Centre of the Storm

Chapter Seventeen: You Were Using Me

A/N: huge plot twists coming up! This will be a very emotional chapter

I nervously combed my fingers through my hair as I stood in front of the door. I didn't know if I was ready to go back in. I had forgiven Beatrix for what she said, but I was still hurt by it. I knew that she hadn't meant it, of course. But I wanted to tell her about what I had seen earlier.

I took a deep breath, and opened the door. My first reaction to the room was that it was empty. I walked inside without bothering to take off my shoes. Assuming she was in the bathroom, I flopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. I realized I was hungry, so I got up to get an apple.

As I opened the mini-fridge, I realized the light in the bathroom was off, as there was no light peeking under the door. I went over to it, and knocked on it, assuming she had forgotten to turn it on. There was no answer, in fact it was completely silent. So I opened the door. The bathroom was empty.

That was when I felt myself start to panic. Beatrix was gone. I was all alone. Maybe she had gone out looking for me?

My heart pounded in my ears, and I tried to take deep breathes, as vision of her being kidnapped or falling out of the window flashed before my eyes. I was alone. She was somewhere out there, in a huge city.

Then, a buzzing noise startled me. It sounded like it was coming from the bed. I walked over to it, and searched through the blankets for the source of the noise. Then I pulled out Beatrix's burner phone. I saw a number pop up on the screen. I answered the phone and held it to my ear.

"Hello?" I said, praying she'd borrowed someone's phone to call her own.

"Beatrix? Is that you?" a man's voice asked.

Usually, I wouldn't do anything like that, but I was desperate and curious. "It's me. What is it?" I replied, trying to copy her accent and way of speaking. I often did that for fun just to irritate her, so I was already good at it. As I expected, he fell for it.

"Good, you don't sound nearly as resistant as last time. Have you come to your senses?" I clutched the phone in a vice-like grip, not knowing what to say. There was a few seconds of silence.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. "Is she there?"

I knew he meant me. Who else could he be talking about? I also felt as if I recognized his voice, but I didn't know from where.

I hung up. My pulse was racing as I stared at the phone. I had no idea what to think, or feel. Then, the door opened. I looked up.

Beatrix was standing in the doorway. Relief appeared on her face as soon as she saw me. "Damira, oh my God, where have you been? I've been looking for you everywhere!" She hurried towards me, about to hug me. "I came back for my-" She stopped, noticing how I was holding her phone in my hand, and staring at her in shock and confusion, and most of all, mistrust. "-phone," she finished quietly. "What are you doing?"

"Your phone rang," I said. "I picked up." I didn't need to say more than that.

"Right..." she said slowly, stepping away and towards the counter. "Spot of tea?" she asked, gesturing towards our small collection of tea leaves.

"Beatrix."

I can explain," she said.

"Please do."

She sighed, tugging at her necklace absentmindedly. "The man calling was Thomas."

My jaw dropped. "Thomas? As in Thomas from the orphanage?!" She nodded. "Why the hell is he calling you?" I demanded. "How did he find us? What does he want?!"