An Eye For An Eye

Trente-Trois

Once I finished the chapter I was writing, I put the lid on the pen and closed the notebook. I looked up and around at the Betas helping to pack the apartment in boxes. I felt as though I should help but Deuc insisted I could carry on writing.

“Liza, would you mind coming with me?” he asked. Smiling, I nodded.
“Yeah, okay,” I said as I stood.
“Charles, could you pass the bag from the counter, please?” asked Deuc as he waited by the elevator. Charles looked up and quickly nodded. He walked quickly to the breakfast bar and grabbed the bag to give to Deucalion.

I slipped back into the guest bedroom to put on my boots and my jacket and then headed to the elevator.
“Something smells odd,” said Tasha as she carried a box from his study.
“Don’t worry about it,” said Deuc as I looked down. Could she smell what had happened? It was certainly a possibility. Deuc smiled and offered out his hand. I took his hand and as the elevator opened, we stepped in.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I pressed the button for the ground floor.
“To the park for that picnic, I should think,” he said with a smile on his face. Remembering the idea he had mentioned earlier, I gasped.
“Oh, I forgot about that,” I admitted. He chuckled as we stepped out of the elevator.

Still holding hands, we headed outside. The air was warm despite it being early evening and it felt rather peaceful. We headed to the local park, hopefully there would be a bench to sit down on to eat the food that I assumed was in the bag Charles handed to him.

I spotted a familiar face walking towards me.

“Hey! Liz!”

Kate.

Anxiously, I looked to Deuc but he just held my hand a little tighter.
“Liz, is that you?” she asked, stopping right in front of us so that it was difficult for us to both walk around her.
“Um…” I said, staring at her. What did I say to her? “Who are you?”
“Uh, your sister?” Kate said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“I don’t think I know you,” I said shakily. My other hand moved to cling onto his arm.

Kate stared at me for a moment. Did she still recognise me despite the change in hair colour and style and a completely different way of dressing?
“Sorry,” she said, shaking her head. “I thought you were someone else.” I stared into her brown eyes and I felt Deuc pulling me away.
“Come on, honey, let’s go,” he said softly. My insides practically melted at his words and I looked away from Kate and to him. Smiling, I carried on walking with him. It took everything to not turn around and look at my sister, even if we hadn’t gotten along very well.

“My love, are you alright?” he asked as we sat down on a bench. I hadn’t said much and just leaned against his shoulder.
“I don’t know,” I said honestly. His arm wrapped around my shoulder and my stomach rumbled, I hadn’t really eaten too much today.
“Don’t think about it,” he said. “Maybe you should eat.” I nodded. I don’t remember him cooking but he must have done everything while I was doing something else.

There were sandwiches, sausage rolls, drumsticks and an assortment of other foods.
“When did you do this?”
“While you were writing, I had asked Charles to buy them for me and I gave him the money,” he said. He was smiling and I pulled out some of the food.
“Oh,” I said as I handed him food. I smiled. “Let’s just hope this goes better, right?”
“I’m sure it will.”

And we talked as we ate and the sun slowly set. The sky was filled with a beautiful mix of colours that I wished he could have seen. But I described it to him as well as I could, mentioning how the golden rays of the sun shone through the trees. The long shadows the trees cast slowly being engulfed as everything grew darker. And it was like tiny silver fragments had been scattered onto the dark blue sky as the stars appeared one by one.

“Thank you for the date,” I said, smiling as I closed my eyes.
“You have nothing to thank me for,” he said. “It couldn’t have happened without you.”
“And you call me the sweet one.” I couldn’t resist looking at him and I had to open my eyes and turn my head.
“You are the sweet one,” he said. He hand lifted to caress my cheek. His hands were warm as his fingers followed my jawline.

The moment was tinged with sadness as I thought of Kate. I wasn’t going to miss her too much but it was a painful reminder of what I had left behind. Chris and Allison, and my best friend.

“I want to see Kara,” I said.
“Your friend?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“Is that a good idea?” he asked as he took my hand.
“I don’t know, but if I’m moving away I at least want to try to talk to her,” I said. I couldn’t just give up on it, I couldn’t leave her without trying to tell her the truth.

“What if there’s other people there?” he asked. “If they see you, they’ll know it’s you, regardless of your hair colour.”
“I have to try,” I said, nodding. I had to try. “I’ll go tomorrow, I’ll be out of the others’ way. I’ll be careful.”
“If you insist,” he said with a sigh. I could understand why he wouldn’t want me to go. If her mother showed up, or anyone else for that matter…
“I promise, I’ll be safe,” I said before leaning up to kiss his cheek. “I promise.”