Torn and Restored

Chapter 5 - Two of Clubs

  The clouds had cleared and the sun promised a long bright day ahead. It was just about six in the morning when Will rolled out of the bed. Taking his shirt off, he placed it on the chair. He looked down his window at the quiescent street. There was no sign of people yet. A cool breeze wafted in, soothing him. He wanted to leave everything behind and stay at that moment.

Olivia had tossed and turned, sleepless, the entire night. Will had given her a huge opportunity to win his trust. But, in return, she'd just made things even worse between them. She was scared that Will would send her off and hire a better girl. It shook her. She managed to get herself out of bed. She pulled on her dark blue superman tee and faded blue shorts. She had to pull the sleeves over her fingers to keep herself from shivering. She shut her window and left to check if there was anyone awake.

For several years it had only been Will and Ernest living in the mansion. Tarquin had joined them when he began doing street magic with Will. Olivia was the last member of their small family. All of them had separate rooms but they still tried to have some quality time together. They had just one show every week and barring their practice sessions Will allowed them to leave the mansion to spend their time.

Olivia came out of her room and saw Tarquin's room shut. She thought about knocking but decided against it and left. She walked across the hall and past the corridor only to find the mirror holding Will's room shut too.

"Damn. All are asleep", she thought to herself.

She came all her way back to the hall. She had just encountered the worst day of her life and now she was left all to herself to deal with it. She didn't know if it was fear or guilt that was burning her from within. She had tried her best to control the crowd and keep the show going. But Will had left immediately after the mishap leaving them with no other choice but to stop the show. It was then that the crowd lost it. She felt that the mob got angry because they didn't get to see the last trick. Believing that made her feel better.

She made her way to the kitchen to find something to eat. She'd just entered the kitchen and saw a figure sitting beside the dining table. She jumped.

"Jeez, It's you", she managed.

"I was hungry", Tarquin replied defensively.

"I thought you were still asleep. Your room was locked."

"No", he said reading the contents of the cereal box he was holding in his hands.

"Ohh...Shall I warm some milk for breakfast", she asked as she grabbed the carton of milk from the refrigerator.

"Yes, please", he grinned.

Just as she lit the stove Will entered the room. He looked gloomy as usual and his black sweatshirt seldom lifted the mood. He sat quietly and rested his face in his palms. Olivia brought the milk and took her place near Tarquin. She was a little too scared to sit near Will.

They had a relatively silent breakfast. None of them talked but for few instances where they needed something. Tarquin kept on reading the cereal box as if it were something really alluring. Olivia decided to break the silence," Why hasn't Ernie showed up yet?"

"He said he had some really important work to do. I thought he might come in the morning", Will replied.

Olivia nodded in return and just before she could control her own words she asked," What were you thinking when you allowed that guy to shoot at the show."

After a genuine pause," Yeah, that was a really bad mistake. It is just about the time that I learnt not to give people tasks that cannot be handled by them", Will said, pointedly at Olivia.

His words hit her like shards of glass. Even Tarquin, who showed no interest in their conversation, took his eyes off the box to look up.

"I don't think that answers my question", she stuttered. Her voice clearly indicated that she was hurt.

"I had him under check the whole time. In fact, my decision made the trick more appealing. Did you hear how crazy the people went after the trick? I gave you just one job...one job and you mess that up", Will spat.

Tarquin spoke in her defence," Will, what has happened to you? She did not do anything on purpose. She's been with us for this long and is this how you treat her?"

Will knew deep within that he was right. But he just couldn't admit it. He had to blame someone. He needed to show all his anger on someone.

Olivia smirked," Your throw wasn't that great either."

Will stood up fuming," That's it. If you speak another word---

"Stop it", a bold voice echoed across the room.

At the door stood Ernest, who had just returned home and came straight to the kitchen hearing the noises.

"I thought you guys were more mature than this. This is when you need yourselves more than ever", Ernest said as he threw a local newspaper on the dining table.

Tarquin took the paper and read the news that Ernest pointed.

'Famous magic show in the country gone astray', it read.

Everyone in the room began looking at each other's faces. Just as Tarquin began reading the entire article, Ernest said," You may face any number of problems in your career but never ever let them affect your personal life."

He kept on talking but Will blocked him out. Finally, he spoke," I won't perform hereafter. That's it. It's over, Ernie."

All three stared disbelievingly at Will who stomped out of the room.

"This guy never changes", Ernest declared as he sat down.

They weren't the only confused people in town. Under much more stress was Kane who was still awaiting a call from the man who had hired him. He knew that the man wasn't working alone. It was a guess but he'd had a really strong feeling about it since the time he got the call. He was mostly hired to murder people. He got a lot of pay for it but it wasn't just the riches he loved. The mere thrill was like a drug to him. He had been reluctant to accept this task as first. It seemed relatively easy. But something told him that the people behind this were influential and that it wouldn't do him any good if he turned down the offer. So he took it. But the last day's events were unexpected. His job had been simple. He only had to get the secret of the trick they had asked but he had failed. Just as he began thinking of what to do next, his phone rang.