Charlie's hand shook as Neil put the phone in his hands and aggressively pressed Mrs. Dalton's phone number, nearly permanently sinking the dials down and bending his finger so inhumanly they looked boneless.

Charlie had no idea what the phone call was for but he waited with the phone pressed up to his ear and got the notepad on top of the telephone to start doodling because he figured he'd take a long time with all the quarters Neil forked out of his pocket for him.

"Hello! Dalton residence, Theresa speaking. With whom do I have the pleasure of chatting with today?"

Richard got out of his room, taking a cigarette out from a sweater Charlie had hung up on a handle. He walked out as Charlie licked his lips nervously and looked over at Neil, "Hi mom, it's me, Charlie."

Theresa picked up the phone from where it was on the table and walked over to the kitchen island, setting the phone back down and sitting cross-legged on the kitchen stool. She took her wine glass in her other hand and took a long sip, swishing it around a couple times before responding, "Charlie! I wasn't expecting your call, how are things going with school?"

Richard walked through the door and looked at Sigrid with zero emotions in his dull features, she was hidden back under her blankets and the room was uncomfortably silent. He put a small apologetic smile on his face when Sigrid turned to the noise, she sighed and put the blanket over her face when she realized it was him.

Charlie looked away from Neil and cradled the phone up to his face, "Honest?"

"Honesty's the best policy sweetheart," she said sweetly into the phone, he sighed while closing his eyes. He was having a hard time getting the words out of his mouth, his foot tapped the floor, echoing throughout the hallway. He could taste silver as he bit down on his bottom lip.

"Horrible, it's been absolutely horrible. I don't know what you did to Sigrid but she hasn't gotten out of bed since you dropped her off at her dorm. She hasn't spoken to me, the boys have been taking her homework to her dorm. And I've been scared to go up to her because of you. So, if you'd give me the benefit of telling me what it is you did, I'd really appreciate it."

"Watch your tone Charlie," Theresa raised an eyebrow at how sharply he dared to speak to her.

"You said you wouldn't hit her, and I know you did something far worse. So, no mother, I will not watch my tone."

"Assumptions, Charlie? I thought we taught you better."

"Anything you ever taught me, Theresa, is going down the drain because Neil is right next to me and if I don't hear what you did from you I will gladly hear what he has to say."

"Oh," she stifled, "Trusting the actor over me? Love's sure made you delusional, son. Now tell me, was she worth what we paid Mr. Hall or shall I go with that girl you said you loved last summer? I'm sure I still have their number."

Charlie told Neil to go away, Neil squinted. "You better go see what she did to Sigrid once you end that call, or I'm killing your whole family tree."

Charlie nodded, ashamed. Neil had difficulty leaving Charlie alone with the phone and his mother on the other line but then he decided to walk to Sigrid and Knox's door. Todd walked out and grabbed Neil by the hand to walk back to their dorm. "Anderson, I wanted to see how she was doing."

"Horribly but she went on a rant about how she wants to be alone so we have to give her what she wants."

"We? You and dad are insane," he gritted, teeth clashing harshly, "I told you from the day you suggested arranging me that I didn't want that, but you sure don't listen to a word I say because you still went along with it. I knew, Richard knew, you are so loud about it and it makes me feel like trash for even being part of it all. I want you to understand that you didn't have to do that, you didn't have to get her or her dad involved."

"You told me you liked her, I just wanted to seal the deal for you."

"I know, I know I did," he put his hand over his forehead in desperation. "Mom, what did you do to Sigrid?"

"You already know."

He wanted to hit the wall but instead he smiled passive aggressively while letting his next words spill on from his mouth through his teeth, "So you hit her?"

"It's only punishment, Charlie. It's not like I despise her."

"Mom!" he almost screamed, "No, it's not only punishment. She did nothing wrong, sure we ditched but I went along and if you're hitting her with another intention I suggest you apologize and leave us alone because I decided to follow along. It was my decision as much as hers. Hitting her was uncalled for, you know that. And if you didn't, I think I don't know you anymore."

"She needs to know her place."

"Theresa," he stuck another quarter in. "Call me a bad son for defending her over you, but she's her own person. Can you not get that through your head? You can't throw a ball and tell her to fetch, you can't hit her like she's some dog off the street that's asking you to feed it. She's human, just like you but the difference is that you think money is going to change everything. How do you think sculpting some stranger we didn't know about until a couple months ago was going to work just because you work so hard to shape things into a perfect picture? Life is predestined and no amount of money or praying is going to change that. She walked into my life without the money you throw around, she liked me, and for a moment I would like to think she could continue to without you getting in the way,"

"You ruined any chance I could have ever had to be happy, how does that make you feel? Mother, this is the only time where I've genuinely felt happy because I thought you had finally stepped away and when I least expect it you come up from behind me with a deal I didn't agree to. And you're sucking me back into a world I don't want to be part of. Ok, so Mr. Hall knows that she's at Welton now, so sure he even knows about the ditching. I thought that you would understand that I have to grow on my own, I have to be better on my own, you can't go around trying to shape my life like some god. And you know what, all that money you gave him is going down the fucking drain."

"It's a rich man's world, Charles. Money does more than words ever could. I've done everything in my power to make sure that you become the man you're supposed to. I've done everything to make sure you don't have to suffer like I did. You should be appreciative and not exchange me like some sock just because you think you found someone you could be happy with. Son, no one could make you happier than me. You've got to realize that we're at the top of the food chain and people like Sigrid Taylor would kill to be where we are. She's poor, but I bet she hasn't told you that."

"It's not necessarily a topic of importance. But don't you think preventing me from suffering is going to cause her to? I know where you come from, you remind me and used to tell me not to go along with what the Dalton's have done for centuries? Dad was arranged with you and I want to change that, and suddenly you change your mind and do the sorting for me? You might have it the way you want to now but don't forget you were a little fourteen year old girl in the middle of nowhere, Kentucky! With nothing to your name but the clothes on you—

"There's no electricity in her house, all the clothes she had when I went were old and most of it didn't fit her anymore. She's unladylike, she snapped at me the first time I met her because I was trying to pick up a conversation. She needs some work, without a doubt but I think I could do the best I could, like Linda did to me and your great-grandma did! I could work wonders, and by the time she's twenty she'll be the perfect wife for you to marry. Charles think about the girl, where will she be if it weren't for me?"

"I'm not thinking about marriage!" he suddenly screamed, causing the people in Knox's dorm room to look in the direction of the voice, Charlie was unfazed by his outburst. "Dating doesn't have to be about marriage. Mother, as a teenager I should be able to experiment and be around people who make me happy without there being a bigger picture. I'm still a child, I'm not even eighteen, do you really think I'm thinking of that? I'm not going to settle down as soon as I get out of high school, I'm not going to have kids as soon as I turn twenty-five and then be some boring lawyer in New York, and live an unhappy life. Right now, my life is her. Right now, I need to live it or someone else will do it for me. I need to find myself, and I can't do that if you're shoving ideals down my throat and telling me what I should be doing with me life. I love her, and if you cared for me you would let it be. You would take off your bargain from Mr. Hall, and let me do what I need to do on my terms."

sat on Sigrid's bed once she had stopped ranting and wanted company again. It was only them two in the room in complete silence, a pin could drop and they could hear it perfectly. Richard looked out of the window and sighed, "He says that he's sorry."

If Sigrid could see the look on his face she would know that he was completely bullshitting what he was saying, but she turned her head in his direction. "He could tell me that himself, Cameron."

"That's the thing," Richard played with the blanket near her legs, she could feel his warm hands through it and he slightly tensed up when he felt her goosebumps. He quickly retreated his hand as he realized she would push it away soon, he cleared his throat and lit his cigarette. "He can't because he feels guilty. You know, Theresa being his mom and all. He thought he could've prevented it but didn't. I just wanted to let you know that's he's sorry and that if you ever need something you could trust me."

"Trust you? I wouldn't trust you with my book bag," Sigrid sat up on her bed and realized they were alone. Richard let out a laugh while looking down at his lap and then put a hand through his hair swiftly. "Fair enough, Hall. That mistrust comes along with being a ginger," he looked at her recently dyed hair. "But I see you've decided to go blonde, if you're anything like Knox that means you'd give me your social security pin."

"Knox is not stupid," Sigrid muttered, scooting to be right next to him, a small wince when her bottom hit the mattress. His eyebrows furrowed, "Does it really hurt that much?"

All she could do is nod, he blew out the smoke and looked over at her, "Would you prefer we stand up? You're already going through the pain of conversing with me, I wouldn't want to put you through any more."

She bit the inside of her cheek and then shook her head, "Cameron, I doubt we have much to talk about."

Richard stood up, causing her to follow his movements. "I could make you feel better."

"And how would you do that?" she raised an eyebrow at him, he reached his hand out to her. Smiling, she looked down at it with hesitance, "It's cold out, the weather is nice for a stroll in the forest. Charlie and I have a window and he's not in the dorm right now so we could use it. I'm sure you'd like the weather."

"Why would I want to go out into the cold with you?"

"I could tell you everything I know," he put his hand in his pocket because he figured she wouldn't shake it. "If you think what happened to you two days ago was bad I think you should know what happened to Paisley. They aren't the most clean family, from what I know I wouldn't want to get near them."

She contemplated believing what he had to say, eyebrows furrowed as she thought well this might the only time Richard is genuine with me. He offered his hand again, and this time she took it.

walked to Sigrid's room after the call had ended, his hands were sweating as he thought of what to say. Everything his mother had told him was digging a deep hole in his heart and he needed to confess to everything he felt guilty of, whether she'd except how dirty his family was playing his love life was debatable. He understood if she didn't want anything to do with him after he'd admit to everything. He already knew how he felt about himself.

He knocked on the door then winced when he felt the pit in his stomach drop dramatically. He waited and got no answer, he knocked a second time, then a third. He didn't hear anyone from inside or anything move around, he took his hand off from the fist it was in and pressed his hand against the door. His slim fingers shook as he licked his lips in preparation to talk.

He took his hand off from the door and shook his head. "Tomorrow."

He walked away and went back to his room to grab his cloak. He looked at the blood on the floor and then down at his knuckles, they had turned slightly purple. He grumbled and put on his cloak. He opened the window in his room, noticing Richard's footprints in the mud next to a pair of rather smaller ones.

Charlie remembered the little footprints Sigrid left behind when he was leaned against the wall almost over two weeks ago, his footprints would be stepped on by hers. He smuggled the marks as he walks, not wanting to remember her as he headed to the meeting either way. A small tapping invaded his ear, maybe droplets falling from the trees signaling that it had rained.

He thought of many things. Sigrid in Keating's class, Sigrid laughing with Maisie as they waited for the teapot to holler, the two at the dress shop as his finger shook to zip her dress up, and lastly their kiss and how warm he felt in her arms. He put his hand up to his mouth, frowning as the wind kissed them instead of her. They quivered something cruel, he held the cloak tighter to his body and started running.

He was the only one that had arrived to the meeting, he broke down as soon as he realized he was alone. He wondered if he would be like that for the rest of his live.

Quick answer: yes.