Long time no talk. I'm being bad and uploading this chapter early but I've run out of patience. I know its a little dull right now but trust me things pick up in chapter five and they don't stop after 't forget to review :) The more reviews I get the more likely I am to publish chapters early. Enjoy...
Cake had evidently been waiting behind the door as the moment Natalie finished bribing the guards and had rung the bell the door flung open with a great bang and she was hauled into the crisp white foyer by her petite friend.
"Darling, I've missed you! Excellent you brought cake!" Natalie was kissed on both cheeks by Cake's whirling form and promptly relieved of the pastry box in her hand.
"There's apple strudel in there as well," Natalie called as she followed Cake's bouncing shadow into the parlor. "I thought we might mix it up this time."
"Through here," Cake chimed. "How was the Brownstone? I was looking at images from some street cameras and it looks like Rose has grown another few inches since I last checked. But then again it's so hard to tell from those angles. There's no doubt she'll be stunning when she grows up, you can see it in the cheek bones."
Natalie followed the chatter through a set of French doors into an old fashioned green house. Pastels bloomed from every direction. Bluebells dripped from their stems and while a soft breeze stroked the roses. Tendrils of ivy stretched their way up to the skylight, falling short of freedom by only a few feet and cascading downwards, forming a canopy over the entire wonderland. Natalie waded forward through the aroma of lavender and sunlight, to find Cake seated beneath a small cherry tree, a teapot poised in her hands. "Earl Grey if I remember correctly?"
"As if you every forget anything. I didn't know you gardened," Natalie took in the overwhelming surroundings as she settled down at the tea table.
Cake surveyed the wonderland with an uninterested expression, "I had some time on my hands. But how is everyone? Is Dmitri's leg healing, because I've been 'ooking int' 'ome treatments an'" Cake's chatted on as she stuffed her face with strudel. For such a lady, Cake was quite the messy eater when it came to pastries.
Natalie relayed every ounce of news she had absorbed over the weekend and Cake soaked it up as she made her way through the box of pastries.
"I almost forgot." Natalie dug through her bag. It was considerably harder to find things in it now that she was carrying around a grappling hook, gloves, rope and a comms. unit. "I picked up your mail on my way in."
She handed the stack of envelopes to Cake who popped the last of the strudel into her mouth.
"The usual bills and such." Cake's tone became bitter, "Another postcard from my dear mother."
"Where are they now?" Natalie inquired sympathetically.
Cake flipped the postcard over to show her a glossy image of Machu Picchu. Embossed in bright yellow letters on the bottom were the words 'Wish you were here!' that made Natalie wince. "I'm sorry, Cake."
Since Cake's arrest and sentencing almost three years ago her mother, father and brother had been on an 'extended vacation' and every so often sent her a postcard or picture back to the house to, in her mothers joking words, 'just let her know that they were still alive'. They never bothered to inquire if Cake was 'still alive' and the letters and over forms of written torment never had a return address. With her hacking abilities it didn't take Cake to find the address of the Tokyo apartment where her family was now residing, a safe distance away from the shame and embarrassment that was Cake's house arrest.
The petite girl simply pushed her hair back and brushed the mail aside, "Who needs family when you have a crew, right?" She smiled but the bite had not yet disappeared from her tone.
"Right." Natalie launched into the story of Aunt Gabrielle's reaction to Dmitri's dog bite to distract Cake.
The small girl nodded, "I was thinking about it the other day, you know I've never actually met Dmitri?"
"You two talk all the time," Natalie protested.
"Through a screen,"
"Well, I'll bring him with me next time,"
"Don't bother, you all have enough on your plates without having to go out of your way to visit me."
"Cake, you could be on the moon and I would come visit you. I miss you and I hate seeing you trapped like this." Natalie took Cake's hands in her own.
"I doubt you hate it as much as I do."
There was a long pause as Natalie noticed how thin Cake's wrists had become. Suddenly she found the aura of the lavender suffocating. "Lets sneak you out!" Natalie exclaimed.
"Nat…" Cake warned.
"No, really! We could do it. We could drug the guards and Dmitri and James could take their place then take you out under the pretense of another court appeal hearing. Siena and I would pose as court officials and-"
"Honey, don't get me wrong its not that I don't appreciate the thought but it won't work."
"Yes, it will! You have the best thieves in the world on your side. And Jay's Uncle Simon has disabled tons of tracker bracelets before. I'm sure he wouldn't mind a trip to Germany. "
"And what happens when I get out?"
"You would be with the crew. We would keep you safe. Cake, you'd be free!"
"I'd be a criminal for the rest of my life. Always on the run. That's not free, Natalie."
"We could find some way to scrub the system of your files. It won't be easy but we'll do it."
Cake put a hand on Natalie's arm to stop her. "You can't steal me, darling. And you sure as hell can't steal the past."
Natalie froze in her tracks; the sadness in Cake's eyes was almost too much to bear.
"No, I have two more years in this prison. And I'll finish the time I owe. After all, I did the crime, I deserve it."
"I'm sorry, Cake."
"Never mind that. On to more important matters. Is Eric still as adorable as he was three years ago? Does he still have his four pack?"
Natalie smiled, for once glad to discuss Eric if only to change the subject. "It's a six pack now."
"Do you like him?" Cake was nothing if not direct.
"Do I like him? What are we still in Year five? Next you'll ask me if I'll kiss him in the playground when no ones looking."
"Don't avoid the question, West, or I'll drag it out of you."
"I don't know, he's very…nice."
"He is nice."
"And kind."
Cake nodded, mock thoughtfully.
"And, you know,…"
"Absolutely gorgeous?"
Natalie hid her blushing face in her hands. "Yes, okay? He looks like a Calvin Klein model."
"There's no shame in admiring something beautiful, especially if that someone is admiring you back." Cake teased.
"He was not- he is not."
"No? How many times has he texted you this weekend?"
Natalie looked down at her phone and her blush spread. "Shut up."
Cake laughed, "So, darling, the ultimate question here is not if he is falling for you, but if you, my nimble fingered, questionablely conscienced friend, are falling for him."
"I don't know. Maybe I could, if I talked to him more. I mean it makes sense to fall in love with him, right? He's the sort of guy you're supposed to fall for."
"Neigh, my darling, he is the man every hetro woman dreams of falling in love with. He's practically a living Greek god."
"I know, but now that he's standing there in front of me it feels like it doesn't fit. I guess I always pictured the man I would love as a little more like me."
"Oh, so its crazy you're looking for?"
Natalie rolled her eyes. "Ha-ha, very funny. Besides how could I date Eric if I'm jet setting every weekend to carry out highly illegal activities? I doubt James would let me bring him on a heist and Eric's just not the type to get into, well, what I'm into."
"Few people are, honey. But Nat, you have to ask yourself how much you're willing to give up for all this." Cake motioned to the blue prints and forged papers poking out of Natalie's handbag.
"What do you mean?"
"Come on, darling. You must have noticed it by now? Juggling school and heists and your West Industries responsibilities like you do, it can't last forever. You can't have the boy and the priceless Monet."
"Says who?" Natalie said defiantly.
"Life." Cake replied, deadpan. "Darling, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the life we live has costs. It requires choices. Ones you can't avoid. I'm paying for the choices I made, Natalie. All of this," Cake made a grand sweep of the arms to her golden prison. "is my fault.
"Would you do it again? Knowing what you do now?"
"I honestly can't say." The bitter had vanished from Cake, and what was left was broken. She inhaled and reanimated herself, waving away the depressing thoughts. "Enough about this. We were talking about the real outside world. What are you wearing to the benefit dinner tomorrow night?"
"I hadn't decided. Maybe my purple Kenzo dress."
Cake's brows pulled together. "You wore that last year. Honestly, sometimes I think you've been spending too much time with Siena. Her phobia of fashion is rubbing off on you."
Natalie rolled her eyes, "Alright, all wise one, what do I wear if not the Kenzo?"
Cake sat up straighter, suppressing a smile, "Luckily, my young padiwan you have a skilled master that has already worked out your outfit."
Natalie eyed the tiny girl, "Dior?"
Cake took a sip of her tea, pinky extended.
"Then its Channel?"
"Care to guess again, darling?"
Natalie eyed her, "You didn't?"
"I didn't what?"
"McQueen?"
Cake's smile broke out into a grin.
"Eek!" Natalie squeaked. "What collection?"
"Plato's Atlantis of course." Cake understood Natalie's deep love of anything Alexander McQueen.
Nat leapt up to hug the small girl. "You are the best! How do you always know exactly what I need?"
"That's for me to know and you to wonder at, darling. Now scurry upstairs and try it on. I'll need to have Matilde help me with the tailoring if it's off."
Natalie ascended the marble stairs to find the dress laid out for her in the guest room. She knew the house like the back of her hand, having visited Cake's prison so often.
As she walked into the greenhouse, dressed in her new attire, Natalie was struck once more by the fantastical beauty of it all. Roses exploded against white lilies. The petals were stirred by the slightest of breezes as if the entire greenhouse breathed together.
But it was the girl in the center of it all that made Natalie pause. Cake hadn't heard her approach. She was turned away, mesmerized by some unseen thing. The bones of Cake's hunched back protruded through the fabric of her cardigan. Her sharp cheekbones threatened to pierce the sunken flesh around her tired eyes. She titled her head back, and Natalie could see that her gaze was fixed upon the open window above, fingers playing with the stream of sunlight, as if it were something foreign, dangerous.
The broken creature stirred. Cake became aware of Natalie's presence and turned to face her with a faint smile, nodding approvingly, "Beautiful. Absolutely stunning."
As always, thank you so much for reading and don't forget to drop me a line in the reviews or send me a message to share your thoughts on the chapter. Any questions are welcome. I anticipate that this next week will be the most stressful week of my life thus far so make my day and tell me what you think :) -George&Eckles
