TRAPPED

14

Celine

"Celine." My father whispers.

     "Hm?" I mumble, keeping my eyes closed.

     "I have to go somewhere. Mateo and Julien are here to take care of you and the twins." He says.

     "I don't.. need a babysitter. My mum lets me stay by myself all the time and I'm fine." I grumble.

"Well, I'm not your mother." He says. "Your brothers will come check on you, but if you need anything then you can message either one of them. Okay?"

"Mhm."

"Alright. Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye." I grumble, wrapping my arms around my pillow and falling back asleep.

•

I wake up again to the sound of people shouting. I groan tiredly as I cover my ears with the pillow.

     They don't shut up, so I shout, my voice foggy: "be quiet!"

     The silence follows almost immediately. I let out a small breath of relief, fighting the urge to go find a cliff and jump off it when I hear the door open. I pull the pillow away from me and look over to Mateo, who's standing by the door.

     "Hey, sorry for shouting." He says. "Julien was getting on my nerves." He adds with a small laugh. His face returns serious. Concerned. "Do you need anything?"

     "No."

     "Did you just wake up?"

     "Yes."

     "Oh, okay. Are you gonna stay awake or go back to sleep?" He asks.

     "I'm going back to sleep." I grumble.

     "Maybe you should eat first." He suggests. "I can make you breakfast."

     "I'm not hungry."

     "Are you sure?" He asks.

     "Yes. Goodbye."

     He frowns. "You need to eat."

     "I'm not hungry. I said that."

     His frown deepens. "Okay." He says. "I'll come check on you in an hour or so, and I'll bring food."

     I lay back down, face flat on the pillow, and I hear him sigh softly before leaving.

Adrien

"And Celine told me her mother let her stay home all the time, alone." I add.

     "And how old is she?" My lawyer questions.

     "Thirteen."

     "Okay. And she wasn't sleeping on a proper bed?"

     "No. Camilo and Léo said her bed was an air mattress." I add, wracking my brain for anything I can use against my ex wife in court when I fight her for custody of Celine. "And she said she spent the money I gave her for Celine on herself."

     "On what type of stuff?"

     "I don't know. She wouldn't tell me. She said it's none of my business."

     "Okay. And do you know who Celine wants to stay with?" He asks me.

     I frown. Anyone but me. "Her mother, probably. But I don't want her there. I don't trust her, and when our daughter was in hospital it took her until the next day to reply to my messages."