:Chapter 6: Jack:
"Hello?" I called. It sounded like one of the kitchen maids were having a bit of trouble. There was no answer.
"Hello?" I repeated. "Is everything okay in there?" I slowly creaked open the door when no one responded.
I peered inside and my eyes widened. Hope was sitting on the floor and around her were shards of the remains of what I was assuming used to be a plate of some sort. I shut the door behind me and sighed. "Tough night," I said, running my fingers through my hair.
She didn't look at me, but simply nodded at my words. She kind of gazed off into the distance for a few moments before she finally jerked her head up towards me. She looked tired, very tired. The bags under her eyes almost looked like dark bruises, in great contrast to her pale skin.
I wondered if my previous behavior up in my room, when she had tried to console me, had contributed to her weariness.
"I'm sorry," I said quickly when I realized she wasn't going to answer me. I had to admit, I'd be pretty shaken if Hope had acted the way I had before, not moving or talking at all.
She lowered her eyes to the floor. "Me too," she said in a barely audible voice. I had to partly read her lips to make sure I heard her correctly.
I reached a hand out to help her up and she stared at it hesitantly for a moment. Finally, she lifted her hand up- only to draw it back down.
My stomach flipped. Something wasn't right. I must have really upset her earlier. I silently cursed at myself in my head when someone on the floor caught my eye. Blood.
How did I not notice it before? It was splattered all around where Hope sat on the floor. "What happened?" I asked frantically. I drew in a deep breath when I spotted her bare feet. Blood was running from her ankles down. I finally pieced it together. She must have accidentally dropped a plate on her feet, and was upset that I didn't notice it sooner. "You're bleeding!" I said, stating the obvious.
"Huh? Oh. . . " she looked at the floor around her. "I was washing the dishes and I guess one slipped from my hand."
Well that confirmed my idea. I gave a sigh of relief. So she wasn't mad at me. I think. "Are you alright?"
She nodded and jumped to her feet. She stood there for a moment, reminding me of a child first learning to walk. I saw her biting her bottom lip, trying not to cry out in pain. She slowly retreated back to the ground. "I'm fine," she insisted, and swept the shards of glass into a small pile with her hands. "It's nothing."
I pondered whether or not I should be helping her. "Are you sure? I mean, there's blood dripping-"
"I'm fine," she cut me off, raising her voice. She continued to sweep at the floor.
I stared at her. "Alright. . ." I mumbled to myself. I'd never seen her act this way. Maybe she was angry with me.
Then a thought struck me. Evan had told me that if I were really Hope's friend, I would leave her alone. Maybe, just maybe, he knew that she secretly disliked me and that I should leave her alone. No, no. . . That was too farfetched.
A loud crashing sound interrupted my thoughts. Hope's had dropped her fist into the pile of glass and the pieces were sent flying in every direction. "Hope?" I called out frantically.
She swung her gaze towards me a glared, her eyes welling up with tears. "Why didn't you ever tell me?" she whispered angrily.
My eyes widened. I had never seen Hope angry. What was going on? "Tell you what?"
"You should've dropped the act years ago when Evan did.
My heart sank at her words. Maybe I was right. Maybe she did hate me all along. . . but that couldn't be possible. She was my best friend. "Act?" I repeated her word. "What act?" What in the world could she be talking about?
She turned away from me and looked at the floor. I didn't know whether or not I was suppose to comfort her, afraid that she might snap at me. I stood frozen where I was.
"Hope? Please talk," I said softly. "Hope? Are you mad at me?" There. I asked her. Maybe now I'd finally get a straight answer from her once and for all.
She covered her ears, as if trying to drown out the sound of my voice.
I couldn't help it. I needed an answer. I stepped closer to her and set a hand on her shoulder. "Hope-"
"DON'T TOCH ME!" she shrieked. She slapped my hand off her shoulder and I jumped back. Woah.
"I HATE YOU! NO ONE LOVES YOU!"
I stared at her, speechless. I must've heard her wrong. I thought I heard her just say that-
No, I heard her correctly. She said it loud and clear. For the second time in my life, I wanted to cry. "What?" I finally whispered.
She didn't answer me. She was probably keeping that secret for a long time. Her whole life, to be exact.
"Well then," I spoke in a shaky voice. I could anger slowly replacing everything else I was feeling. "You know what?"
I paused for a moment in case she wanted to reply, but why would she? She hated me.
"Evan was right. I shouldn't talk to you." I clenched my fist. It took all I had to not yell.
I stared at her looked up at me from the floor, her eyes filled with tears. That lying wench. "I'm going to do what I should've done ten years ago."
With that I whipped around, pushed open the door and walked away without a final glance at her.
Stupid kitchen maid.
A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review!