Choices: Part 1

Chapter 16

Back inside, Ominis is back sitting at the table alone. Sebastian goes immediately to Anne's room without a word as I take a seat next to Ominis.

"How is he?" Ominis asks. I take a quick glance over my shoulder to make sure Sebastian hasn't returned.

"I don't know." I whisper. "But I think he's hiding something."

"What makes you think that?" Ominis asks.

In a hushed tone, I quickly tell Ominis about our conversation. His face looking more worried by the second. When I reach to the point with Sebastian's expression when I told him to not take things too far, Ominis sits straighter, his milky eyes darting over my shoulder.

"Anne was right." Ominis lets out of breath, shaking his head as if disappointed. "We have to do something."

"Like what?" I ask.

"I don't know." Ominis' brows furrow together. "He won't be doing much while he's here so we have until break is over to figure it out."

"Fantastic." I mumble.

Sebastian comes in moments later, looking defeated, his head hanging low. He mumbles something about getting tea and starts working on it at the fireplace.

"How's Ann?" I ask, timidly.

"She's resting. My Uncle has gone to the local shop to get some remedies to ease her pain." Sebastian says in a deadpan voice.

I try to sound hopeful and force a smile. "Well that's good."

An awkward silence hangs in the air when Sebastian doesn't respond. I try to think of any conversation starters to help ease the tension, but nothing comes to mind. Sebastian stands by the fire, his back to us, as he waits for the water boil. I twiddle my thumbs under the table, feeling more anxious by the minute. This is not how I imagined Christmas break to start off. I look around the room for something to do when a photo in a nearby cabinet catches my eye. I get up to get a closer look. It is of a rather attractive young couple. The woman, smiling sweetly up at me, has gorgeous long auburn hair, freckles all over her face, and bright green eyes. She is curvy, appearing to be pregnant. I can see the baby bump underneath her waist high skirt. The man, who I realize has the same smile as Sebastian, has messy dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He is tall, taller than the woman, with high cheekbones and a wide nose. He is lean but fit looking dashing in his three-piece suit. He is holding the woman in a loving embrace, stealing kisses and resting his face on top of her head.

"My parents." Sebastian mutters behind me.

Sebastian is standing behind me, his eyes looking sad as he stares at the photograph, holding out a cup of tea towards me. I take it and look back down at the photograph.

"How did they die?" I ask.

"They were professors. Would spend hours in the basement researching, obsessed really. But one night Anne and I were upstairs playing when we heard a crash and ran downstairs to find them crumbled on the floor." Sebastian explains. "The lamp they had down there was defected, it filled the room with an undetectable toxin. There was nothing we could do."

"How horrible." I say.

I pull my eyes away from the photo to look at Sebastian. He just nods and walks back to sit at the table with Ominis. I take one last look at the photograph. It gives me an eerie feeling, knowing these people who are waving and smiling up at me would die just a few years later after this photo was taken. Because of a simple lamp of all things. I shake this foreboding feeling and join them at the table to finish my tea.

By evening, Sebastian's mood has lightened up. Anne has joined us for dinner, apologizing profusely for earlier. We quickly dismiss it, understanding this isn't something she can help. His uncle returns to his stony silence as he cooks the stew that will be served for dinner. His back faces us as he bends over the fire, stirring the contents instead the huge cauldron. I am sitting in between Anne and Sebastian, Ominis on Anne's other side. Anne, who gets cold quite easily, sits bundled up in a fluffy robe. She holds her tea in both hands, close to her, as if to absorb as much of the warmth as she possibly can. The conversation is focused on what Anne has missed so far at Hogwarts. It is obvious she terribly misses it.