A/N Alright guys, here's the second to last chapter! Thanks again for all the reviews/favourites/following! I really appreciate them! :)
Disclaimer-
Me: You know what to do.
Hamilton: THGFAN101 doesn't own the 39 Clues series.
Hamilton Holt felt bad for Ian Kabra βand that's a first.
He felt guilty. They were all treating Ian like he was some monster. If they were in his position, they would've done the exact same thing. It's not Ian's fault. His mother can be very intimidating.
Hamilton looked around at the others. Arianna decided to let everyone have a break. There was tension in the air.
Natalie sat in the corner of the room, closing her eyes. It looked like she was trying to stay calm. Amy and Dan were discussing quietly while Jonah continued writing his new song. Ian looked the most devastated. He was sitting alone with his hands on his face.
Ian was feeling the worst out of all of them. It was a bad enough that he to read aloud his worst experience in front of everyone. What made it worse was that his sister wasn't taking it well.
Hamilton decided that he should do something to help Ian. After all, it wasn't fair for Ian to be dealing with all of this. Sure, he could be mean at times, but he's kind and soft compared to his mother.
"Ian," he said sitting in the chair next to him. Ian looked up, his face expressionless.
"Don't worry," he continued. He hesitated not sure what to say that would comfort a Lucian. "It's not your fault. We would've done the same thing if we were in your position."
"There's no point in trying to act nice," Ian snapped. Here comes the old Ian, Hamilton thought.
"It's my fault," Ian continued. "I could've stopped her. I know her better than all of you. I should've tried something instead of letting her get away." Ian's voice was getting louder and louder.
"Sorry," Hamilton said putting his hands in defeat. "I was just trying to say-"
"Don't be sorry," Ian interrupted his voice getting a little gentler. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."
"You should talk to Natalie," Hamilton suggested. "I'm sure she'll understand."
Just as Ian was about to get up Arianna came back on the screen.
"Alright," she said. "Break time is over. Hamilton, you're reading next."
This isn't going to be good, he thought. Even though Hamilton didn't know the whole story, he could tell that this part won't be helping Ian.
As soon as everyone came back to their seats (except Natalie), Hamilton began to read.
Shame swept over Ian like a tidal wave. He stared at the garden door, and it was hard to breathe. The realization of what he had done smacked him in the face and it was cold, like a block of ice. He jerked the door open and stumbled out into the street.
But there was no one there. Isabel had gotten away.
No. He'd let her go.
Ian looked back at the house. For the first time in his life, he didn't feel worthy of living there. He didn't deserve it.
Ian Kabra would never cry. But he did sit down on the ground, something else he thought he would never do, and put his face in his hands for just a moment. Somehow, he remembered to breathe. It was funny, how you could keep breathing when you just made the biggest mistake of your life.
In the mansion, he found Natalie in the library.
"What on earth happened to you?" she gasped. "Your trousers!"
"I went into the . . . the Lucian wing."
Natalie's head jerked backward like he'd just told her he'd be wearing flannel and denim from now on. "Why?" she asked.
"I thought I heard someone in there."
"Did you?" she asked, gripping the arm of the chair she sat in. Natalie could be a nuisance; she could be tiresome and petulant. But she looked so small and scared, like an actual little sister, that he couldn't bring himself to let her know that her nightmares were coming true.
"No," he said. "It was nothing."
"Then why do you look like that?" Natalie asked.
Ian looked down at his clothes. He was covered with tiny bits of glass dust. The toes of his polished leather shoes had been reduced to unintentional suede. His sweater was gashed through across his stomach, and his polo shirt was stained an ugly greenish brown.
"I took a walk in the gardens," he said.
"All of that happened from a walk in the gardens?"
"You know I'm not the outdoorsy type. Good night."
He left the library and wandered to his room.
He could never tell Amy, and he couldn't go to America. It would be too much to bear, a secret too heavy for the airplane to lift across the ocean.
And the more he thought about it, the angrier he grew with himself. Making the right choice β the good choice β should have been so easy. He could see that now. All it would have meant was saying no to Isabel.
Stand aside, she would have said. And Ian would have said no.
I'm not asking again, she would have said. And Ian would have said no.
But he hadn't said anything at all. And, worst of all, his mother hadn't even expected him to. Isabel had known how weak he would be.
How could feelings be this complicated? He liked Amy; she was so simply good. So smart, and so sweet, and so pretty, for someone with such a limited wardrobe. But, strangely enough, he loved his mother.
Amy wouldn't like him anymore after this. What would she think if she knew? That he was a Kabra through and through, just like they'd all always thought. That no good could come of him. But what right did she have to think ill of him? She didn't know how hard it was to have a mother like Isabel. She didn't know the pressure, the pain, the constant expectations.
She didn't have any idea of what it was like to be a Kabra. She and that brother of hers just stumbled in and out of life's biggest challenges, making it out alive because of a bit of luck and the kindness of others β like himself.
He doubted that she could so much as say her own name without stuttering, or tie her shoes without being racked with uncertainty. It was pathetic, and just another example of how far removed from his world she was, monetary wealth or no.
And he knew that none of that was true, at all.
He grabbed for the phone. It was a miserable thing, to be responsible for breaking your own heart.
Nobody said anything as Hamilton finished. It was highly unusual, especially since Dan usually comments on every little thing.
Everyone else feels bad for Ian, Hamilton thought.
Arianna broke the silence, "This was the strangest session ever. Dan didn't even comment. Oh well, one last part until this story is over-"
"Then we can eat right?" Dan asked hopefully.
"Yes, of course," she replied. "And what better way to end off the story then have Ian read the ending?"
Ian Kabra knew that he had to get Natalie to forgive him.
He decided to get this over with before reading the last part of the story. He wasn't ready for the rudeness that would come up in the next part.
"Excuse me, Arianna," he said to the Lucian.
"Yes Ian?" she asked.
"Can we take a break? I can't read at the moment," he replied.
"Fine," she said. "The only reason why I'm agreeing to this is because I need to get some food."
"What about our food?" Dan complained. "I'm starving!"
"You're always starving dweeb," Amy told her brother.
"Later," Arianna said. "See ya later!" Arianna disappeared from the screen.
The easy part was done, Ian thought. Now it's time for the hard part.
Talking to Natalie was like talking to a brick wall. If Natalie wasn't in the mood to speak then she'd simply ignore the person. Ian hoped that for once, Natalie will be easy to talk with.
He got up from his seat and sat on the ground next to Natalie.
"Natalie?" he said. She opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Yes dear brother?" she said sounding like herself. Her makeup was smudged from crying.
Ian hesitated, "Look, I know you'd probably not want to hear this but, I'm sorry."
Natalie simply stared at him. Her amber eyes were hard. Her face showed no expression Ian felt very uncomfortable, as if he was being searched. He finally knew how his enemies felt whenever he was interrogating them.
"Alright," she said. "I could tell that you aren't lying. Still, I'm not happy with the fact that you didn't bother to tell your own sister."
"Didn't you listen to the story?" Ian asked. "I didn't want to worry you."
"I don't need protection, Ian," Natalie said. "I'm fully capable of taking care of myself. From now on, you tell me everything or else."
"Agreed," he replied.
She's starting to become like her mother, he thought. Very intimidating. Ian shuddered from that thought.
No matter how alike Natalie and Isabel were. She would never become like her mother.
Sorry about this chapter! I didn't have the characters commenting on the parts from the ebook. I had to get Natalie forgive Ian again. This chapter was mostly focusing on the characters.
Anyways, I'll be posting the last chapter soon.
