CHAPTER 44 - TOBIAS
I shut their front door behind me quickly to escape the feeling of suffocation. How can Beatrice be surrounded so closely by others? For a while, I have known that I am claustrophobic. And everywhere I go, I always pick out the little details that lead me to feeling trapped, contained, restrained. Only Beatrice can help me calm down; she just doesn't know it. I plop down on the second step of the patio steps and drop my head in my hands, focusing on my breathing. In. Out. In. Out.
The door opens behind me and someone steps outside. It isn't Beatrice or Mrs. Prior; their footsteps are light and you almost can't hear them walking. These footsteps are heavier and drag more. It's Mr. Prior. I don't know why I care to remember how he walks. Mr. Prior sits down on the step with me at a respectful distance and releases a breath. We're silent.
"Beatrice won't tell us what happened completely. She tells us pieces of the incident, but is leaving out major parts of the crime. For instance, she isn't telling us who tested the simulations on her. She just starts breathing really fast and keeps shaking her head," Mr. Prior says quietly. He stares at a tree in the front yard, golden leaves swirling to the ground.
I'm not surprised that Beatrice hasn't told her parents the entire truth. It would shatter her parents if they knew who was testing those illegal drugs on her. I pick my head up and look at Mr. Prior. His dull eyes are looking straight into me, making me feel cold.
"Beatrice trusts you more than anyone else she has ever met. She must have told you who did this to her. I want to know who it was Tobias." Mr. Prior's voice is insistent and hard like rocks. I want to tell him who did this, but it isn't my place to tell him.
"I'm sorry sir. Beatrice did tell me who, but I will let her explain what happened on her own. Besides, I only know that she was kept in a basement in Chicago and that I got her out with the help of three others on a mini team." Mr. Prior gives me a serious expression before picking at his cuticles nervously.
"Do you love her?" he asks quietly. The question takes me by surprise. Do I love Beatrice? I have loved her since the day we met. I have admired her for who she is inside instead of outside, envying how easy it is for her to be so selfless and kind.
"Yes."
Mr. Prior smiles a little. It's probably the first time he has even shown any emotion other than depression or stiffness in the past month. He had his daughter taken away from him, twice, only for her to return once. Her heart lies somewhere far out of his reach, gone forever. He has to watch his daughter grow up and fall in love with another heart. Mine.
Mr. Prior stands up, offering his hand to me. I accept it and pull myself up easily. He's stronger than I anticipated. Mr. Prior faces me and sighs.
"I will never be able to thank you enough for what you have done for my family and Beatrice herself. You helped bring our daughter back home to us in one piece. You are like a son to us now. Whenever you need anything, just ask." I shake my head at him.
"I can't be like a son to you. I… I will never be."
Mr. Prior puts his hand on my shoulder, making me look into his eyes.
"Tobias, you have been like a son to me since you and Beatrice met two years ago. And no matter what, I will never call you anything any different." He sighs. "I give you my blessings to be with my daughter. As long as you treat her well like she would treat a flower."