Vidal
~~
As Rune came in with the girl strolling behind, his heart skipped a beat.
Could this really be her? Could this be Catherine?
Guilt and pain stung his heart, his soul, and all his senses as he watched her.
" Guys, meet Kate," Rune announced to them who haven't moved an inch from where they stood before she left.
The girl waved at them with a smile on her face. " Hello." she gingerly said.
Vidal had his eyes closely watching her. He was looking for anything at all that could give her away.
Damn! He found none.
Even her eyes looked normal. Catherine had done a good job of concealing herself so well.
" Hello." Calliope smiled back.
August went over to the small sitting room they had a spare in the big building and went ahead to get a stool from it.
" Welcome to our home," Gizem said to her when August went for the stool but before the girl could reply, the sound of the stool dropping on the floor interrupted.
" Sit," August instructed her quickly, not bothering to participate in the pretentious nice welcoming.
Vital knew August had been on the edge lately. He knew his buddy would be the most hurt by his secret but he couldn't have brought himself to tell out that ugly side of himself to others.
He had been hoping and praying for the secrets to go with him whenever he perishes but there was no running away from his demons. They had come back to haunt him and he would receive the punishment like a man and try his best to make it right.
The girl looked surprised by August's command and quickly corrected him. " No, I only come for the nail polishes Rune wants to give me not to sit mister" she sounded not in the least bit intimidated.
What baffled Vidal the most was the way she was acting so casually and evenly.
Even when their eyes collided for a second, she showed no hint of spite and only looked away normally.
" Look Chameleon, I have no patience for your pretense." August crossed his hands across his chest.
" Neither do I" Gizem added and gave the girl a look that could kill.
The girl looked tensed a bit. " Rune?" she called sharply. " What's going on?" she demanded firmly.
Even Rune looked unsure. Vidal knew she was totally against this.
" Erhmm— Kate. Just sit like you were instructed. We only want to talk." Rune told her.
" Sit?" the girl was running her eyes across all of them and when she met his eyes again, she looked away casually. " Nobody orders Kate around!" she spat and began to walk toward the door.
Ah- fuck this!
Vidal jumped right in front of her and the girl.
Oh, she looked like she had just seen a ghost.
" What the—?" she gasped, her mouth widely opened.
Why was she behaving and reacting this way?
Well, there was only one way to know.
Vidal lifted her and carried her on his shoulder then, he dropped her butt right on the stool. " Just listen Catherine, I'm sorry for what I did to you—" he was saying but she cut him off.
" Yes, you should be sorry!" she snapped.
A chuck of saliva went down his throat at that.
" For— for lifting a girl up that way and dropping her aggressively on a stool she doesn't want to sit on!" she finished.
Oh, she had him right there.
" Well, sorry. I only—" he wanted to commence his speech but she cut him off yet again.
" How did you jump at me so fast? Are you some member of a yoga team or—" she gasped deeply. " Are you ghosts?! I heard this house is haunted. Have you all been possessed?"
What in the—?
For immortality's sake, Catherine shouldn't make this harder for him.
" Just drop the pretense already, okay? We found you out. We know who you are!" Calliope snapped from behind.
No, that tone would not help. It would only make her draw away further.
He raised his hands on up to signal to the others not to say no more of a word.
" I will deal with this" he muttered under his breath.
August maliciously chided. " Well, you better do it fast. We have no time for old lovers' reunion. Our brother is dying."
Vidal had to roll his eyes and bite his lower lip to remind himself that August was getting on his nerve only because he was mad at him.
" Are you people crazy perhaps? Do you all have mental illnesses?" the girl blurted. " Rune?" she called inquiringly.
If she was going to keep this up, then so be it.
He held her hands but her tinniness struggled to wriggle her hands out of his hold. She was even making no use of her original strength just to deceive them further.
" Catherine, please, I'm the one you want. You shouldn't hurt the others too. They know nothing about what happened between me and you. I know it's me you want dead but my brother was the one who ate the chicken. He's the one in trouble, not me. Please, spare him by giving us the antidote and I promise I will surrender myself to you." he pleaded.
" Vidal!" August scolded from behind when he heard the promise he just made.
He knew it!
August was only that way before because he was mad at him.
" Are you guys rehearsing for some movie audition?!" the girl hollered, almost shouting. " Rune?" she called again, straining her head to look at Rune.
" Look, we found the hole you drilled in our garden. Rune found the same mud in your house, drop the lie." Calliope jeered from behind again.
Vidal was bent in front of Kate, his front facing her and back facing the others.
" What mud? Did Rune come to tell some lie that our house is not clean? I clean the house every fucking day!" she cursed.
Calliope gave an angry chuckle. " If you are not the chameleon, should a small girl like yourself curse out then? Huh? Tell me, would your mama be proud?"
" I don't play by any rules, I told you already, and you all—" she pointed at them all one by one. " You don't know who I am that is why you are messing with me right now." she nodded cynically.
" Well, dear girl, we don't play by any rules too. And we sure as hell know who you are so just stop it!" August sneered angrily.
Just as Vidal was about to speak, the telephone rang.
" I'll get it!" Calliope sang as she ran to its stand to pick up the call.
" Hello?" they all had their eyes on her now and watched her say.
It could be Farris with news about Fender.
" I hope those are the cops so they can come to arrest all of your asses!" the girl yelled and finally successfully wriggle her hand out of his hold.
It was a quick action that caught him off-guard.
Luckily, August was fast enough to hold her as she tried to run.
" Shut your damn mouth! Such vulgar words for a young girl!" he spat as he covered his hands over her mouth.
Calliope closed the telephone with her palm. " It's the cops" she whispered.
Hearing those words made Vidal's heart jump and it irritated him. He wasn't the type to be scared of stupid human cops.
Silence followed as they all had their eyes on Calliope as she listened to voices from the other end of the call except for Kate's distorted protests which were blocked out by August's hands.
" Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. Thank you, Sheriff." Calliope finally said and ended the call.
The level of his curiosity was too intense for the five seconds she wasted in inhaling before breaking the news to them.
" The sheriff said the forensic results came in and the chicken's venom came from the liquid socked on the toilet papers in the bin and not the from the chicken originally. Said they found about seven crumbles of toilet paper in the bin and that was the carrier of the poison." she declared.
What in the bloody hell?
" Oh my!" Rune gasped in horror. " Farris did toss the chicken into the bin but Fender went ahead to pick it then eat."
That was correct, they were all there that day. This piece of information changes everything.