Breaking the Broken
Seven
The Edge of Something New
----------------
…he knew the lie of silence to be as evil as the lie of speech.
Gilbert Parker, The Battle of the Strong
----------------
"How are you, grandmother?" her voice droned through the airwaves, the noticeable upper-class lilt to it causing Isabelle to roll her eyes. A fine display of yet another Merteuil family trait—hypocrisy. She scorned her family for being pretentious when the matriarch herself was the exact same way.
"I'm fine Cassidy, how are you dear?" she responded expectedly. If these words were written, they would sound like a typical, familial conversation. However, anyone listening would hear the icy, cordial tone that was to be expected from a Merteuil woman. Age had done nothing to dull Isabelle, and she could read Cassidy like a book. There was something she wanted, and it wasn't to exchange pleasantries with her favorite grandmother. A tense standoff took place, Cassidy cracking after five minutes."Have you heard from Kathryn lately?" she inquired innocently. Please. Cassidy Merteuil hadn't been innocent in a long time, a fact that Isabelle boasted upon privately. She should've known that this was about Kathryn. It always was. From an early age, tiny Kathryn Merteuil had made it obvious that she was someone to look out for. A long standing rivalry between the cousins made it a wise move on Cassidy's part to be doing just that.
"Kathryn?" Isabelle cooed, silently padding down the long hallway of the third floor. Tromperie Manor had quite a bit of room. Quite a bit was actually an understatement for the majestic home of the head of the Merteuil family, consisting of sprawling grounds and a fifteen bedroom stone mansion shrouded in secrecy and shrubbery. Considering all the rooms in the house fit for royalty, it was quite surprising that Kathryn could be found in Sebastian's bed, fully dressed and spooned against him. His muscular arm was tossed naturally across her waist, and the fingers of her delicate right hand and his large left one were laced together. The immaculate pillowcase was slightly tattered with tearstains, but her granddaughter's expression looked peaceful for the first time in a very long time as she rested her head against her stepbrother's toned chest. Gaping open-mouthed at the attractive pair, Isabelle tried hard to focus on Cassidy's next words… and to contain her excitement. She always knew Kathryn and Sebastian would get together!
"… and she hasn't contacted me lately, so I was just wondering if you knew what was going on with her. Grandmother? Grandmother!"
"Huh—what's that dear?" Isabelle whispered distractedly, trying to ease closed the door to guest room she had assigned to Sebastian Valmont without waking anyone. However, her attempt proved a failure when she noticed that his ice blue eyes had silently slid open, and he sat there observing her, expressionless as usual. It was one of the things she would always wonder about the young man—his constant cool. While her own line had been bred this way, carefully crafted into the ice princesses they were, his own façade seemed to have spontaneously generated. The Valmonts were known for many things, but calm exteriors were not one of them. Snickering slightly at the memory of the infamous temper tantrums the wealthy men had thrown in the past, she realized that she had had the privilege of seeing the young Valmont lose it only twice. Now, she had found herself face to face with Sebastian in a rather embarrassing situation for both of them—her spying and him in bed with her granddaughter—but he met her gaze unflinchingly. The picture of utter coolness.
"I asked if you knew what was going on with Kathryn!" Cassidy demanded, and Isabelle had a mental image of her stamping her foot impatiently. It had always been one of her worst traits, picked up from television naturally. While endearing at first, Isabelle had quickly grown to resent the idiosyncrasy that her granddaughter hadn't seem to have been able to shake. It was a sign of weakness, in her opinion. It showed others that you were feeling frustrated, that they were gaining the upper-hand. It betrayed your irritation, even if your face betrayed nothing.
"No Cassidy, I'm not sure what's going on with Kathryn. I hear that she's doing quite well though," she drawled, casting a pointed glance in Sebastian's direction. At the mention of Cassidy, his beautiful eyes had widened slightly, and he was now burrowing his head into Kathryn's chestnut hair. The petite girl moaned slightly, readjusting her position to get as close to him as humanly possible. Whispering something indistinguishable in her ear, Sebastian's eyelids slid closed, and the corners of Kathryn's lips turned up into a tiny smile.
Tiptoeing silently out of the guest room, Isabelle Merteuil couldn't wipe the grin off her face. Not even the constant feuding amongst her kin could dash her spirit. In her opinion, competition was a good thing, and though she felt a little tinge in her heart about lying to one of her prized grandchildren, she would never forgive Cassidy for the triumphant look that had played across her face at the news that Kathryn was being shipped off to the Methadone Clinic. Only she had seen it, and for the first time in her many years, Isabelle Merteuil was truly disgusted by the young brunette. Kathryn and Cassidy had both crossed many lines, and were sure to cross many more, but they were still family, no matter how deep their jealousy of each other ran. To rejoice in the other's failure was simply low, not to mention detrimental to the family name. No, the thing that had her smiling wasn't evil in the slightest, which was more than slightly surprising. It had nothing to do with cruelty or betrayal or sex (three of her favorite things) but with the fact that two people had never fit together more perfectly than Kathryn Merteuil and Sebastian Valmont.
Oh to be young and not believe in love.
----------------
The wind whipped viciously. Rain came down in buckets, transforming the front yard into a moat that few would dare cross. The normally gentle pitter-patter of precipitation was replaced by a howling wind as sheets of water smashed against the window, obscuring the view of the blackening sky. While most were curled up, enjoying the warmth of their homes, Annette Hargrove refastened the tie on her white trench coat and heaved a sigh. Her father would be home any moment now, and supposedly bringing very important news. She just hoped that he would hurry up, as she needed to get to Sebastian's tomb. It was kind of silly really, but it was inconceivable to her that a day could go by without paying tribute to the man she had given everything to. She couldn't get through a day without going to visit him. Checking her watch again, Annette tapped her foot a little impatiently and made a vow to herself that if her father wasn't home within five minutes, she would simply have to talk to him later.
"'Nette, honey, are you home?" her father's voice called through from the small kitchen. Trying to hide her disappointment at the day, the blonde made her way from the living room to her father with a smile.
"Hey dad. I was waiting for you. You left me a message this morning that you had something important to tell me…" she prompted. Normally she would enjoy this time spent chatting with her father, but now she was just eager to get out of there.
"Yes, about that…" he began, frowning slightly. "Well, I just got an excellent job offer."
"You did? Why, that's great Daddy!" Annette chirped, genuinely happy for her father. However, a feeling gnawing at her stomach told her that his big news wasn't over yet. "What aren't you telling me?" she questioned, hating the suspicious tone to her voice. She knew that she had never been like that back in Kansas. Everything was so much simpler in the old days, but ever since coming in contact with Sebastian and Kathryn, her first impulse had been to question everything. Kathryn! She mentally corrected herself. It was Kathryn, not Sebastian. Nearly two years later, and she still defended his memory as preciously as she did her mother's. When people were truly honest, they fondly remembered Sebastian as the smug, womanizing, SOB that he had always been. Annette wasn't like that. Maybe she was truly in love or maybe she wasn't honest, but she had repainted his image time after time in her mind, recalling their precious few moments together until he had become a romantic hero that no one could ever match up to. Not even the real Sebastian Valmont.
"Well, Annette… the job is in California," he explained slowly, and Annette could feel the world lurching to a stop around her. California?
"WHAT?" she shrieked.
"I know, I know, Annette. You hate moving, and I hate it to, but New York has brought us nothing but bad luck. We were so blessed that I managed to bag this job, after everything that happened at Manchester," he explained with more than a hint of resentment in his tone. His first semester would go down in infamy, marked by the death of Sebastian Valmont and the ruination of Kathryn Merteuil. Wicked as the children might be, their parents were equally rich, and none too pleased. Public opinion swayed with the wind, and the headmaster found his immaculate reputation damaged before he could wrap his head completely around the incidents.
"I know that dad… and I'm really happy for you… but New York…" Annette helplessly tried to explain, gesturing hopelessly around the room with a limp hand.
"What about New York, Annette? It's been two years, honey, and I hate to break it to you, but Sebastian Valmont is dead. There's nothing here for you or me, nothing except painful memories. I think a fresh start would be best for both of us," he waited with baited breath to see how his only daughter would react to that. Loaded moments passed in tense silence as her father could see the wheels of thought turning behind Annette's pretty blue eyes. Turning without a sound, she lurched open the sticky kitchen door and stepped out into the rain.
"Annette! Where are you going!"
"The cemetery," she called over her shoulder, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"In this weather? What for?" he shouted back incredulously.
"To say goodbye," Annette whispered, the lump rising in her throat altering her speech. Tears rolled down her pale cheeks, mingling with the drops of rain that seemed to pour to match her emotion, and her father didn't even try to stop her.
Maybe this would be good, she thought as her car rolled towards the cemetery. She had been there so often, she could practically drive there in her sleep. A little distance would do her good. Maybe California would bring something new, something better.
And something new it would bring. Something better all depends on who you asked.
----------------
Well, here you go guys! There's a very good chance that that totally sucked, but please review anyway. I'm trying to shake this evil writer's block, and you guys always help inspire me. I felt bad for not updating this in such a long time, so I tried to put something out here. I hope you liked it, and thanks for reading!
Xo Sam
PS- I recently posted a one-shot called Fade To Black. It's a Cruel Intentions story, and could be looked at as a prequel to this one. Please, please, please go read it and review.