The Scarlett Maiden

Nine: Something Good

Chapter Nine

The horror of dinner with the Witherworths was nothing short of unspeakable, but somehow, I managed to get through it. When the awkward conversation starters, wine, and jokes were over Lilly was granted with a swift peck to the cheek. Her sister blushed scarlet, but I didn't care.

Alana was put out with me, and my brother had lost everything- I just wanted to go home. I walked faster than I remember ever doing, and the when the rough texture of my own front door finally welcomed me, I sent out a deep sigh.

It was unusually quiet in the foyer, but not in a concerning way. I made my way up the stairs almost leisurely, running my hand against the railing. However, as I turn down the hallway to my bedroom, the sound of sharp breathing and whimpering causes me to sit up straight. I frown slightly, following it until I find myself in front of Blake's familiar door. I listen for a moment, and I swear I feel my soul shattering into a million different pieces.

"Blake?" I say softly, my hand resting on the door.

He says nothing, but his breaths change rhythm, and I know that I have his attention.

"Blake, have you been in there since I left?"

He attempts to clear his throat, but if ends with him just crying harder. The sobs he makes are like a man who has just fallen from a cliff, or a teapot that had been dropped to the ground.

Shattered.

I close my eyes, my hand still resting against the door. It would take so much to get him in the mindset to let me in, let alone speak with me. My mind was still running in circles from that dinner... How could I help another person with their issues?

"He has not come out in hours."

The sound of my mother's voice causes me to leap so high into the air, had a small child been beneath me, I would have gone above their head.

"Can you help him?" She continues, ignoring my reaction.

I shake my head. "I... I have somewhere to be."

She frowns. "But you've only just left-"

"Park," I spit out, walking swiftly past her. "Lilly."

"But-"

"I will return by sunset," I promise at the foot of the stairs. By the time she understands just how odd my words are, I am already out the front door. How strange it was that the sanctuary I was searching for ended up being another thing I ran away from.

I walked slowly east from my home, knowing by heart that my mother would expect me to go the opposite direction. The afternoon was particularly fine today, and I took note of a boy a few years younger than me, escorting a young maiden in the opposite direction.

Both of them seemed to be content, unlike the dark-haired woman directly ahead of me, struggling with two bags, nearly her size. I frown as I realize that the woman is also with child.

What person in their right mind left her alone?

Still frowning, I increase my pace until I am directly beside her. "Excuse me Miss?"

The coffee colored eyes look up at me, and I start. "Ingrid?"

She looks away from me. "I'm perfectly fine, Ethan. Continue your walk."

"Ingrid, where are you going?"

She smiles lightly, stroking her stomach with her free hand. "My baby will be arriving soon. I'm going to stay with my husband, in Padua, until I am ready to work once more."