Montana Mansion

Guilty Conscience

Charlene's POV:

"What have I done?" I murmured as I paced back in forth in my room, my hands tangled up in my hair. The mirror caught my ragged expression, glinting it back at me. I looked away. Why did little white lies always have to come back to haunt you?

"Charlene?" I heard Willa call through my door. "Can I come in?"

"I'd say no but I know you'd come in anyway," I replied, sitting down on the trunk at the end of my bed

The door creaked open and Willa's head poked through. "You okay?"

"Yeah I," I bit my lip. Did I look genuine? "I just didn't know Maybeck was capable of doing something so, so..." I trailed off, staring off into the distance. What an interesting lampshade.

"Oh honey," Willa darted inside, coming over beside me. "I'm so sorry."

I leaned into her shoulder, still staring at the lampshade. Was that a pen mark? How'd that get there? 

"I can't believe him," I heard her hiss under her breath. 

I sighed. "It's okay, Wills. Some people are just, are just selfish I guess."

"Oh honey," Willa squeezed me tighter to her. "I don't know what to say."

"That's where I'm at, too." That was the first true thing that I had said to her. I began to feel even more guilty than before. She shouldn't be feeling bad for me. I widened my eyes slightly before returning them to normal size before she noticed. In fact, if she knew the truth, she should be horridly angry. But she'd never find out the truth.

Maybeck's POV:

So right now I'm outside in the rain, hiding from the entire household. I can't face Philby, I can't find Jess and everyone else is either plotting my death or pretending to. "Let's take a trip, she said. It'll be fun, she said."

My shirt was completely drenched and my nose still smarted from where Finn had clocked me earlier. I was cold. I was wet. And utterly miserable. I glanced inside the family room window and saw no one, so I opened it and slipped inside. Dripping all over the floor and soaking the carpet, I made my way into the hallway and opened the linen closet, retrieving a towel.

"What are you doing here?" I heard Amanda seethe from the other side of the closet door. I knew I should have just stayed outside.

"Hello, Amanda," I shut the door and smiled at her.

"Don't act like nothing's happened," she growled. "Because it did." 

"I just came inside for a towel," I waved the linen in the air for emphasis. "And now I'm going up to my room." I turned and headed up the stairs.

"I doubt Charlene even wants you here anymore," Amanda called up to me. "I know I sure don't."

I paused for a moment, my foot hovering above the fifth step and my hand resting on the railing. But I swallowed the snappy retort burning a hole in my tongue and simply proceeded upstairs.

Jess's POV:

Well that backfired, I thought to myself, referring to both the previous evening and my conversation with Amanda this morning. Now the entire house was spitting mad and no one but Charlene, Philby, Maybeck and I knew the truth. Maybe Maybeck was right. Maybe we should have just sat Philby and Charlene down and talked to them. But it was too late now. Way too late now.

"I just was just trying to get everything out in the open," I reasoned with myself. But I knew better. "No. I just wanted to get the heat off of me for getting Charlene to lay off Finn. And now look what I've done."