𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 | 𝐠𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐩 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥

𝟏𝟒 | 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧

[ 𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 ]

Scarlett was tired. Tired of sitting in a room and listening to her mother talk. Tired of only being able to glance at whatever delicacies had been sent over from Europe. Tired of the still glass of water she'd been staring at for near enough an hour. Tired of Nate Archibald's eyes burning into her skull.

The brunette hardly heard Caroline notify them that the two business men were finished and the dining room had been prepared — only when her mother quietly hissed demands at her was her attention caught. The four were called to join Mr Convel and The Captain in the dining room, where they'd apparently already migrated to. Eli and Greyson were there already — and truly, Scarlett didn't know which fate was worse, a family dinner, or to sit and watch her mother and Anne Archibald chat about whatever nonsensical, jaded gossip they had to discuss.

On the way in Nate had tried to drag Scarlett aside — a certain desperation that hadn't dissipated since it appeared days prior. Not that he got the chance as they were rushed to their seats. Greyson and Genevieve took the spots beside the head where Scarlett's father was seated — Scarlett shot Greyson a look, that was her seat. He shrugged helplessly as she was pushed into the seat beside him, Nate beside her.

The Captain was sat at the other end of the table opposite Mr Convel. Eli was opposite Scarlett, Anne opposite Nate and beside her husband. Usually they would be seated in the guest dining room when they had company, as it's much less intimate — which begged the question, what were they discussing in that office?

As dinner commenced, the conversation had picked up, but Scarlett was staring down at the plate in front of her. A full plate, but nothing seemed even slightly palatable. She didn't think she could keep food down if she tried — An unfamiliar feeling was irking her. It was unpleasant and gnawed at her, overpoweringly chaotic — she was anxious. Terribly anxious. She was surrounded by noise. Every faint clink of stainless steel against china plates was making her skin crawl.

"Scarlett, has Nate discussed Dartmouth with you any further?" The Captain spoke, Scarlett's head snapping up at the mention of her name. This caused other minor conversations happening across the table to fall silent, bringing all eyes her way. "Dad!" Nate scolded, eyes wide — clearly he was with his thoughts too, as his fork clattered down onto his plate, the sound ringing throughout the room.

Grimacing at the loud noise, Scarlett quickly composed herself with a cough. "Maybe, I'm not sure." She began, brows furrowed as she glanced toward the Captain. "It's uh, been long couple of weeks." She clarified with a small, polite smile. Before The Captain could form a reply, Greyson jumped to Scarlett's rescue with a change of conversation topic at the ready.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Scarlett tuned out of the conversation once more. Her quiet didn't last for long as a knee nudged hers from underneath the dark oak table. "Scar." Nate whispered the girl shooting him a glace. "Please, Scar. It's important." He mumbled, the girl frustatedly taking a sharp breath, letting her eyes wonder over the table to see if they were disrupting anyone. "Not now." She muttered, glancing toward the clock on the wall.