Digging into his jacket, Anton retrieved a handkerchief and handed it to Lottie. “There’s a little bit of a trail there,” he added, pointing to the ground. “I hope nothing is ruined inside your bag.”
“Thanks,” she mumbled as she wiped at the bottom of her bag while still rummaging from the top and finally retrieving the remains of an energy drink. “This is what happens when you are running late for class,” she sighed as she moped at the inside. “I don’t think there’s too much damage, thankfully my phone and wallet were in another pocket.”
Rosaline was easy to spot since one of her cousins had attached the string of a bright pink helium balloon to her wrist which said ‘Birthday Grrrl’ and a flashing badge which flashed ‘Talk nerdy to me’ in alternating colours of the rainbow to the front of her dress. “Hiiii!” She exclaimed excitedly as she extracted herself from a hug and wrapped her arms around the newest person. “Thank you so much for coming!”
“I said I would come so ta-da, here I am,” Lottie laughed as she handed over a Star Wars gift bag containing a bottle of tequila. “Is talking nerdy to you all night a requirement because you know I’m way too sophisticated for that!”
He could see it her eyes, the very moment those same walls
Lottie had raised crumbled into nothing. She seemed to curl into herself without
moving, appearing smaller, younger. And Valentine might have felt pity, years
ago, when he was a younger man.
“Yeah.” He nodded in agreement when she turned away, “That’s
a good girl.”
She rolled her eyes at the reflection in the mirror though the words of praise filled her with a warmth she rarely felt. As he drove her head gradually turned back round until she could watch him from the corner of her eye. The streets grew nearer to her home and it was still disconcerting when she considered the fact he had her address memorised along with goodness knows what else. “You can drop me here thanks,” she blurted out as he stopped at a red light and the sudden thought that her neighbours would see her being brought home by the Watch commander.
Rosaline: Woo! Be good to see you =)
Rosaline: First round of shots is on me, lets see how you feel after that!
Lottie: Of course it will. Here’s hoping this one is a bit less exciting than the last party too.
Lottie: I think it will take a few rounds before I feel anything else.
Valentine’s smile was a brief look in the rear view mirror as
he adjusted it slightly.
“Can’t I?” A gruff chuckle left the Commander, as Lottie
counted off reason after reason building a wall of safety to secure her own
comforts. “And what exactly would CCTV show, Charlotte?” He asked driving the
car into a pause at the red light, Valentine tossed on hand over the back of
her seat and turned to fix the girl with a stare. “You walking into my car all
by yourself? Do you really want your Lord to find about that footage? ” His
brow arched with the question. “Because it doesn’t put you in a favorable position
to be in.”
For a moment she truly thought she had the upper hand but as he unravelled each point she made, especially the thought of Oz seeing the CCTV footage, she realised just how easy she had made it for him. Staring back at him for a moment she shrank a fraction in her seat. “No Sir,” she suddenly replied quietly and turning her head away from him to look out the passenger window.
In lieu of answering Valentine slammed the door in the girl’s
face, circling the car to get in his seat. The Commander folded the glasses off
his face and tossed the pair on the dashboard, leaning over the girl to reach
for her seat belt and force it in place.
“I don’t actually.” Valentine answered looking up once the click. You had to start cutting off
fingers to get results and he, for one, was the kind of man that would always
reach for the knife when he needed to. “I expect you to be difficult until you
get smart. Question is, how far are you going to force my hand until you get
smart?” Valentine pushed Lottie’s address in the GPS driving off the sidewalk.
Slamming the door in her face was one thing but when he leaned over and fastened her belt her heart began to speed up as her mind raced over where this was going. On edge Lottie watched his every move, his words taking longer to sink in as she realised he had put her address in his GPS, her address that he clearly already knew from memory.
“You can’t actually do anything to me,” she said brazenly after a moment, a slight waver to her voice. “Half my class saw you talking to me, there’s CCTV of you forcing me into your car. If I wanted to I could have you charged with kidnapping because I quite clearly am not coming with you by my own free will and…and you have my address memorised and in your car’s system.” Quite what she was trying to get at she had no idea beyond making it clear she knew, or at least doubted he could seriously hurt her.
Rosaline: Hey!! Come and help me celebrate being a year older! Saturday, 8pm til late.
Rosaline: I’m banned from the karaoke machine at Lo Scoglio due to too many high scores so we’re hitting Il Pesante instead.
Rosaline: Hope to see you there =) ❤
Lottie: Of course I'll be there.
Lottie: But I am not getting on the karaoke machine – not when you are around!
“They probably already know.” She watched the flashing lights reflecting off the building as the authorities worked to restore order. “It might have been. I couldn’t tell. To be honest, it all happened so quickly.”
“It did all happen very fast. I was about to go and get another drink and then wham!” Lottie turned surveying the sight, “At least there doesn’t seem to be anyone else coming out so hopefully that means everyone s already clear.” She had just spotted Jim who had helped her out of the building. “I think I will head home and have a long bath, get rid of this smokey smell. You should really get yourself checked out by the paramedics.”
Valentine watched the rather elaborate eye roll the
submissive gave him, looks like that that weren’t hidden usually meant she was
well aware of the consequences. His hand landed on the nape of her neck. A
friendly gesture if it wasn’t for the tightness of Val’s grip.
“Follow me.” He led her to the car, holding the front door
open with an expectant look. “I’m guessing by the looks you are giving me you’ve
nothing to tell me.”
Lottie shivered as his hand gripped her neck, annoyed at herself for the way her stomach flipped at the firm touch. She had to close her eyes for a second and take a deep breath to remind herself that this was not a good thing.
She hesitated only for a split second at the instruction. After all she had no doubt he would either just arrest her again as appeared to be his trademark or, and she hated to even consider it was a possibility, he might actually go to the dean. Lottie slid into the seat, her body tensing at the remark before she was back to full attitude. “You don’t honestly expect me to rat out the Montagues? I’d be signing my own death warrant,” she exclaimed, her expression cocky but her eyes betrayed a hint of the fear she felt every time she considered the consequences.
Lottie's wild adventure 