Chapter 31 Chapter 31
“Some arguments aren’t meant to be won. They’re meant to reveal how far apart two people have already drifted.”
Clara’s eyes widened as she looked at Trinity.
It wasn’t confusion that filled them, it was alarm. Raw, startled alarm, like she’d just realized the ground beneath her feet was no longer solid kind of alarmed. Trinity stood stiff beside her, shoulders squared, jaw tight, her anger blazing so openly that it almost felt physical.
Slowly, Clara turned back to Rome, He noticed immediately and his gaze shifted from Trinity to Clara, lingering there as if he were weighing something unseen. The room felt smaller under that scrutiny, the walls pressing in, the air thick with tension that neither girl seemed able to breathe through properly.
Then finally He spoke to Clara directly.
“Is that true?” he asked calmly. “Do you really want to quit?”
Clara didn’t hesitate.
“No,” she said quickly “There’s been a misunderstanding.”
Trinity snapped toward her "Misunderstanding?"
"Yes, Trinity, a misunderstanding " Clara snapped back, her voice tight.
“We’re leaving,” Trinity cut in sharply, her voice hard and unwavering. “We're quitting.”
"We?, but Clara just clearly said she's not quitting"
Trinity growled, frustration bubbling in her "Clara is clearly not in her right state of mind, so I'm making the decision for both of us"
"That's not how it works Trinity and besides why do you want to quit all of a sudden. Your performance has been remarkable so far" He said rubbing his jaw
Clara's eyes squint accusing at Trinity "I wonder why too "
"Cause clearly the work environment is affecting us way more than we'd like to admit" She shrugged
"I'm not being affected by anything. Speak for yourself Trinity " Clara replied
"Can you be quiet! "
Rome leaned back slightly, one brow arching as his eyes moved between the two girls. Something about the tension between them amused him plus irritation. He smiled as though he’d been waiting for this exact fracture.A disagreement Finally.
He sighed, rubbing his temple with two fingers. “I’ll give you until the end of the day,” he said. “Come to a final decision. After that, I’ll see what can be done about terminating your contract.”
His gaze sharpened. “If there’s nothing else to discuss, I’ll be in my office.”
Without waiting for a response, Rome turned and walked away, the door closing softly behind him.
The silence he left behind was explosive.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Trinity demanded the moment he was gone. “Have you completely lost your mind?”
Clara’s shock hardened into fury. “You should be asking yourself that,” she snapped. “Why would you talk about quitting without asking me first?”
“Because this place is unsafe,” Trinity shot back. “Because things are wrong here. Because you’re acting like someone I don’t recognize.”
Clara laughed incredulously. “Unsafe? You’re imagining things. Saint Ridge isn’t that dangerous.....you’re just... paranoid.”
Trinity stared at her as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Is that what you tell yourself now?”
"What?"
"You're delusional " Trinity glared
Clara crossed her arms. “You’re overreacting.”
“Oh, I see,” Trinity said bitterly. “Or is it because you’ve become Hale’s little dog? Crawling when he tells you to, wagging your tail for approval?”
The words hit like a slap...Clara’s face flushed, eyes blazing. “You have no right... to talk to me like that"
“No right?” Trinity interrupted. “I watched you on your knees, Clara! .. . bound like a. .. a slave. A. DOG."
The room seemed to tilt, now Clara was beyond angry.
“You don’t get to judge me,” Clara hissed. “You should stay out of my business Trinity, just like I stayed out of yours when you were sneaking around with Peterson and licking his fucking ass.”
Trinity froze.
The accusation hung heavy in the air as Clara stepped closer, her voice trembling with rage. “You’re such a two-faced pretending bitch. You're just so obsessed with things going your way.”
The slap came fast and sharp, The sound cracked through the corridor.
Clara staggered back a step, stunned then instinct took over and she slapped Trinity back just as hard, the sting reverberating through her hand and in a split second they were on each other.
Hands fisted in hair, nails scraping skin, bodies slamming into walls as years of trust unraveled in seconds. Clara shoved Trinity into a locker with a metallic bang. Trinity lunged back, grabbing Clara’s collar and ramming her into the wall.
“You’re not yourself anymore!” Trinity screamed.
“You think you’re better than me?” Clara screamed back.
"I just want you to snap out of this delusion you're in. Wake up Clara! " She pushed her so hard Clara landed on her butt
Without waiting for her to recover, Trinity grabbed her hair screaming as Clara clawed at her.
"Wake up Clara!. Wake up!" She screamed
"Let go of me you pathetic bitch" Clara screamed back
Security rushed in, grabbing arms and shoulders, pulling them apart as they fought and struggled, breath ragged, faces twisted with fury and heartbreak.
“Enough!”
“Stop it right now!”
They were barely restrained when a shrill scream pierced the air from outside. It brought everyone to a halt and time stilled.
High-pitched. Terrified. Inhuman.
Then chaos erupted.
Guards rushed toward the exit, radios crackling with frantic voices. Trinity and Clara broke free instinctively, running with the others toward the yard, their argument forgotten in the face of something far worse.They reached the yard just as a crowd began to gather.
Before they could get close, the smell hit first. So strong, metallic, suffocating and unforgiving.
Rot.
Clara’s stomach churned violently as they pushed through the gaurds to see the source of the smell and chaos.
There in the middle of the field a decayed, blackened body was twisted unnaturally against the dirt, skin sloughing away, eyes sunken and lifeless.
Clara gagged.
The world spun as bile surged up her throat. She dropped to her knees, vomiting onto the ground as screams, orders, and frantic shouts echoed around her.