Breaking the Broken
Twenty One
Act Your Rage
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War is cruelty, and none can make it gentle.
Gilbert Parker, The Battle of the Strong
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Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot
That it doth singe yourself
William Shakespeare
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The room was a battlefield, it seemed. Piles of broken glass peppered the floor, water stains dripped their way down the walls, flowers ripped from the safety of their vases were scattered throughout. This was far from the immaculate room Sebastian Valmont had stormed out of the night before, and in the center of it sat a disturbing placid Kathryn Merteuil.
"What the fuck happened in here?" he asked in wonder.
"Humm? Oh, yeah. The maids didn't come yet," Kathryn shrugged. She rose silently from the couch, stepping carefully between glass particles but not wincing when her feet came in contact with them. Calmly, she strode towards the bedroom, him following closely behind.
"Kathryn, I know you're pissed at me—"
"What are you talking about?" she turned around with a look of practiced curiosity upon her face. And yet, it was not only Sebastian's eyes that provided windows to his thoughts, and he could read her just as well as she him. Her eyes were blazing, and they screamed so many different things. Pleased that he'd returned, angry that he'd left, sad that it was like this, vengeful because she was Kathryn and he was Sebastian and that's just what they did. Her eyes were full and her face was empty. They were equally beautiful, and it made her almost hard to look at, but Sebastian found that he couldn't look away.
"You're going to tell me that you aren't pissed over what happened last night?"
"Why would last night upset me?" she asked, a hint of malevolence sneaking into her tone. "I got asked out by an amazing guy last night."
Sebastian could feel his jaw tense, his eyes harden, his expression freeze. He could feel his body become angry before he'd even processed what she'd said, and considered his dazed mind forewarned.
"Well, that's kind of sad," he drawled, the fire burning within him complemented by the ice in his eyes.
"How so?" her equally intense stare narrowed.
"The things you'll do to get back at Cassidy," his pouty lips contorted themselves into a self-satisfied smile. "Don't bother denying it, Kat. He's not nearly rich enough or preppy enough to be a boyfriend of yours, and we both know there's no such thing as a coincidence."
"Perhaps I do have ulterior motives, but why would this have anything to do with Cassidy?" Kathryn asked with gritted teeth, wondering how the hell she ended up fighting with just about everyone she loved over the curly haired brunette.
"He's her henchman, isn't he?" Sebastian smiled coldly, the other boy's inadequacies flashing before both of their eyes. Kathryn shifted slightly, but refused to back down now. "Honestly Kathryn, I'm surprised at you. This is probably the most amateur scheme you've come up with since junior high."
"I'm only looking to him for pleasure," Kathryn said, pink tongue lolling the words, almost seductively.
"Judging by appearances, you'll have to look further, sweet pea. But I'll ask Cassidy about it when I see her," said Sebastian.
"And when will that be?" asked Kathryn, carefully watching herself to keep in any and all evidence of anger at this new turn of events.
"Right now, if she's not busy. I think I'll bring Juliette too. Maybe we can go to the park. You know how she does so love those little family outings," he sneered cruelly, and had the distinct feeling that he'd overstepped a boundary. He was too far gone to truly care, or even notice that something broke in her eyes then.
"Are you replacing me?" she whispered. He sighed.
"Will I have to?" The question was not as it appeared. He was not asking if he needed a new partner in crime, because he knew that there would never be another Kathryn Merteuil. Instead, he was asking, veiled as it was, if she was finding someone else to care about. Was she replacing him? The honesty in his tone took her by surprise, and that was a truly rare occurrence. For one of the first times in her life, Kathryn Merteuil had been rendered speechless.
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Hesitation plagued her mind as she paused in front of the door. Juliette Merteuil was acutely aware that she was walking into a snakes' pit, but it would possibly be more dangerous to ignore the invitation completely. Swallowing this peculiar brand of fear, she entered the lounge with her head held high, dropping into a seat before the only familiar face in the darkened room. She would give anything to not know this face either, but it was one that haunted her.
"You wanted to see me?" she asked with a charming smile, but her teeth were gritted.
"Yeah. I thought it was time we got some sisterly bonding in," Belinda smiled, but hers was not nearly as agitated as the younger blonde's. Instead, it seemed almost amused, but there was a hazy air of danger emitting from her.
"Few years too late," Juliette snarled, and wondered briefly why that struck such a chord within her. For as long as she could remember, she had resented the looming presence of Belinda, a rain cloud just waiting to let loose on her parade. Writing it off as the childish desire to just have someone to bond with, Juliette remembered that she had plenty of people for that.
"Oh. I just felt like we were running out of time for that," Belinda smiled mysteriously, lowering the cigarette from her lips. "You're looking rather ill, darling."
"No wonder you're pouting in every one of your photos. You have horrible teeth," Juliette shot back, briefly fumbling for a weakness, but there was one easily accessible. The tiny blonde had learned that there were few people in the world so secure that they could withstand slights to their physique. "That could be attributed to the fact that you smoke like a chimney, but you'd think your body would be used to the blackening of organs. Your heart is that way, why not your lungs too?"
"I have a feeling cancer will allude me. We've already got a dying sister in this family," Belinda reached out and caressed Juliette's hair slightly. Her touch was a bit wistful. Their hair was so similar, golden and soft.
"I'm not dying," Juliette said simply, anger draining from her body to be replaced with a familiar cold. This was how she was more comfortable, always more composed of ice than fire. "But come near me again, and I may not be able to say the same for you."
Belinda Van Ryan was an internationally famous supermodel. She was respected and feared among her colleagues, worshipped by both men and women around the world. She had gotten into her fair share of arguments, but she had never been as taken aback as she was at that moment.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me," Juliette smiled. "I'll humor you for a second, because you've obviously been misinformed. I'm not someone that you can intimidate. You don't get to stalk me, to send me ominous messages, to request secret meetings in weird locations. I'm not scared of you. I just think that you're pathetic. You are a sad, sad human being. Do you think it's normal to be stalking a six year old? Get a life, Belinda."
"Those sound like fighting words," the older blonde marked, her tone deliberately mild, but her eyes flashed angrily. Calmly taking a sip of her drink, she observed the girl who had grown up with her father. She was Merteuil through and through, icy and poised, and though you could almost see the thoughts racing through her large blue eyes, they went too quickly to be discerned.
"That was intentional," she smiled sweetly.
"Should that be considered a declaration of war?" her light gray eyes narrowed malevolently, and Juliette's smile brightened.
"If you can justify going to war with a girl still in single digits," Juliette shrugged, mockery in her tone. "Then bring it on."
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The bright side of California was the sun. As Cassidy Merteuil lounged by the campus pool in a tiny black bikini, she soaked up the sun and quite a bit of attention, and kept an ear out for the conversation of those around her.
"We're going on the Catalina trip," Michael grinned, wrapped an arm around Sheila who promptly snuggled closer to him despite the outrageous heat. Cassidy tried not to gag too loudly.
One of the more popular courses at Prestridge University had a professor who loved to try and prove that she was just the coolest professor on campus. None of the students were particularly impressed, but they all humored her nonetheless. A trip to Catalina had recently been organized, but with limited positions that were filling up fast. Michael and Sheila had been two of the first people to sign up, and looked forward to a long romantic weekend. However, Jason Argyle was looking at it as his perfect opportunity to get Sheila alone.
"Oh man," he sighed, seeming to come out of nowhere to plop on Cassidy's lounge chair in distress. She rolled her eyes behind her oversized sunglasses, but everyone else seemed concerned.
"What's the matter?" Sheila asked with concern.
"The Catalina trip's all booked up. I didn't think I'd need to join it, but my grandmother's really sick and she needs me to come see her. She lives out in Catalina, and I have no other way to get there," Jason spun his sob-story, and Cassidy could barely contain the grin tugging at her lips. His grandmother had died four years previously, but the excuse never seemed to fail him.
"Well, you could have my spot, man," Michael volunteered tentatively. He didn't want to give up his weekend with Sheila, but Jason was his friend, and he would sacrifice this for him if he really needed it.
"Really? Thanks man. My grandma will be so happy," Jason grinned, letting out a relieved sigh. Winking at Cassidy, his look seemed to imply that he had already won. Grinning mischievously back, she knew that he was quite mistaken.
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Two forty-five in the morning found Patrick Bale stumbling back to his dorm room, arms full of presents bestowed upon him by Annette Hargrove at their one-month anniversary dinner. Smiling slightly at the memory, he enjoyed it a lot more than he thought that he would. When Annette had first proposed the idea, he was slightly put out. After all, a night spent with her was a night spent not cheating on her. But to his surprise, it was actually a very lovely evening. Annette was smart and funny and charming. Unfortunately, Patrick hadn't the slightest interest in any of these things. He honestly wasn't interested in anything other than what lie between her legs, but in the meantime, he'd just have to fake it.
A new task daunted him. Alison Lebray. Somehow over the last few days, they had become good friends. Patrick was slightly inclined to think Cassidy had something to do with this, but hadn't the faintest idea why. Cassidy was gorgeous and evil and hot as hell, but he didn't trust her any farther than he could throw her.
Then again, he might want to reconsider that statement, considering the infamous Merteuil dieting habits.
Cassidy Merteuil was most definitely up to something, but Patrick wasn't too worried. He had seen it in her eyes, her real target was Jason. He was just along for the ride. It would be like her lead him to Alison, if only just to spite his roommate. The only trouble was, with their newfound friendship, he had grown privy to her undying devotion to her fiancé Dave. It was a roadblock residing millions of miles away.
Patrick went to sleep that night, dreaming of Annette and Alison and victory, regardless Alison wasn't his… yet. He was well aware that you couldn't have your cake and eat it too, but you could have your cake and eat someone else's too. And that's kind of better anyway.
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Okay guys, I'm not sure how that turned out. I was trying to stall myself with updates because there were like two reviews for last chapter when I was going to start writing the next one, and I thought I'd hold off. Yeah, last time I do that. Horrible, horrible idea. Bye bye muse!
I did manage to sway some of your towards pity for Belinda. Well, except for Keri. Keri's relentless. Haha. Just kidding. Maybe..?
Yeah, it's becoming a hobby of mine to convince you guys to pity the people you should hate.
This chapter was kind of shorter, because it's really just setting the stage for the next part. I'm so excited for what's coming. Hehe..
Katie: Lol yeah, your idea was right on.
WashedOut: Thanks ) Just wait till you see what comes next…
Keri: Lol well, you know, I sent you an e-mail's worth of respond/giant spoilers. Juliette pretty much shared your thoughts on their feud in this chapter. Yeah, okay, because that's going to stop them. Hahaha.
Babeekim: Why can't they both just admit it and get the fuck over the drama? Because this is CI. Hahah. Believe me, I wish they could too, but I have a feeling I'd get slaughtered for destroying the story.
B: Merci beaucoup! Sorry I didn't get to you with spoilers this chapter, but things got kind of crazy for a few days. I'm back now though, and I have a huge spoiler, so I'll let you know lol. This chapter kind of lacked that narration because… well, I just didn't want it here lol. This wasn't supposed to be intimate, because pretty much everybody's angry. Haha.
Thanks for reading, guys.
Xo Sam