Duplicitous (F.C)

Saltburn

Felix steps out of the car, extending his hand for me to grab. As I take his hand, I mentally prepare myself for any situation to occur. "Your palms are perspiring." He chuckles, while my cheeks turn red. "You've got nothing to worry about, love." It's easier said than done. "What if I say the wrong thing, or they don't-" Felix softly grabs my face causing me to stop mid sentence. "If that's even the slightest bit true, it won't change my opinion of you, Calliope." He kisses me to reassure me. "Okay." The front door opens, causing me to fall into line. "Oh, she's such a doll Felix." The redheaded woman exclaims beside a suited man. "For a minute there Elspeth and I thought Felix would never find anyone serious enough to bring back to Saltburn."

She attempts to whisper, but fails horribly. "Yet here you are." She pulls me into her embrace; a strong smell of roses and jasmine fills my nose. "My manners must've lost me, I'm Pamela." She releases me from the nauseating scent. "I'm loving and leaving ya." She motions to the designer shopping bag she casually tossed on the floor to greet me. "Have some errands to run before dinner." She smiles before picking up the bag. "See ya at dinner, lovebirds." With that, Pamela is out the door. "She should come with a warning label." The man mutters to himself, yet I can't help but chuckle at his clear observation. "Shall I show you to your room?" He offers but Felix shakes his head. "I'll show the mrs to her quarters, Duncan."

His sudden switch in accent makes me chuckle. "Your mum hears nothing about this." Felix nods. "Mum's the word." Felix grabs ahold of my hand before we're off to explore the estate. "Duncan takes his job very seriously, so don't be put off by his cold demeanor." None taken, he seems like he could be a softie underneath all of that. "Pamela seems like a joy to be around." Felix chuckles. "She's been here on and off throughout the years for various reasons." I hum as I take in all the artwork on the walls. "This time she's in hiding from her Russian ex-boyfriend she met whilst in rehab." Felix states so casually. "Mum feels horrible about it, which is why she won't deliberately ask Pamela to leave."

"Seems scary." Felix nods in agreement. "Mum pushed her into rehab, which is why she feel somewhat responsible for the whole ordeal. Nevertheless, we're stuck with Pamela until further notice." Everyone here seemed to merely put up with the poor woman. It worries me that my fate could be the same during my time here. Felix never told me if his parents knew the real reason of my early departure from the cottage, or if Farleigh had exposed that the two of us had a brief intermission during our relationship. Truthfully it's what made me the most nervous about today.

"Here will be your living quarters for the duration of your summer." He puts on his best Duncan impression. "My room is just down the hall and to your right." I chuckle. "That'll probably be the only direction that I'll remember." He pulls me in, wrapping his arms around my waist. "The most important one, that is." We both fall into a fit of laughter. "Have you heard from your mum yet?" A sigh escapes my lips. "She'll come around, C." If she didn't I would be on my own once I returned home, and the that thought scared me. Majority of the remaining family I had left didn't speak to me after my father's death, mostly due to their poor relationship with my mother.

"You'll worry yourself sick if you spend every moment with it on your mind." As much as I wish that I could detach from her, she's the person who raised me and it's something I could never fathom of doing. Besides, my father would haunt me. "We should worry about the things we can control..." He trails walking over to the dresser. "Which would be?" Chuckling at his antics, he goes to grab a box from the armoire. "I had V go to the shops for me since I had no idea what to get you, but a color in mind."

"Felix, you shouldn't have." my voice breathless from the gesture. "Hopefully, it'll take your mind off of things back home. Figured they'd take a moment with your belongings, so I didn't want to chance you not having anything to wear tonight." A smile forms on my face as I unravel the pale yellow bow holding the white box together. "It's beautiful." My hand runs over the satin dress with a lace paneling. "It reminded me a lot of you when she showed me the options." Felix walks up behind me, barely giving me space to exhale without touching him. "How so?" My curiosity makes him chuckle.

"When I think of you, the first memory that pops into my head is our lunch down by the bank during our stay at the cottage." A smile creeps onto my lips as I recall the memory. "The day you asked me to be yours." Unfortunately, we didn't bask in the moment for long. "The white satin dress and yellow cardigan; something just clicked for me. Before meeting you, I was on the verge of leaving, and taking a gap year from university. My dad was basically paying for me to get shit-faced every week with people who used me for any cent I was willing to give."

His gaze drops from me to the floor as he opens up. "My grades weren't the best, and my father donated only God knows what, so the board wouldn't send me back home packing. Then we met- I ran into you in the courtyard, and then from that moment... I knew there was something about you, and I would've kicked myself for not seeing where this could go." The sadness in his eyes disappear as they meet mine again. "You're my sunflower, Calliope Jane Sinclair." He leans in, kissing me. His hands falter to my waist and his fingertips tracing circles on my lower back. I deepen the kiss completely forgetting that the door is open. My hands ruining through his already tousled hair.

Moments after the heated exchange starts, we pull away, my head resting on his. "Should probably put this to halt before one of the workers report back to mum." He laughs at his mother's extremities. "Wouldn't be the best impression." Felix smiles. "To be continued, yeah?" I grin back at him. "I'll be looking forward to it."

~~~~~~

I walk into the dinning room, which seems like an understatement given that it was the same size as the dining hall at school. "What a marvelous choice I made." Venetia exclaims as she takes in my dress. "Come, I've saved you a seat." Venetia jumps from her chair, pulling me from Felix's grasp. "Mum put name tags on the plates as if it's a conference." The siblings laugh in unison with their mother being absent in the room. "I switched you with Pamela; mum had you beside her, she'll say it's to get to know you, but we know it's to see if you'll slip."

I had nothing to hide from anyone in the room which would be horrifying if I did. "Good evening." Pamela makes her way into the room. "Oh would you look at that , I'm sat next to you and Elspeth." She smiles at Felix, making him seemingly uncomfortable. "Lucky me." Venetia and I give each other a look, trying not to burst out in laughter; thankfully Elspeth and James are escorted into the room by Duncan. "Oh, isn't she darling, James?" My cheeks redden at the compliment. "We were all certain you didn't exist when Felix showed up empty handed at dinner." His father jokes, but it falls flat besides Elspeths pity laugh. "Shall we get started then?" Realizing no one else enjoyed the
joke she tries to move on.