A/N:
meliorism: (n.) the belief that the world gets better, the belief that humans can improve the world.
We were sitting down at the table, Cora and I. She was shaking and I couldn't understand why. We ate some lasagna with garlic bread.
Everything was all fancy. The utensils looked new, not cleaned, new. Every little thing was perfectly placed.
This is my time to figure this out. My time to get this done, get this over with.
"Why are we being treated like this?" I blurt out after the silenced, uncomfortable dinner.
"Louis, I'm sorry."
"You didn't answer my question."
"That's because i'm not the one behind all this." She's not what? This is the second time someone has said this to me. Who the fuck is actually behind all this misery? Who would want to keep a lot of people in here?
"Then who is it?" This shit is driving me insane and none of it makes sense.
"I don't know. I was threatened to come here and at first I didn't know what i was supposed to do. Until i recieved a note telling me what my job was in here. I couldn't say no. I'm the face of this, not the one behind it."
Fuck. No.
I want to go home. I want to be with my mother, my sister. I want to go to work. I want to be free.
I still don't know what the hell is happening.
"Go upstairs." She says with a serious tone.
I stand up and make my way to the stairs. I'm looking everywhere, looking for a sign. A sign that reveals who this person is and what it wants.
I look to my left and see the trees. You can tell we're miles away form the city and i wouldn't survive the run. Niall is a walking example of what will happen if i try to run away. I wouldn't like to be example number two.
I kept looking outside and saw Harry, but he wasn't alone. Someone was walking beside him, but she was blindfolded. I could distinguish the person because of the height, body structure and clothing.
I keep replaying Niall's face in my head after Harry beat him up. How come he's nice to me behind doors? How come he's not rude to me? By 'not rude' i mean 'decent'.
Harry could be the good guy. What if it's all an act? What if he had to punch Niall to prove something? But not to us, to the mind of this misery. I should try talking to him a bit more and try to get something out of him. That's the first thing i will do tomorrow once he opens my door for breakfast.
I tried hiding somewhere so i could see better but there was no place to hide.
"I told you to go upstairs." Cora said looking me straight in the eyes. I just nodded and made my way to 'my' room.
Once i arrived, I sat down on the floor waiting for Harry to walk by with the girl. I was intrigued with her arrival.
Who is she? Maybe I can ask her some questions about her so I can connect the dots and figure this out.
I see Harry pass by but he was alone. Once he sees my door open, he grabs the doorknob put his index finger on his lips and shushed me. I wasn't even making a sound. Then he slowly closed the door behind him, locking it.
Is the girl already in the next room? Maybe i didn't notice.
There was a vent close to the floor so i bent down. Maybe I can communicate with her, that's if she's there. If she's not and I end up talking to someone that might get me in trouble then I'm fucked.
"Hello?" I talked but no one answered. "Hello?" I said louder than the first time.
"Yes?" I heard someone say, but it wasn't a girl. "Louis?" He said again and as soon as he did, I recognized his voice.
"Niall?" Shit, it's not her. "Niall, do you have another vent in your room?"
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Listen to me. I need you to communicate with whoever is at the other side of that vent." I whispered into the vent.
He didn't answer so i guessed he went to talk to the other person. Either that or he didn't hear me.
It took a while until Niall came back. I need to get out of here, figure all this out and put an end to it. I'm no hero but someone has to do something. We can't all be conformists and not do anything about it. I need a plan and I need it now.
"Louis?" I heard Niall call me.
"What took you so long?"
"Her name is Miranda. She doesn't know why she's here either."
Miranda? Could it be the Miranda I know?
"I have a few questions for her. Do you mind asking her on my behalf?"
Niall didn't mind and I proceeded with my questions. I had a few and yes, it's the Miranda I know. Niall said she didn't want to answer another question. She was too scared to do so.
I asked him to tell her about me and he did. She replied to him saying that she wanted to talk to me whenever it's possible.
She might be going crazy, crying. She's this small, pure person. I don't know her that well. Besides seeing her at work, I saw her once at a party. A party Liam threw a few years ago. I think it was the party where i started to hate Keenan.
I started thinking about that night and my heart couldn't handle that much pain right now. Remembering hurts. Seeing her crying, not moving. She deserved better that night. I shouldn't have left her alone.
That night. What a horrible night.
Tomorrow at breakfast I'm gonna try to talk to Miranda. Ask her if she remembers how she got here.
It won't be easy putting the pieces together but Niall will help me figure this out.
