Page 37 of Lost Petal

Chapter 21

J

“What the hell was that?”

An admission of guilt is painted all over Malia’s face as she slips through the door. She evades my gaze, as if that could save her from the lecture she knew she’d receive upon leaving that room.

We have rules, and these rules are set in stone. Malia signed them, as did I.

She is not to speak to Petal. Not during the first few days, at least. Not now. All she is allowed to do is bring her food, and with that, a little comfort. I warned her that she wouldn’t be recognized and that she shouldn’t try to invoke any kind of contact. I knew it would be tough for her, seeing how close she was to Petal almost all her life. I knew it would be a challenge that would strain most people, especially a young woman like her.

Malia knew what she was getting herself into. And she did well so far. I didn’t like the fact that she barely even looked at Petal when she visited her. No one ever told her to act like a frightened deer in front of her former best friend, to ignore her like that and possibly worsen her emotional state instead of stabilizing it as she’s supposed to.

She could look at her. She could smile at her, give her some comfort, a quiet form of consolation that would develop into more over time, into a new form of friendship.

But she could not fucking talk to her.

“We had a deal, Malia.”

She swallows dryly, her hand still resting on the doorknob. Her eyes are still lowered to the floor, still refusing to face her obvious failure. With the way she’s been acting every time I remind her of the set of rules she signed up to, I expect her to frown at me, to object me, to throw a spate of backtalk at me that I’d find hard to tolerate.

She takes a deep breath while she lets go of the doorknob, her hands curled into tight fists as she finally looks up at me, a dark glare flickering across her young face.

Damn. If she raises her voice right here in front of Petal’s door, I will have to forcefully remove her. I’d hate having to do that, but while the door to Petal’s bedroom is soundproof to a degree, it wouldn’t cover a girl’s screams.

I tense up, ready to grab the girl and pull her away from the door, as I wait for what she has to say to me. I’m prepared for a lot, but not for the words Malia chooses when she finally opens her mouth for a response.

“I’m sorry,” she says, the words colliding with the expression on her face. “I couldn’t help it. I know it was wrong but I just...”

Her voice breaks, and her lower lip begins to tremble violently.

“She remembered the stew,” she adds, looking at me as if she’d just discovered a horrible truth. “She remembers.”

I shake my head. “You know I hear every word that’s spoken inside that room, Malia. She thanked you for it, because she liked it. That is all.”

“Why did you ask me to make that for her? Why of all things...”

“Because she needs some comfort,” I explain. “Even if she doesn’t know where it’s coming from or why, it makes her feel better. She needs it. She needs a sense of familiarity, even if the memory is not clear to her.”

Malia closes her eyes as she nods, a set of tears slowly traveling down her olive skin.

“It’s all so easy for you,” she whispers. “You just get to toy with her as you please. Like you always wanted. You don’t know her like I do, you don’t love her—”

“Shut it,” I hiss, closing in on her as I raise a finger in warning. “Stop it right there, Malia. You have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Maybe I don’t,” she utters, lowering her gaze. “I don’t understand this, any of this. I never got it. Why she would—”

“You don’t have to understand it,” I interject. “You just have to remember why we’re doing this, and what your job is. It’s not about being my little helper or my servant, you know that. It’s about—”

“Her,” she adds, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. “I know that. It’s just that...”

She looks up at me, more tears dwelling in her black eyes when she says, “Robert called me.”

My heart suspends a set of beats, stopping in shock as I process a statement I wasn’t ready for. I didn’t expect this. Not this early, after just a single day.

This just proves how right we were to do this.

“When?” I want to know.

---