Page 31 of The Castle (Endgame 3)
“Can you please bring another cup of broth?”
Mrs. B gives Penny one last long glance before bustling from the room. There’s something in that gaze I can’t quite decipher. Pity. Compassion. And maybe also accusation?
That doesn’t make sense.
I climb onto the tall bed, tugging the sheet away from Penny’s grip. “Why do you fight her? She wants to help you. Like me. We only want to help you.”
No answer. At least she lets me pull the sweaty sheet from her body. One of my nightgowns hangs loosely on her body, no curves or solidity left to give it shape. Her bruises have healed, the ones with fingerprints that revealed what was done to her in startling horror.
Most people would rather be dead. That’s what Gabriel said, and I’m not sure he’s wrong.
“One cup of broth,” I say, softening. “Then you can rest.”
She doesn’t answer, but I can tell by her silence that she accepts. I’ve come to read the subtle shifts in her body language, so maybe it isn’t only that she’s comfortable with me. I’m comfortable with her. After having my father lie to me, after wondering whether Gabriel told me the truth, it’s a relief to have someone I can read. There aren’t any words or artifice to fool me. Only herself, raw and pained and hopelessly lost.
Mrs. B returns with the broth, sighing once at Penny before leaving us alone. The dishes are a perfectly white porcelain with a green ivy inlay. Probably something priceless and unique, the poor broken teacup that met its demise earlier never to be replaced.
I scoot closer on the bed. “Ready?”
A shake of her head.
My lips curve in a smile. “It smells delicious. She’s a little loose with the salt shaker, not that I’m complaining. And once you get a little stronger, she has a hollandaise sauce that’s ridiculous.”
A scrunch of her nose.
“Not a fan of hollandaise? I don’t know…this one might change your mind.” I dip the spoon into the dark liquid, stirring gently before lifting a spoonful. I blow across the top, sending ripples through the nutritious broth.
Penny only eats liquids—tea, broth.
The occasional cup of pudding. It reminds me of taking care of my father after he was beaten.
I’m not sure I could have left him to die, even knowing he left my mother to fend for herself, even knowing he sold me to Gabriel Miller, but I’m relieved that I don’t have to worry about it anymore. He’s in the best nursing home money can buy. It’s more than he deserves.
I hold the spoon to her lips.
She gently drinks the liquid from the spoon, reminding me of a baby bird. Her lower lip is cracked, and I make a mental note to ask for Chap Stick. If we have to be trapped in a castle, at least it’s a well-equipped one. Whatever I can think of, I only ask and it appears the next day.
Penny drinks another six spoonfuls without any fuss.
Once we reach the bottom of the cup, she turns her face away.
I suppress a sigh, understanding the frustration on Mrs. B’s face. How can a body survive on so little food? The alternative is like torture to a girl who can’t stand to be touched. How far should we go to keep her alive? How far would she want us to go?
Setting the cup down, I smooth her hair back. “I’m going to go for a walk. Don’t get excited, just inside the house. Gabriel’s still paranoid about the outside world. Only when he’s here, even with all that security. What does he think is going to happen, hmm? A military air strike over Tanglewood?”
A blank stare at the wall. Still nothing.
I use the silence to text Harper, more somber than last time.
Are you around?
She texts back twenty minutes later. Just got out of class. What’s up?
I’m kind of freaked out about something.
Should I call you?
No, it will be harder to say it out loud. And besides I don’t want anyone to hear what I’m saying. What if one of the guards overhears my conversation and tells Gabriel? They work for him, not me. I can’t forget that.
Harper’s reply pings my phone. Are you pregnant?
What??? No.
STD?
Good Lord. No.
Cheated on Gabriel with the sexy pool boy?
Okay, I’m going to stop you right there.
Tell me, already.
I took a deep breath and typed out a long message. I’ve been having these dreams. Weird dreams where I hear voices. Except sometimes the voices seem…real.
Three little dots appear. Then disappear. Then appear again, as if Harper starts saying something and then deleted it. In the end all she says is, Keep typing.
There’s a man’s voice. He’s a little bit threatening.
He threatens you?
No. I mean not really. It’s more like I feel threatened when I hear him.
Is it Gabriel?
At first I thought it might be, but no. It’s not him.
