Odessa
I slammed the door to my room and leaned against it, breathing hard. My heart was still racing—not from fear this time, but from a rush of adrenaline I couldn't quite understand.
Of all things to say at that moment is pervert?.. Odessa, when will you learn?" I lament hitting my head.
"I can't believe he caught me," I complained in frustration. "Why was he even there?"
As I paced the room, I clutched my chest, hoping to slow the rapid beating.
"He saved me," I whispered to myself. "Again."
It wasn't the first time Marcel had stepped in to stop me from falling—whether literally or emotionally. But now everything just felt complicated. I collapsed onto my bed, my face buried in my pillow.
My whole body was exhausted, and I quickly drifted off to sleep once I got comfortable in bed.
—-----
Nature was fully awake, and so was the manor. I could hear the rattling of dishes and the shuffling of feet outside. Everyone spoke in low voices, yet it was loud enough to stop me from continuing my sleep.
I sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard, and ran my fingers through my tousled hair. I don't know if it's due to yesterday's tension, but my head felt heavy and throbbed relentlessly.
A gentle knock came, and I rolled my eyes; I wasn't in the mood to see or speak with anyone.
I ignored the knock, but whoever it was didn't leave.
"Come in.." I finally said, and Annabeth walked in, holding a tray of steaming hot tea in her hands.
"Good morning, Odessa," she greeted, and I barely put up a smile. My head was spinning in circles.
"Dahlia sent me here with this special tea…" I watched her set the tray down on the stool, poured out the contents into a teacup and carefully handed it over to me.
"Thank you.." I muttered and lifted the cup to my lips. It burned my throat as it went down, and I felt a sort of relief.
"I'm sorry everyone is making your stay here really difficult…" Annabeth started, but I didn't look away from the cup in my palms.
"If I had known they wanted to set you up, I would have warned you, 'You know I would've!" She said, and I chuckled.
"You knew about the coconut milk, Annabeth –" I countered and took another sip of the tea. "Yet you didn't warn me.."
"I didn't have a choice, Odessa… everything happened so fast and before I could get myself to speak, the older ladies had me at the edge of a knife.." Annabeth replied defensively.
"My point exactly, Annabeth… there's not much that you can do about my ill luck. It's something I've learned to live with.." I replied softly and put down the teacup.
I got down from my bed and walked towards the washroom. Annabeth packed up the tray and left while I went on with my morning routine before heading off to my lady's room.
"Good morning, my lady…" I greeted her, and her eyes lit up the moment she looked up at me, and I skipped into the room with a broad smile on my face.
"How are you feeling today?" I asked and she shrugged her shoulders.
I went over to the window and pulled the drapes apart, prepared her bath in the washroom, and helped her down from the bed.
"Are we going for another walk today?" She asked, and my smile slowly disappeared.
"Let's get you cleaned up first, my lady.." I muttered and slowly shut the door while she washed up.
I picked out another dress for her and sat by the window, going over everything that happened yesterday for the millionth time today.
"He's always there to catch me for some odd reason…" I murmured to myself, and a sigh escaped my lips.
The throbbing feeling in my head had already disappeared and I felt relieved after taking that tea. Marcel's mother finally walked out of the bathroom in her bathing robe and I handed her the dress I picked out.
"Thank you…" she muttered, and I helped her put the dress on. One of the servants brought her food inside, and I fed her one spoonful after another until the plates were empty.
This was her regular morning routine, and I could tell she didn't want to continue doing the same things over and over again.. But there was nothing I could do about it even if I wanted to.
"I'll let you sleep, my lady…" I replied and tucked her in.
The weather was a bit gloomy and extremely cold. More like it was going to rain and I couldn't wait to dance in the rain and feel the nostalgia of all the good times I had with my sister before she died.
As I stepped out into the hallway, Marcel was standing there. Arms folded, face unreadable as always.
We both froze.
"Good morning," I said, my voice almost too calm.
He looked at me for a second, then replied, "Morning."
Silence.
I started to walk past him, but then he said, "About yesterday…"
I stopped. My back to him.
"You could've gotten seriously hurt."
I turned slowly, trying to gauge his expression. "But I didn't."
His jaw tightened. "Because I was there."
"I didn't ask you to be."
"I didn't need your permission."
That silenced me.
He took a step forward, his voice lower now. "You should be careful, Odessa."
I folded my arms, defensive. "You made it very clear I'm not important. So why do you care?"
His eyes burned into mine, but he didn't respond.
Instead, he said, "I'll be away for a few days. Take care of my mother while I'm gone."
I blinked, surprised. "You're… leaving?"
"Yes." He turned to walk away, then paused. "And Odessa…"
I waited.
"I'm not sorry for catching you."
Then he was gone.
I stared at the empty hallway, a strange flutter in my stomach.
What just happened?
I didn't know if I was more confused… but then a part of me was happy he won't be around by the time it rains, and I won't have to hide myself while dancing away my pain in the rain.