Only Time Will Tell - Chapter Twenty Five
Tia's breath appeared in white puffs as she struggled her way up the hill. It was late January; the snow had picked right up and was thick up to her shins, making navigation difficult, especially with heavy baskets filled to the brim with food. Delayed breathing to her right told her that her friend, Jennie, was faring no better than she was in this bad weather. Then again, the woman was over thirty years older than her.
The news of Abigail and young Connor falling gravely ill had spread around the homestead like wildfire, leaving everyone speechless. It wasn't too much of a surprise considering how tough times could get during the winter, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with. The mentor hadn't said a word about it—in fact, you would be lucky to get a word out of him at all these days—but the frequent visits from the family doctor was enough to go by (and, of course, an impromptu interrogation session with some nosey assassins, but you didn't hear it from them).
As expected, the unfortunate news had spiked alarm throughout the small population. What were they sick with? How did they get sick? And most importantly, was it contagious? No one knew much of anything except for the fact that their conditions were not improving. Poor Achilles was stressed out to the max, and Tia's heart went out to him. That was when she teamed up with Jennie to be in charge of their food supply so they could focus on getting better. The baskets mostly consisted of fruits and vegetables—hand-picked and washed by yours truly—and then there were some other assorted goods inside like strawberry jam and freshly baked bread.
"Do you think they'll be okay?" Tia asked sadly as the ground started to level out again. The snow was down to their ankles now.
"They're strong individuals—some of the strongest that I've met in all my life, to be quite honest. You wouldn't believe some of the stories I've heard about Abigail. And Connor? I babysit the boy quite often. Tough as a nut, that one, but..." Jennie hesitated.
"But you don't think they'll recover?"
"No, I don't..." A frown marred Jennie's face, her shoulders slumping in defeat.
Tia met the woman's hazel eyes with her own, a sickening feeling twisting at her gut. She'd only met the two Davenport's a handful of times, all very brief, but it was enough to know that they were lovely people who deserved much better than this. The world was a cruel place when it wanted to be...
They arrived on the front porch, the feeling of uncertainty settling between them like stale air. It was always like this when they arrived, ready to hand over fresh food to the family—this was only the second time, mind you, but it still left them feeling empty afterwards.
Jennie had to knock on the door twice before someone answered, the door being swung open with so much haste that Tia flinched backwards in surprise. In front of them stood a disgruntled Achilles, in casual clothing rather than his usual Assassin get-up. His eye bags were very prominent, telling them just how much sleep he had gotten recently.
"Special delivery?" Tia said, lifting her basket in the air and wondering if it would be too much to smile in a situation like this. She went ahead and gave him a small one anyway.
"Oh, yes," he scratched his head. "I almost forgot what day it was. Forgive me."
Jennie immediately went to reassure him, "Not to worry, dear." She waved him back inside and nudged him in the direction of the stairs. "Go on back to your family now. Tia and I will leave these in the kitchen for you."
"Thank you," he said, visibly relaxing.
They said nothing more, but it mattered little for Achilles was already gone by the time they'd placed their baskets onto the kitchen table. The kitchen was a mess, and Jennie clicked her tongue with worry. They shared a look and got to work.
Tia exhaled a heavy sigh as she closed the front door behind her, thankful to be out of the cold once and for all. She was drained from an entire day's work and wished for nothing more than to get out of these clothes, and huddle up with her music and a ton of warm blankets.
As she was slipping into her long-sleeved nightgown, it finally occurred to her that it was unusually warm for a house that had been empty all day. Puzzled, she ventured out into the living room, only to find Shay lounging around on the chaise in front of the lit fireplace, a fire poker in hand. Well, that explains it. He turned around and acknowledged her with a smile. She could've sworn his eyes had wandered for the slightest of moments, but they were so quick to return to her face that she couldn't be sure. The lighting in here wasn't very bright to begin with anyway.
She moved closer, her sock-covered feet padding gently along the wooden flooring. She sat down beside him, leaving a reasonable amount of space between them. "Breaking and entering isn't very flattering, you know," she jested, nudging his arm with her elbow.
He chuckled, his shoulders shaking slightly with the gesture. "Well, I waited for you, but I was freezin' my arse off out there!"
"Yeah well, if I'd have known you were coming over, I would've made an effort to come home quicker," she told him with a scoff. "Speaking of which, is there any particular reason you're here? I thought you were heading out early tomorrow on another mission."
"I am," he confirmed, turning back to the fire in order to poke it around a little more, before setting the tool aside. "I just needed a breath of fresh air."
If Tia was cold before, then there was no trace of it now as a familiar warmth began to spread through her cheeks. He was quick to continue though, his tone growing more and more irritated as he spoke.
"It's been months since we began searchin' for these damned artefacts and there's still nothin' to show for it—and that's if you don't count all the injured men or damages done to the ship! Don't get me wrong, I love bein' out at sea as much as the next sailor, but I just wish it wasn't for this," he threw his hands up in the air, "- this wild goose chase! You know, sometimes I really don't—"
"Why are you here?"
Confused, he furrowed his dark brows at her. "What?"
"Why are you here—with the Assassins?" she reiterated, looking directly into his eyes now, searching their dark depths for answers. She went on, albeit carefully in case she says something she shouldn't, "Looks to me like you're more frustrated by them than anything. Why stay?"
His mouth hung open slightly as he held her gaze, and she could almost picture the gears turning in his head as he thought about it. She knew he was trying to think of the best way to answer without making it seem like it was a big deal, but it clearly was or else he wouldn't be complaining in the first place. He finally broke the eye contact and admitted in a low voice, "They took me in when I had nowhere else to go."
She nodded slowly, "I see…"
So, he felt some sort of obligation to the Assassins for taking him in, then? Did that mean Shay was homeless before all this? Where were his parents, or any other family members; aunties, uncles, grandparents? Surely they didn't let him fend for himself out on the streets… right? Tia found herself unable to picture it. She herself had such a loving upbringing with both parents present in her life. She didn't know any different from that. These simple questions were enough to make her realize that she really knew nothing about this man. The thought was strange, almost.
"I'm just sayin' it seems like all we're doin' these days is chasin' after a foggy dream instead of actually helpin' the world like we claim to be." He sighed—sounding tired or disappointed, she didn't know, but she didn't like it.
She placed a comforting hand on his forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Well, who knows? Maybe you could be the one to change all that."
He scoffed, "Not likely. As far as they're concerned, I'm still a lowly subordinate in need of supervision."
"Wait—are you talking about Liam?" She asked, incredulous. "He's your best friend, of course he'd be looking out for you!"
"There's a big difference between looking out for a friend and being told to make sure I'm not messin' up somehow."
"Wow..." She slumped her shoulders, falling back into the soft pillows with a huff. "You're just a lovely ball of optimism, aren't you?"
"I pride myself on it."
He mimicked her action and fell alongside her with a barely suppressed yawn. It was hard to ignore the close proximity, their arms a mere inch away from brushing up against one another. The temptation to simply close the gap and lean into him was overwhelming, and she anxiously began to fidget again, this time focusing her attention on her nails. They were getting pretty long, she noticed. They'd need a trim soon.
Silence had taken over the room and, much to her dismay, it didn't take long for her mind to begin wandering again, the main topic being the man right next to her, of course. It didn't help that the more sensual side of her brain had been particularly active as of late, and it was starting to become a real problem. Half the time, she couldn't even look at him without thinking of something borderline inappropriate; his ego would skyrocket if he found out. How could she be thinking these sorts of things about him already?
She snapped herself out of it, and quickly sought to spark up another conversation before anymore of those thoughts could formulate. "So, how did you become friends with Liam?" The sound of her voice, however soft it may have been, made him jerk a little. She hadn't realized he was on the brink of sleep. "Oh shit, sorry…"
"Don't worry about it, lass," he reassured her with a breathy chuckle. "It's been a long day and this chair is very comfy, that's all. You were you saying?"
"It doesn't matter," she waved the matter off with an awkward smile, moving to stand up. "If you're tired, I can grab some blankets for you so you can go to sleep—"
"No, no," Shay sat up as well, his knee gently bumping hers as he turned to face her. If he noticed how close they were, he made no move to change it. Instead, he continued, his voice soft, "I like this—talking with you, I mean. It's nice…"
"Are you sure? You don't have to stay awake because of me," she told him, purposely ignoring that last part. She needed to move. Now. She gave him a nonchalant shrug and got up, taking a precautionary step away from him as she did so, "I'm gonna be up for a while anyway. I'm hungry and in need of some music."
"Do you need a hand, then?"
She shook her head, almost a little too enthusiastically, "No, it's fine! Really. I'll get those blankets for you…"
She scurried away and disappeared down the hallway before he could reply, heading straight for Hope's room to steal the blankets off her bed. With the blankets now in hand, she was just about to pass her own room. She paused at the door, seeming to think twice about giving him these blankets. She knew it was weird, but she gave them a quick whiff and, sure enough, they smelt faintly of the female assassin. Mind now made up, she tossed them aside and stripped the ones off of her bed instead.
Shay's lips quirked up slightly as she appeared around the corner, completely oblivious to the war going on inside her head. He had stripped himself free of his boots and jacket, leaving them on the floor by the chaise, along with his other equipment. "Thank you," he said gratefully, the tips of his fingers brushing across hers as he took the big bundle from her.
"Y-yeah…" she muttered.
Tonight was going to be a long night.
A week passed by, and still no good news emerged from the Davenport manor. In fact, the very grounds outside the manor had become a sort of quarantine zone; anyone who passed through the invisible line other than the doctor was scolded. It was disheartening, to say in the least. Tia honestly thought their conditions would improve, not decline. Not that she knew for sure, but she still hoped.
She wished she had someone to talk to. Shay was great company and all, but sometimes she just needed another female presence. Someone less distracting, someone she can talk to without her hands becoming all clammy and sweaty. Normally, she would pay Jennie a visit since she was practically next door, but the middle-aged woman was off visiting her eldest son in Boston. His wife was expecting at any moment now and Jennie claimed she wanted to be present during the birth, no matter how much it pained her to leave the homestead behind in this state.
She had given a folded letter to Tia, her eyes sad. "Just in case," she'd said. "I'll be back in three weeks time."
Tia frowned, but took it anyway, promising to give it to Achilles in her stead should anything happen to his family while she was away. That was four days ago now, and she was driving herself crazy eyeing the damn thing as it sat innocently on the kitchen table, just waiting to be handed over to its recipient. She eventually hid it underneath a book. Out of sight, out of mind, right?
The next day, Tia found herself using one of her bedroom walls to lean on as she pushed herself up into a handstand position. The room looked odd upside down and she knew she was going to regret this later, but if it sated her boredom for a while, then so be it.
Her earphones hung loosely in her ears and she hummed along to the loud music that came through. She was originally waiting for a call from Mark, but he was late and she had a feeling he was too busy for it anyway considering his schedule was already super tight with work and Skylar. School would be starting up for her soon and he was busy running around trying to get everything together, his parents being too busy to do so themselves. If Tia was there, she would've helped out for sure.
"Now would be a great time to go back home, eh?" She muttered softly to herself, changing the song to a more upbeat one.
She held her position for a while longer, before finally deciding to get dressed into something more eighteenth century appropriate. That, and her harem pants and crop top would do little to protect her from the cold. Once in a fresh dress, she threw on her boots and gloves, and headed outside. The weather had cleared up a bit, leaving wide spots of blue sky to peek through the fluffy clouds. It was a welcome change from the bad weather they'd been having recently; almost always having to stay inside because it was way too cold to do anything else. She almost missed the heat of an Australian summer. Almost.
She made her way to the training grounds, both in search of someone familiar to talk to and because it was as close to the manor that she could get without being told to head the other way. She understood that there was a risk of catching whatever disease they had, but wasn't this distance a little too extreme? They were inside the manor at all times anyway, right? She never voiced her opinion on the matter though. She knew it would get her nowhere—not with how pedantic everyone was over sicknesses these days.
A man in familiar garb was present at the training grounds along with a handful of others she'd never seen before. He turned around to acknowledge her with a silent nod, his expression remaining neutral as always. His countenance used to intimidate her (and it still kind of does from time to time) but she was used to it by now, especially after the one on one session they had together where he'd taught her the basics of crafting a simple set of leather belts.
"Hey, Kesegowaase," she mentally pat herself on the head for pronunciation, "How are ya?"
"I am well, thank you," he replied, setting a teacup over the fire. "And you?"
She shrugged, walking over to the fence so she could lean on it with her arms, "Could be better, this weather is a bit too chilly for me... Hey, do you know when Chevalier will be back?"
"I'm afraid not, no. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, just wondering. He's been gone for a while, that's all. I kinda miss the guy, even if he is an old grump." This prompted the native's man's lips to curl upwards slightly in a grin, and she giggled. "So, what're you up to here? You teaching?"
The training dummies were currently in the process of being set up and checked over by the students, their excitement for today's lesson being made obvious by their animated swapping of conversation. It worried her that they were getting excited over being trained in the art of killing, but Tia kept that opinion to herself. There were too many of them around and she knew they wouldn't appreciate it.
"Yes," the Native man replied, grabbing a rucksack from the floor and seating himself on an old tree stump a few paces away. He opened it and carefully reached inside. "We are working with throwing knives today. You're welcome to join us if you'd like," he offered, pulling out one of the said weapons and inspecting it.
"Oh, thanks for the offer, but, uh, no thanks," she shook her head and took a step back. "I'll leave that to the professionals."
He shrugged, "Suit yourself."
She bid him goodbye and slowly walked back the way she came, deciding it would be better to stay away from this side of the homestead if they were training today. Ever since the incident in New York with her bodyguard, Eric, she'd refused to train anymore; no hand-to-hand combat, no swords and certainly no pistols—though they never got around to teaching her any of that yet thanks to her reluctance to hold a gun.
Well, that wasn't entirely true. She did have one last lesson with Liam, but her performance was so bad that she decided not to count it.
Little did anyone know, but Tia had also been setting aside some money after every job in hopes that she could move out and stop relying on the Assassins for survival. It certainly wasn't enough to get her her own place—not that she'd be able to secure one anyway, what with how young and female she was—but it would be enough to last a few weeks, at least until she found another job. She'd actually been hoping there was enough room in Katherine's tailor shop for an extra employee. If not, then she'd have to settle for somewhere else, but it was still worth a try. She liked it there.
She came to the conclusion that she would leave once Jennie returned. Or maybe she should wait until Shay got back. She missed him already…
She was coming around the bend that lead straight back to the house when she heard the sound of crunching snow growing louder and louder, eventually accompanied by a horse's whinnies. The beautiful coppery-coloured steed came into view along with a tall man who sat atop it. Tia squinted, trying to get a better look at him underneath his hat. She caught sight of his dark hair flying around in the wind. Wasn't that the doctor?
"Hey," she called out eagerly before he could pass her, waving her hands in the air for him to stop. She stepped onto his path, "Hey, wait!"
He slowed down just in time to avoid crushing her with the large animal, and the irritation was evident on his face as he tried to calm it down. "Ma'am, please do be more careful! Horses are frightful animals, you could've been injured!"
"I know, I'm sorry," she apologized, a sheepish expression on her face. She moved back to give the animal some room and looked up to see the man's face properly now. He was quite young, she noticed. "You're the doctor, right?"
He sighed, "You're not going to interrogate me as well, are you? I already told your friends I'm not allowed to hand out information about my patients willy-nilly."
"What?" Her face scrunched up in confusion and, with a shake of her head, she said, "They're not my friends, okay? Look, I only want to know if they're alright, not every little detail about their diagnosis."
The man was skeptical, that much she could tell in the way he looked her up and down, before sweeping the surroundings in search of her so called 'friends'. With one last look, he sighed in resignation. "Very well. I've managed to stabilize the patient's conditions for now, but there's no telling what the future might bring. All we can do is hope for the best."
"Thank you, Doctor...?"
"Doctor Alvarez."
"Alvarez?" Tia's eyes lit up with excitement, "Are you from Spain?"
"I am," he affirmed with a raised brow, "I don't see what that has to do with—"
"You don't see many Spanish people around here. I'm from Valencia, what about you?"
"Madrid. I never caught your name…"
"Tia Ramirez," she divulged, giving him a polite little curtsy. She didn't usually do that, but it was the least she could do after nearly toppling him off his horse.
"I must admit this is quite the surprise. Your accent is…" he trailed off.
She scoffed a laugh and folded her arms over her chest, "Yeah, and? You sound British."
"That would be because I lived in London for seven years while I studied medicine," he explained proudly, his irritation from earlier seemingly forgotten.
"And I'm going through an identity crisis. Anyway," she nodded her head in the direction of the manor, "I better let you go. Thanks for that, by the way. It was a pleasure meeting you."
"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Ramirez." He tipped his hat towards her in farewell and disappeared down the path as quickly as he came.
She smiled to herself as she continued the rest of the way home. It felt good to be able to speak Spanish again, even though in theory, there was nothing stopping her from speaking the language whenever she wanted. It wasn't the same when she was the only one who could speak it. It was a little strange on her tongue having not used it for such a long time, but it was enough to put her in good spirits for the rest of the day, that was for sure.
It was nearly sundown when she finally got a call back from her best friend, almost startling her into dropping her spoonful of vegetable soup. She licked her lips free of any food, before answering, "Hey, hey!"
"Chica, I have something to tell you!" He announced from the driver's seat of his car. A pair of black Ray-Bans covered his eyes, but he quickly took them off and tucked it onto his shirt before continuing, "Sorry 'bout the late call, by the way. This week has been absolutely insane…"
"No sweat, I understand. What's the news?"
"Okay so, I lied," he whipped up two fingers in front of the camera, " - there's actually two things I need to tell you. One: your girls, BLACKPINK, have finally gripped onto my heart so tight that I wanna die and come back to life again. And two: I managed to hack into your parents phone's for long enough to figure out that they disappeared on the exact same day as you."
Tia nearly spat her food over the table in shock. She hastily slapped a hand over her mouth and swallowed it down. "What the fuck, Mark?" She almost screamed, forgetting about her dinner altogether.
"Yeah, no problem, Tia—"
"How did you figure that out? And, fucking shit, the exact same day?!"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down and I'll explain it to you, alright?" He watched her carefully as she held a hand to her chest and took some deep breaths. "You okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine, just keep going…"
Mark checked on her one more time before delving into the details. Apparently, he'd been trying to hack their phones for a while now, but only managed to get into them last night because of how difficult it was—something about a "massive-ass firewall". She didn't understand half of what he was saying because it was all computer tech talk, plus she was still a little shocked, but she nodded along anyway, grateful that he was even doing this for her in the first place.
"All activity stopped around late morning at the exact same time—eleven twenty-two, to be more precise—and it matched up to the activity on your phone. You know, I didn't realize it before, but your phone is technically non-existent."
"But I've still been using it."
"Yeah, but your tracks are nowhere to be found. I'm assuming it has something to do with the whole time travel deal, which makes sense," he paused and shook his head. "Actually, that makes no fucking sense whatsoever, but it's all we've got. Whatever! All I'm saying is, is that—"
"My parents might be here with me…" Tia breathed, putting two and two together before he could finish. "Oh my god, Mark, my parents! I have to look for them, they could be here! Oh god, where do I even start? They could be anywhere!"
"I mean, do they have detectives in the eighteenth century? I don't know shit about that time period, but surely they have detectives…" he trailed off, clearly losing himself in his thoughts. A knock sounded on his window and his head shot up in surprise. Winding it down, he retrieved a paper bag full of fast food and thanked whoever it was that handed it to him. "Thanks, man!"
"Couldn't resist, huh?" Tia said, amused by the guilty look on his face. "How long was it this time?"
Mark pouted, munching away on some fries. "Three weeks, Mum."
Tia burst out into a fit of giggles, feeling happier than she had in a long time and yet, for some reason, she felt the strong urge to cry. She blinked the tears back, however, and gave him a wide smile. "I don't know how to thank you for this, Mark, really."
"Oh, dun ge' chee'i on me now. Juh be happ-ee, oh-righ?"
She nodded, somehow still being able to understand him through his food-talk. "Okay… I need to go now—process this shit and think about what I'm gonna do next."
He finally swallowed. "No worries, Tia. Have a good sleep tonight, yeah?"
"You too." She was about to hang up when she remembered something from earlier. "Oh, by the way..."
"Yeah?"
"Rosé's mine, bitch!" She yelled, referring to her favourite member of BLACKPINK.
Mark instantly fired up in his seat, chips flying everywhere, "Oh, no way, bro, she's all mine—"
"First in, first served, my dude!" And with that, she hung up, bursting into another fit of giggles. Oh, the betrayal written in his expression was amazing...
A/N: HelloOOoooO, my dear readers! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I finally know where I'm going with this now, I've got it all wrapped into my head in a big messy plan, and y'all, do I have shit pLanNed - we gettin' close to Lisbooooon! 'Scuse my lack of editing, by the way (I'll come back to it later). :DDDD
Thank you so much to those who left reviews and favourited/followed, I really appreciate the love and support you guys have shown me, even when I disappeared for a few months. And, oh, the constructive criticism is just… *insert heart emoji* it really helps me out when I get those types of reviews, so thank you!
Also, any Blinks (BLACKPINK fans) reading? Can't wait for their comeback, man, I'm pumped!
Anyways, until next time, imakemyownblog x