The Price of Gold | Fortune's Fool #1

16 | absence of words

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♥ gabriel ♥

  THIS GODDAMN BUS was freezing. Were we still living in the 19th century? Had they never heard of a thing called a heater? Pulling up the hood of my hoodie, I stared out of the steamy window of the upper deck, replaying the conversation I'd just had with the therapist.

Deep down, a little part of me knew I hadn't been trying hard enough to find out what happened that night. I was too afraid of what I'd find. Yet today, in less than an hour, the therapist had helped me realise that if I wanted to move on, I needed to find out what happened.

Maybe the hospital was a good place to start. If somebody else had been involved in an accident that day, there was a chance they would have admitted themselves to the hospital. It was worth a check.

Suddenly my eyes fell upon a figure climbing up the stairs and sitting at the front of the bus, clad in a familiar white dress. Was that-

No, it couldn't be.

That tight dress that highlighted her figure was ripped in numerous places. What once was flawless, glowing, smooth skin was now tinged with different colour bruises as if they'd been victim to an incident too visceral to describe. Ebony hair that was usually dead straight and silky smooth were now messy and wild. A confident, poised posture was now slouched and defeated.

I slowly walked to the front of the bus and sure enough, resting in the corner was Louisa. Her eyes were pressed shut and her long, dark eyelashes were damp with tears; they formed a slow yet steady stream of water down her high cheekbones."Darling?"

It confused me how my voice came out as a whisper.

I couldn't help it. She looked so fragile and as if she'd break into a thousand pieces if she heard a loud noise. Her eyelashes fluttered open and I locked gazes with her dark yet bloodshot eyes.

That was when I panicked. A lump formed in my throat as I looked at the state she was in. "What the hell? Are you okay?" My eyes frantically glazed over her as the sheer number of cuts and bruises on her body hit me. What the hell happened?

This wasn't the person I saw last night.

"Fuck. Of course, you're not okay," I said, more to myself than to her. "What on earth happened?"

Her eyes softened slightly before hardening in mere seconds as a scowl framed her face. "Nothing. Go away, Gabe," she hissed lowly. The venom that latched onto her bitter voice was combined with sadness and pain.

I winced as she called me Gabe.

I seemed to hate it when anybody apart from myself called me that nickname for some reason. Considering the state she was in, I let it slide and instead turned my gaze to her again.

My jaw pulsated as I noticed a huge handprint on her wrist. "What do you mean 'go away?' I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the fuck happened?" I hadn't seen Louisa for a while towards the end of the party.

Picking up on my scrutiny, I noticed her squirm uncomfortably in her seat. Her skin paled a little as she searched for a way out of this situation. "I'm fine. I just fell over."

Before I could help it, a cynical laugh slipped out of my mouth.

That was beyond ridiculous.

"And managed to bruise and cut every single piece of visible skin on your body? Sounds highly unlikely."

The cracks in her voice gave away that she was plastering up her weaknesses with a cement of lies. "I- I'm not lying," Louisa said, clearing her throat. "Don't believe me if you don't want to. I couldn't care less." She wrapped her arms around herself, snapping at me angrily. "And get away from me. I don't want to talk to you right now."