Gifted

Chapter Seventeen - Sage

A/N:  Please ensure you read the 'Interlude' before this chapter as it moves the story forwards

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I said my thanks and goodbyes to Jim. He watched me walk into the building, holding his mobile phone up to his ear.

No doubt calling Hunter to tell him he had delivered me safely home.

Mike, the doorman opened up the large glass door as I approached. He looked me up and down, his eyebrows raised. I must have looked in a right state wearing the dress from the night before and my hair and make-up surely left a lot to be desired.

"Good morning, Mike."

He smiled warmly."Good morning, Miss Dufrene, it's a beautiful day."

"It is," I replied walking past him to press the elevator button and thankfully the door opened and I stepped inside.

Opening the door to our apartment, Pearl's squeals assaulted my eardrums before I closed the door, swiftly followed by the padding of her small feet on our wooden floors.

"Sage!" she shrieked In a high-pitched tone as she ran towards me with the look of an excited child being given a puppy. "Tell me everything," she asked hungrily.

I rolled my eyes. "Jeez, Pearl, let a girl get inside and get her shoes off before you jump her." Kicking off my heels, my poor feet were relieved to be out of them. Opening my bag, I pulled out my mobile phone. It would need charging as the battery was dead. "Hold your horses, this requires charging first," I said, brushing past her.

"Oh no, no, no you don't Sage Dufrene, don't think you can dodge me, not now. I need details—all of them. Capiche?"

"I'm not avoiding anything." I found my charger and plugged it in. "Okay," I sighed noisily. "What do you want to know?" It was pointless trying to avoid the conversation, Pearl could get a spy to spill their secrets.

"Everything." She chuckled. "From start to finish—every-fuckin-thing."

"Okay, you asked for it." I flopped down on the sofa with Pearl sitting opposite me. Taking a deep breath, I began my adventure from the beginning.

Pearl listened carefully whilst sitting with her legs crossed and her mouth slightly open. Every time she tried to interrupt, I held up my hand and gave her the look. She would crease her dark eyebrows and frown and sometimes pout, but she managed to hold her tongue until I had told her everything, including the Ruth incident.

I was now sitting patiently waiting for her words of wisdom. However, if I followed through on Pearl's advice every time she offered it–then I would have been arrested or murdered by now.

"And she knew your parents, that's what she said?"

I nodded. "Oui, and I felt all her emotions and let me tell you; some of them weren't good—not good at all, Pearl."

Pearl wrinkled her nose. "And she wouldn't tell you how she knew them?"

I nodded again. It was like she was repeating everything back to me, perhaps she was just as shocked as I was. "Oui, like I said."

She let out a long sigh. "And Hunter doesn't know?"

"No," I raised my voice in frustration. "Listen, you cannot repeat everything I just said. I need to know..." I paused, massaging my temples. "What should I do Pearl?"

Pearl sat back lifting her hair upon her head before letting it run through her fingers dropping back to her shoulders. "You know what you got to do Sage and you know what I'm going to say."