XVI – Confessions
"So, how much did you pay?" the girl asked and Light rolled his eyes.
"For the sake of our mother, I will pretend I did not hear you." Light replied while taking a seat in his chair.
"Oh, please! I don't expect you getting a date! So, how much?"
"Sayu? What are you insinuating?" the woman turned towards the two siblings. She was currently frying some eggs for breakfast. The head of the family had already left for work.
"You know… Girls of the night… company… friends with benefits maybe, though I doubt anyone would want Light to-"
A long sigh escaped Light as his weaker side was growing irritated and his stronger side was starting to show.
"Whatever the case, you should be the last one concerned about such issues. But just so you will stop rambling this nonsense, here." Light pulled out from his pocket the bill from last night. It was half the truth or less, but it was all his family had to know.
"White Elephant?" the girl read out loud.
"That's an old and very well known tea house. I remember it was my favorite when I was in high school." Their mother smiled over her shoulder, setting the breakfast on three different plates.
"That's what I thought." Light agreed, feeling calmer just from the third person there taking his side.
"So you did manage to get a date?!" Sayu exclaimed as they all sat down. "Is she another nerd?"
"Sayu…! Don't be so mean to your brother. He works very hard for his grades. If only you put half as much effort into school…!"
"But mom! I don't want to stay in my room all day and study stuff that I won't be using in everyday life. Why do I need to know what happened five hundred years ago? Or math? Or chemistry? I'll never use any of that!"
"Precise sciences will develop your brain…" 'which you sure seem to need sometimes.' Light continued mentally.
"Blah! Talk normally, will you?" the girl asked, to which Light only smirked. "Who is this girl? She doesn't seem to have much taste…"
"On the contrary. She is the daughter of that designer you've been talking about for the past two months." Light pointed it out like it was nothing, but managed to get a gasp of surprise out of his little sister.
"Anastasia?! No! You're lying! I don't believe you!" The girl's eyes went wide as she let her fork down. "Anastasia's daughter! How on earth do you know her, of all people?!"
"So how is this girl?" their mother asked in a much calmer tone. She was a little confused about her daughter's reaction, only having understood that the girl was the daughter of some designer… One of those who make money out of drawing skirts and shoes too expensive for most people.
"We happened to meet and she was in need of some guidance." Light began answering one question at a time. "She is Italian," he said while looking at his mother, "just learning Japanese."
"How do you talk, then?" Sayu jumped in.
"In English. We are both fluent in English, so talking isn't a problem. It's a little more difficult with our schedules though."
"How so?" his mother continued.
"But she refused being a model. What does she have to do now?" Sayu spoke at the same time.
"Yes, she refused. In fact, she doesn't have a close relationship with her mother. Caterina tries to keep out of the flashlight as much as possible-"
"Caterina? What a pretty name."
"Wait! Wasn't her name Rose?" Sayu frowned in confusion. She envied the girl, of course she read everything about her.
"Rosa, actually. But that's her middle name, the one her mother prefers." Light clarified, growing more annoyed with each of his sister's questions. Were all women this chaotic in thinking, or were they just naturally designed not to think at all?
"Rosa!" Sayu mimicked him. "What, are you learning Italian now?"
Light chuckled, taking the opportunity to state his superiority. "I just might. I haven't been thinking about it yet, but it could be an option for the next year's summer. I will be busy with school soon, but during summer break-"
"You could just live your life and go outside and swim and get fat on ice cream and ice sodas, but no, the all-healthy genius is too cool for ordinary summer stuff!" Sayu huffed.
"Want to bet on that?" Light raised an eyebrow at her, to which their mother chuckled.
"Now, now. I'm sure you could learn Italian and still have enough free time next summer, right?"
Light gave his mother a nod, as Sayu looked at the clock and turned pale. "I'll be late!"
The other two looked at her strangely. "Late for what? It's Sunday." Light pointed out.
"OH! Right… Um, yeah, I forgot." The girl gave them a goofy smile and sat back down. "Thought it was Monday for some reason…"
In a different side of the city, a not-so-different family was sitting down for breakfast as well. The two avoided each other's glance as they served their preferred version of low-fat food.
"Have you looked through your things yet?" Anastasia asked her daughter while picking at her salad.
Caterina nodded. "Have you?"
"Yes… My jewelry is gone, along with-"
"I didn't ask." Caterina cut her off. "What did Padre say? Do we involve the police?"
The woman swallowed a cube of tomato almost whole, trying not to show how deeply her daughter's words cut. "He didn't say. Probably…"
Caterina wrinkled her nose like a kitten and looked away, then drank some more of her fruit juice. "I didn't ask for you either, Vincent."
The old man walked in, looking surprised on the outside and boiling with anger on the inside. "I'm sorry, signorina…? I was simply passing by-"
"For the past thirst-seven seconds." Caterina cut him off while throwing a quick glance at the clock hang on the wall of their new kitchen.
"I apologize. I was sincerely concerned for you, signora, signorina-"
"As if." Caterina rolled her eyes.
"Vincent?" Anastasia began, "Please, tell me what happened. How many were there?"
Although Caterina had lost her trust in their butler last night, she was still interested in what he had to say. The best of lies were always partially true – it made them more believable.
"There were many, signora-"
"How many?" the girl interrupted him again, demanding exact details instead of vague beating-around-the-bush.
"I don't know! I only saw three, but there might have been more. They walked right in, young mistress. There wasn't anything I could do."
"Are you alright now, Vincent?" the blonde asked, only to be shooed out of the conversation by her daughter.
"What were you doing when they entered the house?"
"Are you looking to accuse me, young mistress?" the butler began whining. "A poor, old man like me?"
"The liar is the first to call everyone else a liar. What were you doing when the thieves entered the house?"
"I was in the hallway, signorina. I was going to change the towels when they burst through the door and threw me in the bathroom and locked me there."
Anastasia saw the cold sweat and the frown on the butler's face, but failed to read it as fear. Instead, she thought it was a side-effect of the shock her loyal servant had lived.
"Rosa, my dear. Don't you think this is a little too much? You might give him a heart attack." Anastasia intervened. Immediately, Vincent caught on and began playing the victim yet again, having the woman offer him a seat and some cold water.
All this time, Caterina began putting together the pieces. She might have finally gotten the evidences she needed in order to rid herself of that traitor of a servant playing with her mother's mind. Perhaps she should have agreed to that bet after all…
The girl let her empty glass in the sink and threw the straw away, then went to her room to change. She picked a pair of black jeans and a white lace top with black stripes, as she tied her hair up in two buns.
'Got him' she texted none other than Light.
'Got who?' he replied a few moments later, then stood up and helped gather the plates from the table.
'V. I got him.'
But Light hasn't received that text on time. It must have been five minutes or more until his phone showed him the message, so by the time he asked her 'How?', he received no immediate reply.
The butler on the other hand was getting just the reply he was hoping from Anastasia.
"Yes, what a splendid idea! I should have thought of this earlier."
"If it would be alright, signora, I believe it may help you unwind and serve you well in your recovery after the recent events."
"I will tell my husband as soon as I can reach him." Anastasia smiled weakly, but her eyes gleamed with hope and excitement. Perhaps for once things could go according to plan. There couldn't be any harm in a little relaxation off the shore, right?
At the other end of the line, Light sighed and let his phone on the bed. Yet another missed text arrived at the wrong time. The teenager had already thrown his shirt over the device, going through his closet for something to wear for the day. If Caterina didn't want to answer his questions, he would go and pull the details out of her mouth with a little more manipulation and perhaps some chocolate cake.
Author's Notes:
Yet another filler, this time written for the sake of annoying Light with dumb questions and exaggerated reactions. Don't get me wrong, I like the character, but... what's writing without a little fun?
On the other hand, the second half of this will be a little more relevant. Hint: watch out for the texts between Light and Caterina. Also, I'd keep my eyes on Vincent if I was Anastasia... Hopefully I didn't reveal too much and you will only get it at the right time, in the next one or two chapters.
So, here! Another chapter proofread by Eat4Fun, only released before a review out of kindness. (Nah, actually I just don't want you to forget this story is still active and on-going. Yes, I do hope I managed to boost and crush your ego in two phrases. Have a nice day.)
Oh! I almost forgot. This is your last chance to guess who will soon be visiting Hades and your last chance to save them. Or let 'em burn in hell, who cares?
