Adeline

Chapter 6 - Discovery

In the midst of the horrendous moment, Celeste had only fainted onto the carpet floor in her sudden shock. Adeline leapt off of Arthur's lap and skipped over to Celeste who was lying on the floor, face down. She was good at thinking fast and so decided to drag Celeste into the room and close the door behind them. This time, she turned the lock to make sure that no one could walk in the same way and find the birthday girl passed out on the ground with Adeline and Arthur wondering what to do. Whilst Adeline sat Celeste upright against the wall next to the door, Arthur was frantically buttoning his shirt back up and tying his tie. He had no care or time for his vest and jacket, but wanted to hurry over and check on his sister with at least some clothes on. The way that the both of them dealt with the situation was stereotypical of their character. Adeline, despite her worry over the situation, thought it best to stay calm and concentrate on the matter at hand, collecting herself and discussing what would be the best thing to do. And despite Arthur's intelligence, he couldn't help but panic over this unexpected problem. Not only had his sister fainted at the sight of him and Adeline, but now she knew. Now she had to know. He had to explain to her what was going on. He knelt by his sister's side, breathing quick, short breaths, his eyes wide and terrified. He was sweating and his shirt was crumpled as he had put it on so effortlessly in such a short amount of time.

"Oh, god! Oh, god!" Arthur cried, holding his sister's face and opening her eyes to look to see if she was okay, "Oh, god!"

"Calm down." Adeline tried, extending a hand to him.

"Why did we do that?! Why didn't we shut the door!? I'm such an idiot!" Arthur fussed over his sister. Adeline knew that he was only worried about her, but that didn't stop her feeling offended by this comment. Had he called himself an idiot for kissing her? If so, she felt completely rejected. He collapsed to the floor, sitting with his legs outstretched and his back against the door. Adeline stared into the middle distance, just in front of her feet. "Oh, god!" Arthur cried, patting his sister's cheeks to wake her up.

"What do you think is going to happen?" Adeline looked up at him as he sat down on the other side of Celeste.

"We're going to have to explain to her what's going on." Arthur sighed, defeated.

"Will she go to the police?" Adeline asked.

He shook his head, no, "She's not like that."

"Then why worry?" she asked.

"It's just..." Arthur looked at Adeline, "It's too much for her to deal with. Her life is simple and easy – she wouldn't understand what this is."

"Even I don't understand what this is." Adeline said.

"That's what I mean!" Arthur held his sister's hand, "She wouldn't understand, it would be too much and it would eat her up. I mean, you're wanted by the authorities, so am I!" Arthur said, exasperated, "You're an arsonist and I..."

"It's a lot to take in." Adeline agreed, "I supposed you'd have to be there to understand."

"I don't want to do this." Arthur sighed, "It's too much."

"What don't you want to do?" Adeline felt a sudden spike in her heart and a knot in her throat. She prayed for him to not say what he was going to say.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this." He gestured between the both of them, "Maybe it would be simpler."

"Simpler." Adeline said quietly.

The two sat either sides of unconscious Celeste for a time in silence. They didn't look or talk to each other and the only thing that could be heard was the rhythmic ticking of the clock in the corner of the room. Until Adeline broke the silence, "But, you said you liked me."