Accolade

chapitre dix

I stared out the car window. 

It seems as though the excitement I had for the day was drained, just as the thoughts in my head. In all honesty, it was rather unfair how people could ruin someone else's entire day. I suppose that was the catch. If there was fame, there was pain. 

Neither Auden or River spoke on the drive back to my apartment. I found no joy in the beast of a car that took us home. I couldn't even find enough energy in myself to lift my head from the headrest. I felt listless. It was one of those moments when I knew I wasn't myself, but I had no idea how to fix it. 

I didn't realize that I had never let go of River's suit jacket until he parked his car, and I went to unbuckle myself. I had to force my fingers to release the fabric. It even faintly smelt like him. I held it out to him across the console, and he slowly took it. There was a question in his eyes but I glanced away and opened the door. 

It felt impossible to walk as if weights had been shackled to my ankles, but I managed. I heard a car door open and close behind me and then footsteps followed. Auden stood beside me as I waited for the elevator. I sent him a glance when River hadn't joined us. 

"He'll come up in a bit," Auden said, trying to sound reassuring. 

I didn't give it a second thought. Perhaps River had an important phone call and he needed absolute privacy, I would never know. Auden let me lead the way back to my apartment door, and he was quiet without so much as a sound in his step. I felt tension between us. 

I didn't realize how much worse it was about to get. 

Not until I opened my apartment door, and the first thing I saw was Warren. 

He was seated on the couch, a deep frown etched across his features. His dark eyes cut to me the moment I stepped inside, and I suddenly felt a cool feeling wash over me. One of the ones where you knew something was about to happen. 

Auden slowly closed the door. Warren glared at him.

If possible, tensions rose. 

"You shouldn't have taken her," Warren said dangerously low. He had stood and walked several steps closer, a challenge in each movement. It reminded me of the first time he had left, and Auden told him off when he returned. Was this the same thing? 

"Excuse me?" Auden snapped. The amount of anger in his tone had my attention. He was pissed. I hadn't seen him truly angry, and somehow I could have never imagined it. He was barely staying calm.  

Where was River? 

"She shouldn't have left," Warren repeated without a flinch. His jaw tightened until I was sure the muscle would snap in half. "It was a stupid idea." 

Auden inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly before he spoke. "Pray tell... what would you have done then? Trapped her in here? Huh, tough guy?"

"Yes. This is the safest place for her." 

"That's not true. They're just people out there, not murderers--"

"People will hurt her."

"You are hurting her."

His lungs stopped breathing and his dark eyes cut to me in the next heartbeat. Warren cracked then. I saw beneath the facade he held. I saw the raw, unfiltered emotion. I saw the pain in the depths of his soul, and I watched him struggle to swallow. It happened in an entire second, and then his eyes cut to Auden with sustained anger. 

"You know what," Warren snarled, "I'm sick of you acting like you can fix everything. You're not a fucking miracle worker."

"At least I'm trying to do something! I've been trying to make things easier ever since I got here, and I have to keep your moody ass away from her! You ruin things!"