Redemption

Chapter 11

The factors of this fight are changing. The Other has not been expected, the amount of people involved is increasing. I am not sure if this relieves me.
~Bezaliel~

I woke the next morning feeling drained and exposed. My head rested on my pillow, the covers pulled up to my chest, and the first thought that came to mind was Conor. Where was he?

All the questions I should have asked him the night before reared their ugly heads. What had he been doing here? Why had he come?

The sun was bright and I squinted, my eyes cutting to my bedside table. I swore. 11:00 a.m..

Something rustled beneath me as I rose, and I lifted my pillow to find a note folded neatly, my name etched in fine script along the front. The handwriting was familiar, and I hesitated as I unfolded it.

You need to leave, Dayton. Before tonight. Please think about it and call me.

Yours,
Conor


For a long time, I stared at the letter, his words penetrating the fog swirling around my brain. He was right, I should leave. I felt it in my bones, but I was reluctant. The Abbey was my home. Amber was here. But it was more than that. There was something strangely compelling about my aunt's behavior, almost like I was being forced to stay somehow, as if my mind wasn't mine.

The Yours jumped out at me. Where did Conor and I stand? Did I even want it to go anywhere? It felt like everyone wanted something from me, things I didn't understand and others I wasn't sure I wanted.

Standing, I glanced down at my day old clothes and stripped down to nothing before pulling on a robe I had in the back of my closet. On my way to the bathroom, I noticed my phone blinking, but I ignored it and headed down the hall. It wasn't much of one, but the Abbey was my home, and there was really nowhere else for me to go.

"Dayton!" a voice called.

My hand closed over the bathroom doorknob, my back toward the Sister bearing down on me. She paused behind me, her breathing ragged. "Your aunt wants you downstairs for dinner in three hours. Her guest is early."

My hand tightened on the metal handle. A response wasn't expected, and I didn't give her one. Moving into the bathroom, I slammed the door and rested my forehead against the wood.

"Don't be late!" the Sister added, her thudding steps echoing as she moved back down the hall.

Showering quickly, I returned to my room, yanked open my closet door, and pulled out a pair of hole-ridden jeans, jade leggings, white wife beater, and an off-the-shoulder jade hoodie. If the recruiter was here to meet Dayton Marie Blainey, I was going to give him Dayton Marie Blainey. I changed in record time, pulling the jeans over the leggings and hoodie over the wife beater before donning socks and a pair of tennis shoes. It left plenty of time to wander around the Abbey.

Grabbing my cell phone and a notebook, I left the room and skulked down the hallway to the back staircase, climbing down into what used to be the back gardens. Now it was a well maintained herb plot.

Sage and mint filtered through my nose as I crept into the yard. The small, seldom-visited courtyard area was a haven mainly because of its un-tended state and its smaller size. The grass was higher here than it was on the large public, landscaped yards. Weeds grew up along a crumbling stone wall separating a five foot sloped drop into a larger, more maintained garden. The herb plot was the only part of the garden still in use.

A moment of digging in the corner of the crumbling wall and I found the small box I was looking for, my lips curling in pleasure as I unwrapped a root beer-flavored lollipop before settling against the stone. It was then I looked at my phone messages. They were all from Conor, and my breathing hitched.

Dayton?

Are you okay?

Did you get my messages?

We need to talk.

My chest felt heavy. I cared about Conor but things were so complicated. Was he worried about me and the Abbey, or did he want to talk about us? I couldn't avoid the issue forever. I needed to explore how I felt about him and confront him with it. For now, I left it alone, my mind occupied with my aunt and her guest.