't do that to someone. You don't put someone through that" she whimpers, her strength fading as she leans heavily against Ashton, her anger giving way to a profound sense of defeat. The fight has drained from her, leaving behind a raw vulnerability that cuts deeper than any accusation.

There's an uneasy silence between us all. None of us saying a word as if we don't want to risk shattering the very fragile thread we're balancing on right now.

This has been a shit show of great proportions and the reality is, I fucked up.

"I would like to go home now" she finally says breaking the silence, sounding completely and utterly broken.

"Blair, you're hungover, dehydrated and you haven't eaten" Ashton responds, his tone gentle yet firm, a desperate attempt to placate her. He's clearly worried, his concern evident in the way he studies her, searching for any sign of improvement.

"And you're in pain. We can't just dump you at your apartment and leave you there," he points out, but Blair is already shaking her head, her resolve hardening even as she struggles to stand.

"I'll be fine," she grunts, determination lacing her words as she attempts to take a step forward. But her body betrays her; she leans against Ashton for support, her legs trembling beneath the weight of her emotions and physical state.

I know him and the others well enough to know they're going to give in. Listen to what she wants even though they know she's in no fit state to care for herself right now. They're likely even more inclined to after what we've put her through today.

So I step in like I always do even though I know for a fact it won't be received well in the slightest.

"No you won't" I snap shutting her down.