Little Bird

Chapter Thirty-One

Draco

            "God damn it, Eve, don't leave—fuck."

            She ducked out of my reach when I tried to grab her arm, slipping through the doorway and disappearing from my bedroom without another word. Swearing loudly, I ripped the nearest jacket off of the closet door and stormed out of the room after Eve.

            Why couldn't she just listen to me for once? I was trying to help her, for fuck's sake—

            She was just at the top of the staircase when I rounded the corner of the hallway, tugging the jacket on as quickly as I could so that my ripped shirt sleeve would be covered. "Eve," I whispered furiously, knowing that my parents would be able to hear us now if we raised our voices, "please don't do this."

            But Eve ignored me, continuing down the steps and leaving me to hurry after her. My feet tripped up against the rug that ran down the length of each stair, making me almost stumble down the staircase. I was completely infuriated, frantic at the fact that she wasn't listening to me—and absolutely devastated at the thought that she wasn't going to get away from this.

            I finally caught up to her when she was walking down the hallway, but the moment I reached for her arm, the hall opened into the parlor and my parents were looking up to see us walk in. Exhaling furiously but trying to hide it, I put my arm back down at my side and resisted the urge to grab Eve and drag her back out of the room. I stood beside her with my hands clenched into fists at my sides, glancing down at her to see that she was staring straight ahead as we stopped in front of my parents. She was looking my father dead in the eye.

            As angry as she was making me, it was clear that this was not the same Eve I had met nearly a year ago in Hogsmeade.

            Lucius stared down at the two of us, as though coldly calculating what we were thinking. I looked at my mother quickly to see that she was watching me with an even gaze, and it was like she knew exactly what I had been trying to do upstairs—I tried not to feel uneasy under her careful gaze.

            "I assume Draco has told you about the circumstances?" my father asked in a clipped tone, making the anger flare up hot in my belly.

            "Yes," Eve said, her voice coming out strong and clear. "He has."

            "Good," Lucius mused, turning his gaze to me and making me glare heatedly at him in return when the corner of his mouth turned up. "Then you understand that your cooperation is vital, Miss Hawkings?"

            I squeezed my fists so tightly that my fingernails dug into my palms, pressing my teeth together to keep from snapping at him. How dare he talk to her like that, as though she meant nothing to anyone, like he could care less about what happened to her—

            "Yes," Eve said again, her head held high. "It's over now anyway. I'm done running."

            "But then of course, you understand that it's not only your life at stake here," Lucius said, making me want to leap across the gap between us and strangle him. Before I could cut him off, he told Eve easily, "I'm sure Draco told you that our family will be in danger if you don't do as the Dark Lord wishes."

            Eve's head snapped left to look at me, but all I could do was glare furiously at my father and try not to explode. I had told them not to say anything about that to Eve, but it was clear Lucius had done it purposefully. I gritted my teeth together to keep from yelling as he glanced over at me with a cool expression, as though he was nearly smirking at me. Now Eve was never going to leave.