Interlude [h.s]

fifty-seven

The next day, Alouette feels like she's walking on eggshells.

The door of the spare bedroom is ajar, and Harry doesn't come out for the entire day.

When the early afternoon starts to drift into late afternoon Alouette gets changed and puts on a jacket to go out. She stops as she's walking to the door and goes back to the spare bedroom.

She steps inside, Harry's lying on the bed, his back to the door. Just like the day before. When she nears him, though, she discovers he isn't asleep this time around.

"I'm going out for a while," she tells him, "I'll lock the front door, okay?"

As she walks out of the room she notices the box of cookies on the nightstand, and smiles to herself when she sees he has eaten almost all the chocolate chip cookies inside it. She'll have to get more.

She walks out of the apartment and locks the door. She gets out of the building and walks towards the city centre. She has a job to do this afternoon, and there's no room for her to get it wrong.

The man behind the desk stands up in the instant she walks inside the lawyer's office. "Miss Ivenhart..."

"I have no time to waste," Alouette says, trying to sound as confident as she can. She wonders how Harry does it, even if she knows he doesn't have to try. He knows his own value, and wouldn't let anyone step over him. Differently from him, she has to fake it when it comes to the Revolution. No matter how much she's grown, they're still her family and friends. She feels like she's betraying them, and a part of her wants to kneel and beg for forgiveness. And maybe she will, one day. Just not today.

"We weren't expecting..."

"I know you weren't expecting me to be here today, which is why I'm here."

The secretary lets out a defeated sigh. "I'll tell him to come downstairs, wait a minute." He picks up the phone, and Alouette takes advantage of the moment to glance around and make sure there aren't any hidden surprises anywhere. They've cleaned the mess from yesterday, and it's like nothing happened at all.

It's not long before the representative walks down the stairs, still dressed as elegantly as yesterday, but this time around he's alone.

"Miss Ivenhart!" He greets her cheerfully, as if nothing happened between them. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

She gives him a little smile. "But I'm sure you have talked to Ezra about my request, haven't you?"

He lets out a sigh when he realises he won't be able to divert the conversation. "He was made aware of the situation, of course. He's open to giving you a call, if you'd like to schedule an appointment and leave a phone number."

Alouette shakes her head. "Call him now."

The representative falters. "Miss Ivenhart, I don't think—"

"Call him right now, with your phone." She isn't foolish enough to believe setting up a date wouldn't make her end up into some sort of trap, and she has no time to waste with their games. She crosses her arms when he doesn't move. "I don't have the whole day."

He looks like he's about to complain, but then changes his mind. He takes out his phone, and then tells the secretary to leave. The door is locked, and he makes the call.

The phone rings one, two, three times. Someone else would fear Ezra won't reply, but she knows him and his daily routine. He's certainly in his office at this time of the day, which means he will.

As she expects, the call is picked up. "What is it?" he asks gruffly. It's clear she's created way too many problems for him in the past, but Alouette doesn't feel bad. After all, they're in this situation because he chose her to carry out his absurd plan.