Aww, you guys! I love y'all a lot, you know that?
Breaking the Broken
Fifteen
A Place To Call Home
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Pushing forward and arching back
Bring me closer to heart attack
Say goodbye and just fly away
When you come back
I have some things to say
How does it feel to know you never have to be alone
When you get home?
Maroon 5
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It is not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive.
Somerset Maugham
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"So let me get this straight—you got Jason to stay the night without even putting out?" her incredulous tone carried throughout the elegant parlor. The dainty tinkling of china accompanied it, and the sunlight streaming warmly through the bay windows illuminating the deep mahogany paneling and pristine floor in an uncharacteristically warm way. Though all other tables were placed many feet away, as is the custom to protect those who could actually afford to take tea in the room, all eyes were on this table.
"That's what I said," Kathryn stated, a triumphant smirk curling her lips as she swirled her tiny spoon amongst the liquid in her china cup. Sliding it out, tapping it lightly three times on the edge, turning it over and laying it on the saucer had been a habit Kathryn maintained since childhood. It always made Cassidy wonder if she was OCD. It would really explain a lot.
"You shouldn't be sleeping with him anyway. EW!" Juliette chirped, feet swinging happily below her, a foot off the ground. Her tiny finger played with a curl, wounding it tighter and tighter before letting go and watching it spring. This time, she tugged the golden loop for emphasis on the EW, her big blue eyes widening as she winced in slight pain. She would have to find a new way to make her point.
Kathryn glanced over at Cassidy and found that her confused expression mirrored her own.
"What's gross about that?" Cassidy asked tentatively.
"Jason's gross. He's a boy!" her pert nose wrinkled in disgust.
"And what's Sebastian?" Kathryn asked in amusement, wondering how the slick six year old would talk circles of this one.
"Sebastian's not a boy!" Juliette laughed.
"Ohh, Sebastian's all boy," Cassidy muttered knowingly, the whisper carrying across the table, her smirk hidden by the tea cup as she raised it to her lips. The faintest sneer passed over Kathryn's features before turning her attention to the younger of the cousins.
"So Juliette, how was your trip?"
The young girl's mouth opened to respond before a ringing was heard. Grinning happily, Juliette slid open the zipper on her Coach scribbles bag and withdrew a brand new cell phone. Flipping it open excitedly, she deflated only slightly when she heard who was on the other end.
"Not happy to talk to me, Jules?"
"No, it's just that I was hoping it was someone else."
"Who else would be calling this number?" Sebastian laughed, and both Kathryn and Cassidy's heads shot up from their glasses at the audible sound.
"Peter Pan?" Juliette shrugged.
"Since when does she have a cell phone?" Cassidy mouthed, incredulousness written in her eyes. Each of the Merteuil children had been spoiled beyond most other's wildest dreams, but a cell phone at six was pushing it.
Kathryn shook her head and shrugged, whispering, "No clue, but it's obviously new. Her mom doesn't even have the number. Camilla was calling me all night, looking for her." Cassidy made a sympathetic face, the
"Does he call you often?" Sebastian's amused voice came through the airwaves.
"No, but there's a first time for everything."
"What are you doing?" he asked. Most people would be appalled at the fact that the six year old in his care was wandering about and he had no idea where he was. He had the vaguest clue, that she was with Kathryn, but that could possibly be scarier. They had literally pulled into the hotel driveway at ten o'clock that morning, and the petite beauty swooped in, whisking her young cousin away for 'bonding time'. Sebastian was too frightened at the concept to ask for further details.
"Having tea with Cassidy and Kathryn," she said, taking a dainty bite out of her biscuit.
"Humm… any good gossip?"
"Well, my mom is looking for me, but the doctor upped her meds, so she may forget I'm gone for another week or so. Grandmere has a new boyfriend. Oh, there was a big party while we were gone. Cassidy almost got raped and Kathryn got Jason to stay the night. There's a new episode of Desperate Housewives," Juliette babbled, her pale forehead crinkling adorably as she tried to recall details of the conversation.
The tension was palpable around the round table as the elder cousins' eyes grew to the size of the tea saucers in their hands. It was one of the Merteuil Commandments, the unwritten rules that were embedded not in words but in genes, that things of this nature were never to be repeated.
Cassidy could feel a great internal struggle. Part of her shriveled with embarrassment, cowered deeper inside at the image of weakness this seemed to portray. The other half, however, couldn't deny its delight at the deer-in-the-headlights expression Kathryn had taken on, dying to learn of the next twist in the never ending Kathryn-and-Sebastian-Saga. All was hidden behind an impassive expression, gesturing slightly for a refill.
"Well, that certainly is news," his masculine voice rang through, distinctly colder. Kathryn leaned back in her chair, but her posture didn't relax in the slightest, and faint lines of anxiousness lined her forehead. Cassidy also slumped in her chair, but with an amused smile alighting her own pretty face. Juliette slouched because everyone else seemed to be doing so, clutching the phone tightly to her ear. She was six years old, but certainly not an idiot, and it was obvious that Sebastian was upset.
"When I get back, can we go mini-golfing?" Juliette asked hesitantly, but none of them were sure why. The child had never been denied anything in her life, whether it was the Sweet Sixteen party she had had for her fifth birthday because she saw one on television and thought she'd like one, or the llama she had fallen in love with at the zoo. She named him Lorenzo, but quickly decided that she was much fonder of horses.
"Julie, no. You hate mini-golfing," Sebastian whined, the role reversal between the two evident.
"Fine. Can we go to the movies?" she frowned.
"Sure," he sighed distractedly. He mumbled something else that rang through all too clearly to Juliette, and she raised her golden eyebrows at his request.
"You want me to tell Kathryn what?" her innocent eyes got round. But they weren't, not really. An innocence that a child has the right to be born into was scarred by the past, the sins of the father embedding themselves. Original sin and all that, if you were religious, which none of the Merteuils actually were but all pretended to be devoutly. Kathryn looked closely; eyes zeroing in the way that only hers seemed to, noticing the similarities between this child and the boy she had adopted as kin. Both were full of mystery, containing a wide-eyed kind of innocence that was betrayed by the darker lines, shifting in shades and intentions. Presently, they were light and surprised, amused and cautious.
"Okay, I'll do that. I'll meet you outside. Love you too, Sebastian," Juliette snapped the phone shut with a wide smile on her face. Oblivious to the curious stares, Juliette hummed quietly to herself while rummaging through her purse.
"Juliette?" Kathryn asked pointedly.
"Hmm?" she asked, eyes darting upwards.
"Didn't Sebastian give you a message for me?" she prompted. Kathryn could feel Cassidy shift in her seat; saw her lean indiscernibly closer to Juliette. She would laugh at how desperate she was to hear what was being said, if she weren't doing the exact same thing.
Brow furrowed slightly, Juliette appeared to be in deep thought as both her cousins waited anxiously to hear what Sebastian said. Suddenly her face lit up, and she delivered the message proudly. "Sebastian said not to bother washing the sheets this time. He's not sleeping there tonight."
She stayed mercifully silent through Juliette's departure, a hug and a kiss on each cheek for both cousins before she gleefully skipped away, but Kathryn knew that look. She had lived with it all these years, familiarizing herself with the triumphant glow in her light brown eyes, the shallow dimple forming though there was no trace of a smile. Kathryn had dedicated her life to giving Cassidy as few opportunities to make this face as possible.
"Looks like it'll be a little harder to convince him to stay the night."
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It was in a weird sort of daze in which Jason Argyle found his way back to the dorm room, far too early in the morning for his taste. That is to say, the sun was up. It was like a hangover without a headache, fumbling blindly in the real world while existing on a plane all your own. The night had marked an important landmark in Jason's life—the first time he'd spent the night with a girl.
Of course, his reputation precedes him. It certainly wasn't his "first time", but he had never been even remotely tempted to fall asleep in someone else's arms. Perhaps that would've been different with Cassidy, the object of his lust and admiration for a long time now, but their only encounter had been in a dark alleyway, and it wasn't exactly ideal conditions for cuddling. Not that that was something Cassidy would do, anyway, and honestly, it wasn't Kathryn's style either. He wasn't sure how the beautiful brunette had tricked him into a feeling a level of intimacy with her, but he was more than willing to go through the experience again.
At first, Jason had had a weird vibe about the massive hotel room, as if Sebastian Valmont were lurking in every shadowy corner. And it was true, to a certain degree. His suits were in the closet, expensive designer shoes strewn about on the floor. The suite, in fact, seemed less like a hotel suite and more like a vast apartment. You could never go so far as to say it was 'homey', because even back in Manhattan, the Valmont townhouse was far from a loving and warm environment, and that was their home. None of that took away the distinctly male scent on the sheets, or the framed picture of the two of them in all their splendor, perched on the night table. However, when entwined with Kathryn Merteuil, that seemed to matter so much less.
"Dude, was that the Kathryn that I saw you with last night? Sebastian's Kathryn?" Patrick asked, excitement etched into his features. Jason frowned. It seemed so much different when put like that. Suddenly it dawned on him why that had felt so weird, being in her hotel room. It was the familiar feeling of hooking up with a taken girl. Not that that had ever stopped him before.
"Yep," he stated simply, rolling over and wishing to finally get some sleep. He had stayed up most of the night before, even after he and Kathryn had retired to her room. Jason lay awake watching her, wondering if she knew just how beautiful she was.
Probably.
Now he wondered vaguely if she knew the suffering it caused him to be apart from her. She had shooed him out quickly that morning, leaving only minutes after he did, saying something was really important that she needed to do. He wanted to know her, he truly did. There was something in her eyes that made him think there was something really good, really interesting about her that made her worth it. Lost in his own thoughts, not for the first time, Jason found himself lost in a conversation with his roommate Patrick Bale.
"So that Annette chick was your date last night, right?" he asked slowly, blinking his eyes as if he had never seen sunlight before.
"Yes," Patrick answered with a smug smile, all irritation at being ignored dissipating at discussion of his small victory.
"Fuck her yet?" Jason cut to the quick of it.
"Of course not, you asshole. She proclaimed her virginity in a teen magazine; do you think she puts out on first date?"
"Is she warming up to you yet, because it appeared that she thought you were a psychotic stalker before? Not that that characterization is too far off…" Jason replied scathingly.
"She'll be mine in no time. Although, I'm not sure you've got the right to pass judgment on this one Jase, since you're too chicken shit to try in the first place," Patrick remarked mildly, a challenge gleaming in his eyes.
"Excuse me?" Jason retorted, sitting up on the bed. "Are you saying that you could get into this girl's pants and I couldn't?"
"Your words, not mine," Patrick held up his hands.
"That's pathetic, man. You and I both know that I could get this girl to give it up in a heartbeat." Jason's fierce pride was kicking in, and Patrick was working it to his advantage, supremely enjoying the godlike feeling he got from manipulating others, even his so-called friends. Patrick Bale had never felt a particular sense of loyalty towards any of these people. After all, friends are just enemies who don't have the guts to kill you, he'd always said.
"Care to make a wager on that?" Patrick taunted.
Jason froze suddenly, mouth open in mid-reply. He could vaguely see the trap he could easily be falling into. Patrick could almost taste the victory, and it was just as Cassidy had described it when she'd come over in the wee hours of the morning, with a wicked plot forming in her pretty little head. He had to admit that he was skeptical that she would be willing to bury the hatchet, but she had insisted with a manic gleam in her eyes that there were bigger fish to fry, and he didn't really give a fuck either way. It was better to have her as a 'friend' than foe, an ally if nothing else.
"I'll think about it," he replied with a forced nonchalance, but as with so many others, his eyes were his downfall. It was blatantly obvious that there was never a challenge Jason Argyle could turn down. It was a childhood trait that he had never outgrown, one that his mother had always jested would be the end of him.
Well, that's the plan.
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"Okay, Jules, I want you to wait here, okay? Don't move from the lobby, okay?" he asked, and Juliette nodded solemnly, plopping herself down on the overstuffed sofa as she watched Sebastian disappear through the rotating glass doors.
His foot stomped down, the Jaguar accelerating quickly as the darkened streets flew by. After spending the day doing whatever sight-seeing activities Juliette could think of, Sebastian had pumped her for details of Kathryn and Cassidy's conversation over tea. Those are the details that made his blood run cold, that chilled him deep within, that were the purpose for this late night ride.
Checking the address Blaine had provided him with only moments before, he strode purposefully up the pathway to the small off-campus house that was supposedly shared by three other roommates, trench coat trailing ominously behind him. Two brisk knocks on the peeling red door, and only a moment passed before it was answered. His bright, angry eyes met a pair of dark ones. The other man's face was obscured by a large bandage covering his nose, and Sebastian had more than a feeling that this was him, and felt a bizarre surge of pride at how well she had held her own.
"Desmond?" he inquired politely. The other boy nodded with a grin, as if being this person was some huge accomplishment.
"Oh. It's nice to meet you," Sebastian smiled deceptively, before promptly driving a fist into the taller boy's gut. Delivering another punch to his jaw, the muscular black man lay sprawled across his own doorway with no hope of defending himself. Sebastian took a perverse pleasure in that, the knowledge that the cocky asshole lying on the ground now knew how it felt. Casting a disgusted glance at the prone figure, he ignored the whimpers and protests of the boy, hissing "You make me sick," before all but disappearing into the darkness.
At the convertible roared back towards the hotel at high speeds, Sebastian mentally urged it to go faster. Not because he was afraid of the consequences of his actions, of course, as anyone with even the smallest fraction of rational thought would know better. He just wanted to get back to Juliette. Knowing now that there were people in the world who depended on him, that there was a little girl who would sit in a hotel lobby all night just because he asked her not to leave, was both comforting and frightening.
"That was fast," Juliette remarked mildly, a knowing air about her as he flew in through the same door he had exited from. Glancing suspiciously at the child, Sebastian wondered exactly how much she knew. It wasn't the first time his thoughts had wandered down this path. If it were anyone else, he would be alarmed at how in tune they were with his thought pattern, but not Juliette. It was Kathryn he would have to worry about.
Just the thought of his stepsister made his fists clench in anger, and even worse, he couldn't quite figure out why. Sebastian knew that Kathryn was far from celibate, and it's not like they had the relationship Juliette kept insisting that they did—they were both allowed to fuck other people. But there was something about Jason that irked him, and the thought of Jason and Kathryn bothered him more than he would ever care to admit.
His own thoughts provided him no relief from the way Kathryn seemed to overwhelm him completely, and he found that as the elevator doors slid open on their floor, she was waiting for him. Sighing, Sebastian had Juliette's hand tightly clenched in his own, a new room key digging painfully into the other.
"Can I talk to you?" Kathryn asked quietly, smoothing down the fluffy white hotel robe in a subtle display of how awkward she truly felt in this scenario.
"I suppose so," he heaved a sigh, handing the key to Juliette, who promptly disappeared into the new hotel room, knowing where she was wanted.
"You need to come back," Kathryn said, her voice hoarse.
"I'm right here," Sebastian said, a bit of a sneer evident in his own voice.
"You need to… you need to stay in the room," she swallowed, both her words and her pride, as she stood before him in the deserted corridor.
"Why?" his brow furrowed, genuinely curious at this turn of events.
"Because you need to be there when I get home. We are each other's home, you know? It's not fair Sebastian, you can't keep leaving. You left last time; you don't get to do it again. I can't be alone." His intense gaze seemed to prod her on, unwavering in its quest for her real meaning.
"I didn't actually sleep with Jason, if that's what this is about."
"Goodie. Thank God for small favors. Jesus Kathryn, at least when I fuck random people in this hotel, I don't do so on surfaces you use regularly."
"I don't know Sebastian, I do occasionally need the elevator. And the couches in the lobby. The pool-side changing room…" she mused bitingly.
"Touché," he smirked, and she responded in kind.
"Where's Juliette going to sleep?"
"Juliette'll sleep on the couch. She really likes them," her golden blonde head poked out into the hallway, sleepiness evident in her eyes, her six year old body looking just about ready to collapse right there. "So… can we, 'Bastian? Can we stay with Kathryn? Please?"
"Alright, let's go, skinny girl," he scooped her into his arms, heading down the hallway with Kathryn by his side, turning and just missing the relieved smile that washed across her beautiful features.
It was an interesting sight to Mrs. Jacobs, as she headed back to her hotel room with a large bucket of ice. Her heart went out to them. It must have been difficult to have a child at such a young age, she thought, they still looked like children themselves! Natalie Jacobs had married her husband Charlie at 18, she knew all about the ups and downs of young love. They had been married for thirty two years in August. It had been a long and bumpy road, child being entirely different paths on their own. They had conquered business trips and soccer games, and even the infidelity that threatened to destroy them forever. Even when they had been at their worst, and Natalie had wanted nothing more than to leave, she realized that there was nowhere to go. She couldn't go home, because he was her home. Natalie Jacobs went to sleep happy that night, knowing that the young couple had learned that lesson so much earlier than she did.
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Drum roll please… okay guys, how was it? I'm not sure how that turned out, so please review and let me know. Yes, Desmond made another appearance, but I'm pretty sure it'll be his last. I just couldn't resist that final insult. Thanks for all your kind words guys. You made me feel a whole lot better.
Luvs-bitch01- I'm really glad that you like the Kathryn/Cassidy bond in this story. It's very tricky to write, and I think you're the only one who appreciates it lol. We've definitely got the same sense of humor.
xjn- I'm glad that you liked Juliette! Personally, I adore her lol. You'll definitely see some Kathryn/Juliette interaction in the coming chapters. Just for future reference: gushing is totally acceptable. Hahah.
Ocfan08- Your review made me very proud of myself. I'm totally the first person to mention Burger King in a Cruel Intentions story hahaha. That girl who tried flirting with Sebastian is actually this whore from one of my classes that I absolutely despise… You certainly have a lot of faith in Kathryn. You should hope, for her sake, she doesn't align herself with the wrong side lol.
Katie- oh, Katie, Katie, Katie. I'm glad that last chapter helped you out. I hope your best friend stops being such a whore. Let me know if you need her trashed further. Hahaha
Y-x- Sad, but true. Flattery gets you everywhere with me lol.
Kerimack- Aw, you're so nice. You're comment made me feel much better, in case you're curious lol. I'm glad that you're coming over to the side of people who love Juliette. I knew you didn't really hate kids. Muah ha ha. Lol. And Desmond? Yes, very shitty actions on his part. So much so that he's been written into two chapters, and got the shit beat out of him in each. Wow… now I'm starting to feel like I've got issues... lol…
Okay guys, so I actually already started a little bit of the next chapter. It's up to you to prompt me to go faster lol. Please review and let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading!
Xo Sam
I have a new story out. It's called "The Birds", and I've rarely been so self-conscious about a story in my life. So please check that out and leave a review.