Soundtrack for this chapter:

Pieces by Andrew Belle

You and me got ourselves a problem

I can see this better than I solve 'em

I believed I found a way around it

I will leave this better than I found it

Chapter 13:

Why on earth was Victoria Best sitting across from her?

Becky had been preparing herself for days over the interview with Tamara Anderson. Certainly not the intimidating looking previous classmate of hers with her legs crossed and arms dangling on the arm rests as if it was her throne. Her nerves were beginning to fire off in her brain.

"Good evening, Becky Botsford. Surely you remember me? By the confused look on your face, I assume your boss did not prepare you in advance for my presence."

Becky's head snapped towards Tobey out of pure confusion. She KNEW as kids Victoria and Tobey hated each other. They fought constantly and not in the fun, rivalry kind of way. They couldn't stand one another. There's no way he would willingly bring her here to do Becky's interview would her?

Before she could even consider questioning him, he narrowed his eyes at Victoria and shook his head, "I was not informed you were to be the one interviewing Mrs. Botsford today. I was told that…"

"Well then our manager's mistake. Miscommunication then. No harm no foul. Sit, Becks, sit."

Every warning sign was going off in her mind. Victoria hadn't liked Becky either, considering her competition in everything school related, and even beyond. There was no way Victoria was going to write a good story. She was better off just exiting the room right then and there.

Becky sat down instead.

In her peripheral vision, a bright red light flashed on. Becky swallowed harder than she had intended.

"So, Becky. You've done a few interviews, so I'm not here to insult your intelligence by asking the typical questions. Let's just jump into the stuff the city is dying to hear," Victoria began, her voice cutting hard and clear through the room, piercing Becky to her core. "Tell me a little more about volunteering on behalf of your father."

It wasn't that her heart got any faster at that point; it just got louder in her eyes. Like someone had adjusted the volume up a few decibels. Just enough to distract her from her own thought process. It wasn't that she didn't expect a question like that, she did, but she didn't expect it right off the bat. Usually, as was courtesy in interviews, to warm the subject up and get them comfortable in the space before throwing the difficult stuff at them. Victoria was certainly unconventional, or she was trying to rile Becky up on purpose.

"Um, well, my father is very ill and would not have been able to come here…on his own," Becky tried to regain composure, "I was afraid for his safety…"

"Your family was dealing with a lot of debt, is that correct?" Victoria interrupted, not allowing her to finish.

Becky frowned and blinked a few times out of confusion. What was the angle here? Why was this the line of questioning? Becky was used to avoiding politics and the games politicians and the media played when she was Wordgirl at any cost. She didn't even know how to answer.

It didn't help that her pulse was in fact beginning to speed up. Why was this stroking her anxiety so much?

She could feel Tobey's eyes boring into the side of her head. Probably with a smirk on his face; mocking her for doing so bad. Knowing him, despite his dislike for Victoria, was probably enjoying her embarrassment. Well, she didn't plan on giving him the satisfaction. She refused to turn her head away from the interview.

"Well, times have been tough. For everyone, not just our family," Becky began, trying to focus herself and take back control of the interview. It was just a couple of questions; she could handle it.

"I heard you were the one bringing in the money this past year. Is that true? If so, how do you think they are faring now with you away?"

The words hit her like a ton of bricks. A freight train colliding with a wall.

How was that something she hadn't even CONSIDERED? That her family would suffer without her? How were they even doing? Every fear she had been thinking since the moment she stepped into that building just flooded over her, drowning her in the guilt she had been trying to repress. She had done the right thing, hadn't she? She was keeping her dad safe.

But what if she had only doomed them all to a different fate?

NOW the anxiety was setting in.

Any sense of control Becky had been trying to regain was lost out the window. Her breathing was becoming more shallow as well as her hands beginning to shake.

"Well…"

"Do you miss them?"

"If I could finish…"

"Are you at all concerned about your father's condition?"

Before she could even realize what was going on, Becky could feel her feet stumbling over the chair behind her as she fled from the room. The pain in her shin echoed through her body after banging it into the corner of the door on her way out.

What difference did it really make though? She just fled an interview after floundering her words the whole time.

A disaster to say the least.

As she ran through the mansion in an attempt to get away from the chaos she left behind her, her emotions were in complete disarray.

Anger at Victoria for trying to manipulate her into being emotional. Well congrats, that worked well. Guilt over leaving her family behind. Sadness over being away from them and unable to help. Pain over the overwhelming helplessness that she was sinking in.

There was no winning. She came here to save her father's life, but had she doomed him instead? Was there anything she could actually do if she was stuck there for YEARS?

Moving through the kitchen was the only way she knew she could possibly escape. She just needed time to think. Away from anyone. Away from the place that was haunting her. She ran past Chuck, ran past the other cooks, who turned their heads as someone 21 year old in a nice outfit sprinted past them. Becky didn't meet eyes with anyone as she kept her gaze fixed on the door to the yard.

She slammed it open directly out into the storm.

The cool rain pounded against her arm, but that didn't stop her from sprinting as non-humanly as she could across the field before she realized her feet were sinking into the ground. Becky could hear footsteps behind her, with Tobey's voice following her.

The black wall came up faster than she expected, causing her to freeze in place. Unsure of where to go from there. Nowhere really to go from there.

Her breathing was as heavy as the rain hitting her shoulders, and a tiny white cloud appeared everytime she exhaled.

"Becky!" She could hear Tobey call from behind her. Why he had chosen to chase her through the rain was beyond her. It wasn't like he gave a shit.

"What?" Becky snapped as she spun around, her voice more desperate than angry. Her hair was beginning to stick to her neck the more soaked it got.

Tobey was standing about 20 feet away from her and looked extremely hesitant to approach her even further. As if she was a rabid animal about to attack.

"You shouldn't be out here like this. You're going to get sick," he informed her, gesturing back to the mansion.

"I'm not going back in there. That was humiliating," She jabbed her finger in the same direction. She could feel the anger burning inside her chest, threatening to erupt out of her. And she wasn't sure she wanted to stop it.

"Look, that wasn't ideal…"

"IDEAL? None of this is ideal, Tobey! None of it! What are you asking me to do? I can't do this."

Becky wanted to be more angry with him. She wanted to chew him out, so scream, to yell. She had more to say. But she couldn't say any of it. The red hot anger wasn't there. All she felt was a cold and hopeless pain circulating through her body.

"I know it's not ideal."

The tone of his voice gave away the gentleness she knew he was trying to hide. It was almost a shock to hear, something she thought she might have never heard again. Shifting her eyes to his face; he wasn't meeting her gaze then. He looked deep in his own thoughts.

He continued on, "I didn't mean for any of that to happen in there."

Becky couldn't help but scoff, "You don't care so don't stand there and act like you do."

She noticed how he almost responded but chose to recede back into himself. Good. She was winning the conversation. "I don't want to do this anymore. I'm not your show monkey. You don't get to continue to control me like this."

"Then do it to spite me."

Becky narrowed her eyes, confused but not backing down, "That's not how that works…"

"I'll make you a deal," Tobey interrupted, placing his hands behind his back and taking a step in her direction. The shift in his demeanor was sudden and drastic and Becky was a little confused as to exactly what he was about to say to her as he took two more steps towards her. "For every person you get to volunteer, I'll take a month off of your service."

The silence that followed his statement echoed across the field. Almost as if someone had cranked the sound of the rain fall up to 100%, she couldn't even hear her own breathing. Words were escaping her.

"Liar. You're lying," Becky breathed out, lacking in its usual malice.

"Think about it. You already got a couple people here already. Who knows how much time you could knock off the better you sell the place."

As he was circling her, almost whispering the offer like Ursula would in the Little Mermaid, Becky realized he was attempting to manipulate her. Almost taunt her into continuing to publicize the factory. Basically dare her to spite him, to go against him.

And yet…that didn't bother her. After dealing with such a foreign Tobey for so long and only seeing cracks in the facade, this Tobey was something she could handle. Deal with. It brought back an overwhelming sense of familiarity she had missed. She met his gaze, a hint of scheming lurking beneath the face he was putting on. Her heart stopped for a second as he walked around her. Her muscles tensed as she could feel the air off his body, it was so close to hers.

Shaking off the unwanted feeling, she finally asked, "Each person? A whole month?"

"Every single one." He basically whispered into her left ear as he stepped around her and back directly in front of her.

A sense of quiet filled the space around them again, but this time it wasn't an unsure quiet. This time it was a taunting quiet. Daring her to speak. Tempting her to accept a deal with the devil. Because that's what it was. Tobey was a villain after all. She was selling her soul for eventual happiness.

At least, that should have been her viewpoint.

"I'm only doing this to get out."

Tobey gave her an ever so slight nod out of understanding, "Understood." Becky could see the corners of his mouth threatening to turn into a smirk at her expense.

Regardless of his status as the devil, Becky wasn't going to let him have the last laugh. She was in control. And she knew exactly how to take the power back.

She took a few steps in his direction almost as if she was about to head inside, but stopped directly to his left. Her face inches from his when she turned her head. She was hoping to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"I am extremely aware of you trying to manipulate me. And while you may think you've won, this isn't for you or your factory. This is for me," Becky informed him with a tone of utmost calm and control.

With her head held high, she strode right through the pouring rain back into the manor, leaving Tobey behind her hopefully in a confused and shocked stupor.