Maddy was openly glaring now. She didn't even care that her father's business acquaintance and son were standing right there.
"Da," her voice was stiff, her body rigid, "you an' I need to have a chat outside."
Her Irish brogue was thickening as her emotions boiled inside of her chest. It didn't help that as it got thicker the posh business man's son sniffed and tossed his head before muttering something about voice lessons to cultivate a 'proper' voice. When he'd said that it had taken all the patience and rational thought she had possessed not to stalk up to him and speak like she would if she was truly back in Ireland.
Her father's cold brown eyes glanced at her before he too sniffed in near disgust.
"The decision has been reached Maddy. You can't change it."
He doesn't dare.
When he spoke again, it was the final straw to her already boiling anger.
"You will go through this with peace, honor and contentment in a way that will honor how I raised you."
Snap.
All but springing out of her seat and stalking forward, Maddy shoved him hard with the palms of her hands.
"You think so da? Ya dare to let the words contentment an' honor out of your slimey, cheatin' mouth? I canna believe ya would dare to say that to me." Maddy was practically snarling as she glared up at the man. "Ya never raised me! It was all mum and yet ya dare to say I should honor ya when barely hours ago ya were ridin" the newest secretary? Where was that honor then hm? I doonna think honor was on your mind while you let her fondle you with her pretty, little manicured hands."
Her father's face had gone pale, but it now burned with rage. His brown eyes bright with anger, and a ruddy flush covering his cheeks he grabbed her arm in a vice like grip and with a curt 'excuse us' he dragged her out of the room.
Throwing her down in the hallway a little ways down as if the pretty clothes she was wearing didn't matter, he leaned down and grabbing her hair snarled into her face.
"You bitch. How dare you embarrass me like that. You will do this Madden or so help me I will destroy everything you hold dear to you."
The girl hissed in pain as his fingers tightened in her hair, before spitting at him.
"Never!"
His eyes turned cold with hate, and releasing her hair abruptly, he backhanded her. Hard. She could feel her lip split and the sudden throb of her cheek as her head snapped to the side. Slowly, she turned her head to stare at him with large, horrified blue eyes. Never had her father hit her, he'd never laid a hand on her no matter what she did. Yet he had slapped her. He didn't even look repentant as he fixed his crumpled suit and stood to his full height.
"Get yourself cleaned Madden."
With those words, he strode back to the room to fix what he could of the failed business marriage proposal, leaving his daughter lying on the floor of the hall cradling a bloody lip and bruised face.
Tears welled in Maddy's eyes as she stared at the shut door, and scrambling off the floor she bolted to her room, where she locked herself in and threw herself into her bed to cry and call her cousin.
*W*W*W*
The twins were snooping. Of course they knew they probably shouldn't be looking for Nala's phone, but she had been edgy since the night before when she'd snapped at them all over text and decided to stop responding to them and the rest of the hosts, Now, they were just curious as to what it was that had caused her anger, and what better place to start with than her phone?
They never would've found it unless it had started buzzing.
With matching grins, they headed towards the empty, or what they had thought to be empty, box in the back corner of the room, and opened it up. Hikaru reached in and picked up the phone and turned it so the screen was facing him again.
He nearly dropped it when he did so.
The caller ID's name and picture had both him and Kaoru going very still, and for a moment everything stilled for them, even the restless feeling at the back of their minds that was their tiger's seemed to pause for a moment to stare at the picture.
The twins exchanged a glance, before Kaoru nodded, and they returned the phone to the box and slipped as quiet as cats from the back room.
They hadn't expected the the picture of the cousin that Nala and Haruhi both loved so much, and whose virtues Maria extolled. They hadn't expected the blue eyes the color of a stormy ocean, or hair the color of wine. Hair that they could tell from their mother's profession, and being surrounded by models all their lives, was not dyed or touched up. Hair the color of dark, rich blood, and eyes like the sea.
The twins were surprisingly quiet for the rest of the day, a fact that all the hosts picked up on, but for the life of all of them they couldn't tell why.
*W*W*W*W*
Maddy stared at the phone as it rang. Waiting for her cousin to answer, she sighed and hung up when it went to voicemail. Her cheek was throbbing still, and she had turned away all the servants who had come knocking at her door with the excuse of a headache. It was her heart that hurt most though. The scene kept replaying itself in her mind, the coldness of the floor under her, the fury, near hatred in her father's eyes, the crack of his hand against her skin, and the lack of regret he had seemed to hold as he walked away from her.
Her blue eyes strayed across the room, before landing on her jewelry box. It was tucked away on the corner of her dresser, a thin layer of dust covering it, and she shuddered. Standing up slowly, she slipped across the room. Her steps were hesitant, slow, as if she didn't want to get close to it. When she reached it, she reached out a hand and gently ran a finger along the surface. She felt the dust under her index finger, felt the smooth gold plate on the top that was engraved with her name, the cool contrast between it and the smooth wood. Her finger caught on the edge of the gold plating, and with startled jerk, she yanked her hand back as if the box had bitten her, before hastily backing away across the room.
Stop it! I'm better than this. I willna go back to that. I've made it through years withou' it, I can make another day. Especially because it wasn't my fault.
She scowled darkly across the room at her jewelry box, more like pandora's box, and went to her desk by the window. Pulling out her laptop, she sat down to start writing. She let her emotions flow out onto the paper, and for a little while, it was easy to forget what had happened, easy to forge the secrets her house held, easy to forget that scant feet from her, tucked away in a little compartment in a little box, was a little blade that had once been her daily companion. A companion she had fought hard to overcome, and refused to fall back to now. It was a reminder of other times in her life, darker times. Of hands that had touched without asking, and taken without permission. Of too many tears shed alone at night, and the loneliness and heartache of a broken little girl.
And while she was writing, she didn't notice the frantic buzzing of her phone in the background, tossed carelessly under the bed when she had bolted into the room.
A buzzing that if she had answered, would have told her just how deeply her cousin had become involved in another situation. One that Kyoya was desperately trying to save Nala from, and wasn't sure, if for the first time in his life he would be unable to succeed.
**Author's Note**
GUYS HOW WAS THIS!? I needed a filler chapter, and then this kind of happened? My main question however, is did i get Maddy's accent right? I've never had to write an accent before, or an Irish one at that, so if any of you guys have tips or tricks please let me know!
Shout out to...
kaileydraws (Thanks so much for the follow and fave as well!)
killjarkidranger(As always you're review made my day better! I'm so glad you like Nala)
ktmyldy28 (Hehe i'm glad you liked that! It was super nice seeing that you liked a specific line from it enough to comment on it! Also, it's really nice to know I've kept them in character :D)
BabyKatBoo/TroubleChild (Woot woot thanks so much for the review you left when you paused in your reading to review the story, i hope you're still reading and enjoying this since the random review you left!)
czxw (Glad you like it :) personally i agree with you that OHSHC makes it a lot easier to write stories with OC'S than other animes)
SmexyBananas (interesting in a good or bad way?)
If i missed anyone at all you're all beautiful people and *bowing repeatedly* I'll make sure to try to get you next time!