The Cliffs

twenty four

"So, what's the deal with the nickname?" Scarlett questioned after a long and uncomfortable silence.

The entire event that unfolded had left a gaping hole at the end of the table, and all of us were avoiding any acknowledgement of what happened. We simply chewed in silence, occasionally speaking up to ask for a dish to be passed.

"What's the deal with you having two colors for your name?" I countered back, a playful smile forming on my lips.

Scarlett stuck her tongue out at me, and Mason chuckled under his breath.

"I've asked my mother that, like, three hundred times." She scoffed, tilting her head at her mother.

Her mother smiled lightly, and I could tell that she was still shaken by the incident earlier.

"And I've told you that I named you after your great-aunt." Daniella responded.

"And that's still not a good enough reason." Scarlett sighed, shaking her head dramatically.

Scarlett's mood seemed to have improved significantly since her father left, and I wondered what exactly made her hate him so much. I mean, besides the obvious reasons, of course.

"Well? I want to know." Scarlett prodded further, and I glanced at Mason.

"She has a scar on her face. It's straightforward." Mason shrugged, glancing at me with a twinkle in his eye.

"I was more so asking how you felt about it." Scarlett nodded towards me, and I pondered it for a minute.

"Truthfully, I hated Mason for it. It's my biggest insecurity, and he just kept bringing it up. He knew how much it irritated me, and he still did it." I narrowed my eyes at him, and he shrugged.

"Well, at least you realized it wasn't as big of a deal as you were making it out to be." He pointed at me, and I reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"I spent five years of my life hiding behind my hair, and I guess he helped me stop. Him saying it so much normalized it, I suppose." I took another bite thoughtfully. "Honestly, I spent five years simply skirting by. I have experienced more in the last six months than I have in five years, and that sucks to think about." I sighed, and Scarlett frowned at her food in thought.

The rest of the dinner went by with small talk. Daniella asked me various questions and jokes were thrown around. Leo was awfully quiet throughout the most of it, but I learned it was more of his personality than anything. He didn't seem to be one to speak a lot. After we cleaned up, Mason and I sat in the living room, and I picked up on Daniella quietly talking to Leo and Scarlett.

"The door is to remain open the entire time. I trust you, Scar, but I don't want any funny business." She warned Scarlett, and I heard them agree quickly.

They disappeared upstairs, and I felt a pit in my stomach. I felt on edge, and the uneasiness was clear to Mason.

"Everything okay?" He mumbled, taking his eyes off the television and glancing at me.

"Uh, yeah. I just think I left something at home. I'm going to go check my bag real fast." I mumbled, kissing his cheek and jogging upstairs.

I glanced down the hallway, peering over at Scarlett's room. The door was swung open wide, and I hesitated to move forward. What would be my excuse if they caught me snooping? Why was I even worried? This wasn't my problem. I sighed in frustration and inched towards the door. I glanced in, and saw that it was completely empty. Everything looked the same as this morning, except for the fact that the window was opened wide.