Hope

Chapter Eighteen

After that my life dropped to a confusing downright spiral. I tried my best to think as little of Harry as possible, but he keeps haunting my dreams and I wake up with a scream every time.

I also found out that if you ignore pain hard enough it will come back more profound and agonizing at night, when there's no distraction.

Marguerite, the mansion's “Bambi”, doesn't like me very much; she avoids me as much as I avoid Magnolia, and that's a lot. I don't know why; I don't think I'm a pain to live with- how could I be? I just walk around the magnificent mansion, trying to fathom paintings and talking to anyone I find loitering the hallways- accept for Marguerite, of course. Melissa, however, is a delight to live with, too much of a delight to live with. She is as bubbly as the bubbles in a bottle of champagne she drinks all the time and it gets on my nerves. I met her baby brother, Peter. He's quiet most of the time so I started hanging out with him when I realized I know every painting in every hallway.

But I'm left alone to dwell in my misery when he's at school, so I stay with Nicholas- my trainer.

Marguerite wasn't very fond of that- Nick training me. Apparently there are “professional trainers for that”.

I also realized I didn't like her either that day.

I prefer to spend most of my time with Nick- he is blunt and doesn't really care about anything so he doesn't try too hard to make me comfortable,like everyone else does- in fact, he doesn't try at all.

“Listen, if we don't get you fit soon, we'll take even longer to get to the exciting stuff,” Nick says as he picks up his speed- how is that even possible? I thought he was already running full speed.

“Exciting... stuff?” I say between pants. I try to run faster but my legs aren't having it.

“Yeah. The part where you use your abilities.” He stops at the usual spot and turns around. “Jumping jacks, let's go.”

“What? Don't... I... get... to... catch... my... breath?”

He starts jumping. “Come on, Kathryn!”

I mimic his movements, my legs screaming with pain on every jump.

“Okay,” Nick says after eighty jumps, “you can have some water. But we're running back after five minutes.” He throws me a bottle of water and I gulp it down.

We run back to the mansion and I immediately collapse at the large gates.

“This... is... torture.” But I'll take this over what I really have to deal with any day.

Nick rolls his eyes and grabs my elbow, pulling me up. “It's only the third week, cupcake.”

“You mean it gets worse?” I ask, perplexed.

He chuckles. “Yep.”

Ron opens up and smiles at us. He's a nice guy but has a hard time opening up. I don't blame him, his own family threw him out after the war and he found refuge here, like everyone else.

“Miss Kathryn?” he calls.

“Uh... just Kathryn please,” I say.

“Kathryn, I have something I was requested to give you,” he says nervously. His behavior really doesn't suit his large built.

“By?”

“H-Harold.” He reaches in his pocket and draws something out and holds his large hand out.

I open my shaking palm as he places a cool pendant on it.

My breath hitches in my throat.

“Oh. Thanks Ron,” I croak.