The Story of Blood and Roses

As he had pointed out, both of us were extremely stubborn and needed control. I think that was what made us clash. That is apart from the fact that I was supposed to be collecting information and destroying the man sitting before me. It was quite cruel that I was the most dangerous enemy he had and he was so casually baring his soul to me. I was the most dangerous because he knew his other enemies. I, on the other hand, was disguised as an ally.

This time I felt no sense of satisfaction in knowing that I would get my revenge. I was merely indifferent. Maybe, I would do my job: both my jobs properly from now on.

We got out of the car and then went inside the house. Anthony asked me to check on Cienna once before I went to sleep. As Anthony jogged up the stairs, I felt the urge to check on Sean who I was sure was still in the computer room working on shady things.

I opened the door to the room as silently as possible and saw that the room was filled with the soft glow of lights from the screen of the computers in the room. Sean was sitting amidst the chaos, typing swiftly into the laptop on his lap—the usual scenery that was seen in the room. In the blink of an eye, I saw him place the laptop on a small stool in front of him and hastily getting up to get some printouts from the machine. He then produced a pencil with which he started to mark various places on the paper. As he worked, I felt a rush of irritation take over.

"Does your mom know where you are?" I asked in a clear voice that cut through the silence in the room. He jumped up, scared, and the materials in his hand went flying and he let go of them. He stared at me in shock. "So?" I waited for him, crossing my arms above my chest: an image of sternness. I could see him gulping in fear in the dim light that illuminated the room.

"Huh?" seemed to be the only answer he could produce. I shook my head in frustration and then repeated my question again, slowly and deliberately. "Oh, yeah. I told her that I was going to stay over at my friend's place," he answered absently. "She didn't even stop to wonder when I'd made friends or the name of the friend who I was going to hang out with," he said. I was pretty sure that the words were his thoughts spoken aloud without his conscious consent, so I didn't ponder on them for them. I did, though, feel a little bad for the kid. Maybe submerging himself in ridiculous work made him feel worthwhile.

And then I choked on my laughter as I chided myself for my understanding thoughts. They had become more frequent and were making me scared of my sanity. I wouldn't want to turn into the model moral woman now, would I?

I should become a shrink or something? I joked lamely.

"Go to sleep, now. You can finish this tomorrow." My words were more of a command than a request, and I meant it.

"I'll just finish this-" I cut him off.

"No. You'll be going off to sleep right now. Don't try to fool me. I was your age once."

"You sound like an older sister."

"Just go to sleep." He nodded and then proceeded to arrange the things that had fallen from his hands and saving all the information before shutting down the computers.

"I found some new things. You'll be happy to see the things I found. Cienna is messed up." He shook his head, sympathetically and it made me wonder what it was about. Sean was a bit prejudiced, but I couldn't help but question her actions. But I would stop him right there.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand. Now, go." He hung his head, properly chastised and then went towards the refrigerator from behind which I saw him reaching for a small cupboard that I had missed all the times I had been in the room. It was well concealed behind the freezer. It seemed like he was pulling out... a sleeping bag. I stared in horror as he spread it out and slid into it.

"You're going to sleep in this room?" I was definitely horrified. "Why?" I was flabbergasted.

"The house is too big and a bit eerie; I prefer sleeping with the machines. They keep me company."

"Okay, creep. Sleep tight." I closed the door behind me, leaving him with his beloved computers and then took and then dug out the box of food I had packed and munched on it.

I heard the footsteps again and glanced up, confused because I knew that it was not Anthony.

It was Cienna, shaking uncontrollably and clutching on to herself as he moved across the room. She plopped down beside me, silently staring at nothing in particular. The silence seemed to be what was consuming the mansion. It was the opposite of what Anthony had been describing as in the urgent text. I pushed the box of food towards her, thinking that she might be hungry. I had no clue if she had had anything to eat before she reached the gate.

She stared at my extended hands for a moment before reaching out hesitantly to pick up a cookie that I had bought. I almost wanted to tell her that I hadn't poisoned it but thought otherwise. She was already depressed and scared for her life; I didn't want to put in the fear of being killed by the mob into her head as well. As I had told Anthony earlier, it was our mission to make her feel safe enough to tell us what had happened.

She took small bites of the cookie and after finishing it, reached out for another cookie. Pleased with her lack the hesitance the second time, I took a cookie myself and munched on it. I had brought various other things that were still packed in my bag. I had some granola bars, a box of instant noodles, an apple and potato chips in the mystery back which we were yet to eat. We took our time, and the hour passed as we slowly ate every bit of food I had packed. Neither she nor I spoke a word. For the first time, Cienna did not spew expletives at me. Neither did she warn me off Anthony. That would be enough to let any sane person know that she was deeply affected by whatever it was that she had experienced.

A few moments later, her eyes started to droop and I took up the responsibility to hold her elbows and guide her to the room that I had been using for the past few days. I made her get into bed after offering her a glass of water and covered her with the sheets. She snuggled into the covers and then fell asleep in no time.

My exhaustion caught up to me and I felt it weighing down on it. I knew that I didn't have a proper place to occupy to sleep so I took residence in the couch at the corner of the room and wrapped curled into myself.

I hoped that Cienna wouldn't wake up again or try to murder me while I slept.

I also hoped that I wouldn't have a terrible back pain the next morning.

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