130 Pay Attention (1/2)
”Oh, so you do have something to say,” she smiled, ”then hurry up and spit it out before I kick you to the crevices of this asylum, never to set foot in my gaze again.”
”I.. apologize,” Vixen replied, ”I made critical mistakes in my schedule and ended up created chaos soon to blossom. I will-”
Mrs. Cloud's jaw clenched. ”Shut up.”
The room's temperature dived down 6 levels and all time seemed to stop as Mrs. Cloud's head turned to Vixen. Her eyes were wide awake, heavy doses of anger flashing in her violet violent storms in her eyes as she peered down at him.
”Do you think I brought you here to listen to your pathetic apologies? Do you think I'm going to silence myself after you spit out meaningless words before me and expect me to believe them,” Mrs. Cloud's teeth gnashed, ”you could apologize millions of times and cry tears of blood but none of them will get you out of this situation.”
Her head swiveled to her cup of tea and she quietly took a sip, her teacup making a loud bang when it's placed back on the table.
”Now… while your mouth has the energy to speak. Explain why he's in her room and why she is not under your care anymore,” Mrs. Cloud ordered. Her eyes brightened up and she looked down at Vixen, ”or maybe I should change the question as this one seems too hard for you to answer…”
Vixen's head faced forward and he picked up his tea, using every atom in his body to ensure that he doesn't expose more of himself than he already had.
”Hmm.. then care to explain why you didn't leave her room immediately?” Mrs. Cloud asked. ”It was about an hour or more before you left the room and even before that the boy came back to the room and you left soon after. And then you try to tell me you were focused on serving?”
Mrs. Cloud's fingers tapped rhythmically against the arms of the chair. ”What serving? Do you know how many people you missed serving in that hour or more? If it was going to be like that then you should have just said that you decided to rest for the rest of the day because you were too incompetent to carry out all the responsibility that came with your name.”
Vixen wanted to intrude on her words but there seemed to be no space for him to speak.
”And if we are to keep watching for just a little bit…” Mrs. Cloud thought to herself as she watched the video.
Vixen's eyes fell to the floor and Mrs. Cloud's gaze followed them. ”Are you blind? I made sure to project this on a large surface your eyes could see so don't make me waste my time and look up at the damned wall,” she ordered, her lips twisting into a scowl.
Vixen's eyes rode up and locked eyes with Mrs. Cloud. They looked empty, blank.
Vixen's eyes didn't waver nor did he blink.
”Look at the video,” Mrs. Cloud commanded, her tone falling to nearly a whisper yet having so much command and superiority in them.
It was like his body moved on its own simply from fear. His eyes were forced to look at the projection on the walls.
On the video was a shot of him waiting with a cart beside him. Seconds later, the boy shows up and they exchange a few words before he turns around with the cart and begins to walk away while Vixen turns the other way. It was at this moment that Mrs. Cloud paused the video.
”It seems like you were expecting him to come,” Mrs. Cloud chuckled. ”There was probably an incident with the girl and he called you to come help. There you created a plan that went exactly the way you wanted seeing as you were waiting for him to come at the correct time. Right?” She puts down the remote and lets out a sigh, her eyebrows furrowing together to portray a fake sense of confusion. ”But that brings up the question, could what happened to her be avoided if you were the one in care? And if so, then why was that boy in care instead?”
Vixen hated it so much. The fact that he was just sitting through all of this without being able to say a word, the fact that everything he was saying was right, and her tone.
She knew everything she was saying was so right, there was no way she could be wrong. She could read straight through him like a book even if he doesn't say a word or avoids her eyes. She could take the thoughts in his head and squish them to nothing before he could even say them, she could step on him until he is reduced to nothing, but…
But yet… she kept him alive. She kept him by the edge of her knife, torturing him with her words. Saying them in a way that was teasing him to his death, almost like she was mocking him and making him regret every decision he made even if they were right.