My ears rang with a distinct noise, my blood pumping faster at the scene unfolding in front of me.
Grace was sitting on the bare floor, curled into herself, refusing to look up at either of us, her cries echoing in the silence of all of our shock.
My eyes went to Callan and I could see his incredulity at this whole situation. I could feel the whirring of my working hard and fast to catch up with the details of everything, there was too much happening at the same time.
Claire was dead.
She had killed herself.
Grace had aided her.
The pieces didn't fit, it felt all wrong and like Callan, I couldn't believe it. I didn't know her well enough but I knew enough to figure she was a shy and quiet girl who shouldn't be capable of something this dreadful. I’d rarely seen her mix with the other people and she was usually cocooned in her own world.
How could she have been dragged into this sort of thing? And in such a manner she couldn't possibly wiggle her way out of. I turned to look at Amelia to find her already watching me, her eyes twinkling with mischief, the corners of her lips tilted in a smirk, and right before me, I watched her mask slide in, her face turning completely shattered by grief.
“This can't be happening,” she moaned, falling to her knees in front of Grace and pulling her into her arms. She sent a glare Luther's way.
“You can’t be accusing her of this, can you?” she snapped at him. “This is Grace, you've known her all her life, we all know she wouldn't do anything this horrible.”
Isla was the most affected, she looked as though she had no idea if to cry or laugh at the absurdity of the whole situation. I felt her pain, every part of me did, twisting in discomfort at the way Isla’s eyes were wide with confusion, her chest heaving up and down erratically.
Luther gritted his teeth. “Perhaps we should let the girl speak for herself,” he said.
His voice and face held no emotions and I marveled at that. He was the blankest I had ever seen a person and it unnerved me because I hadn't known Grace for long and even I was affected by what she was being accused of.
“No, Luther!” Isla declared. “I won't let you dissect and prod my daughter like she has committed a crime. Grace had no involvement in this and it is unbelievable that you would accuse her of something this ridiculous.”
“Get up,” Callan’s anger-filled words were directed at Grace, and from the expression on his face, I could tell his patience was running thin.
Slowly, I reached out a hand to him, capturing his fingers in mine, I felt him stiffen at the contact before turning to look at me and I gave him what I hoped was a comforting look. Everything was in upheaval but he would further it by getting mad at the situation and when he gave me a nod saying he understood me, relief flooded me.
Grace was on her feet now albeit shakily, her face was curtained by long strands of blonde hair as she stared down at her foot, her whole form swaying continuously, sniffles coming from her.
I approached her slowly and next to her, I took in a breath calming my own pounding heart. The glaring fact that there was a possibility she could have done this remained, how else would there be an explanation for her sneaking Claire poisonous herbs, and how did she get Claire to consume them?
“Grace,” I called softly, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Is there anything you would like to tell us? Please,”
For the next few seconds, I held my bated breath waiting for her, and I could feel the apprehension settle in the air too. Grace said nothing for a long time that I began to fear she was never going to.
Finally, she said in a quiet voice, it was almost a whisper. “She requested it.”
The air switch was apparent, shifting into one heavily impacted by her words. I looked up at Callan to see he was looking at his sister as though he held no recognition for the person she was and I felt the same.
“And you brought it to her?” I asked, my voice coming out with a slight tremor. “Despite knowing she could die?”
She looked up at me, her red-rimmed eyes meeting mine with something almost akin to… Anger?
“You should never have gone to the tavern, Sophia!” she grabbed me by the shoulder, her fingers digging into my skin. “Why did you do it? Do you have any idea of the fact that every decision you take subconsciously affects people who are in no way associated with you?”
There was a craze in her eyes, unlike I’d ever thought she was able to feel.
Callan intervened immediately, his hand roughly pulling her away from me. “Stop this!” he barked, placing himself in between the both of us.
She began to sob again, falling over his chest. “You have to believe me, Callan. I thought I was helping, she… She wanted an easy way out and…”
“Callan you can't listen to her!” Isla interjected before grabbing Grace by the hand. “What are you saying? You had absolutely nothing to do with this! Luther is mistaken.”
She shook her head. “No, mother. It was me, I did it. I went into town and got the herbs and I slipped it into a book and brought it to her, no one is mistaken…”
A slap struck her, cutting short her frantic confession “Isla!” Callan yelled, pulling his sister away from her.
“Get back to your senses!” she screamed. “Is that enough to get you to know you are saying nonsense?”
Callan turned to me and even before he said a word, I knew immediately and so I moved to her.
“I know it's hard on you, Isla but you need to deal with this with a level head. If you're going to get to the root of this, you can't be like this.“
Tears pooled in her eyes and slowly, I could see her strong resolve melting. “Sophia…”
“I’ll take you to your room, come on.”
She began to protest.
“Go with her, Isla. I won't let anything happen to Grace,” Callan promised.
Her eyes moved from him to Grace before she finally nodded and allowed me to lead her away.
“I’ll come with you,” Amelia said, stepping in on Isla’s other side and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, pushing my hand away.
“Stay,” Callan said, halting her movement.
I saw a flicker of fear flash in her eyes before she swallowed and answered in a bright voice, “Of course, anything you say.”
I and Isla walked away but I couldn't stop my thoughts from reverting to everything that had just happened. Arrays of assumptions ran through my mind to make sense of this and most especially, Grace’s words - every one of my decisions affected people who weren't associated with me.
How was that even possible?