The Unfortunates (Unfortunate #1) (10 page)

Dread burrows in painful tendrils through my stomach. I’ve never shared a bed with anyone before, or slept naked, or slept naked with someone. “But—”

He runs his hands over his face, suddenly looking exhausted and resigned.
“Are you going to talk all night or can I actually get some work done?”

“Sorry,” I apologise again and roll onto my side. I pull the blankets up and peer over the very edge. There’s so much blanket and he’s so far away, there’s no way he can see me watching.
I don’t know why I watch him… I guess I’m just trying to figure him out. Kade makes no move to go back to his computer. Instead, he watches the bed and rakes his teeth over his bottom lip, as if in thought, deep thought.

“Master Kade?” I mutter, unable to stop myself. I can feel my curiosity rearing its head. It wants to know abo
ut Kade’s leaf collection. I never thought about collecting things like that… I should have. It would’ve kept me busy. Who knows, it might’ve even made me happy. The yard at the Unfortunate camp was filled with lots of random leaves. I didn’t know that someone, at one stage in their life, held something as small as a leaf to value. I saw it as a nuisance, a nuisance that covered the mud I liked to draw in.

He doesn’t answer and I don’t know if I should take it as an order to shut up, or if he’s letting me talk.
Either way, I thread my fingers together and proceed at my own risk. “Can you tell me about your leaf collection?”

I want to know what it feels like to collect something. How many different types of leaves are there? How many did he have? Different shapes? What was his favourite shape?

He reaches across his desk and shuts off the lamp, throwing the room into semi-darkness. The only light came from his screen and that of the dwindling fire. I close my eyes. I guess he doesn’t want to talk. I was told it’s important to know your Fortunate, but I assume Kade is more comfortable being strangers. That’s fine with me, too. I’ve lived in a room with a lot of people for years and years, and to this day, I still don’t know their names. With my eyes still shut, I notice the room darkens again and then hear a faint sizzle as the fire is extinguished. My steady heart begins to beat a little faster, forcing blood through my veins quicker than normal as I hear him kick off his shoes and the other side of the bed dips. My mouth and throat dry up, and as subtly as I can, I shift backwards, moving as close to the edge as possible. To my surprise, Master Kade lies on top of the blankets and makes no move to touch me. Regardless, I don’t dare let myself relax. I’m in a potentially dangerous situation.

“
You want to talk about my leaf collection?” he mutters, shifting on the bed. “I shouldn’t even tell you. As an Unfortunate, you shouldn’t soak up conversations. Your curiosity can get you killed.”

I want to ask him why he lets me get away with it. Why does he ignore it when I don’t refer to him as ‘master’ or when I mutter and mumble? Why?

“It’s the last question I’ll ever ask, I promise, I just… I just want to know what it’s like to have something—a collection, a hobby.

He exhales and shifts
again, rolling onto his side. “As you can imagine, my collection didn’t last very long. It turns out leaves die when they’re not connected to a tree.”

I smile, catch myself smiling and then frown. It feels wrong. Every smile for him is an insul
t to my people.

“You stopped collecting? Why?”

“I thought that was your last question?”

I press my finger to my lips
. After a short while he swears under his breath and blows air from his cheeks. “I’m not the same boy I used to be. I don’t care for leaves, decorations, flowers—anything.”

“W
hat do you care about?”

I know I told him I wouldn’t ask any more questions, but I’m on a roll. He’s answering everything.
I’m pushing my luck, I know that, but I can’t help myself. To hear about hobbies of any kind is interesting. I’ve never had one.

“I care about power and money. I care about
control and routine… those are the only things that matter.”

To me, those are the only things that don’t matter
.

“Hypothetically,” he mutters
, and against his pillow, I hear him shake his head. “If you could care about something, what would it be?”

I open my mouth and then stop. I’ve never been asked a personal question before. I’ve never been asked what my favourite colour is or whether I like to wear my hair up or down, nothing. It occurs to me
, in this moment, that I have no idea. I’ve never spoken about myself because someone else is genuinely interested. He waits patiently for me to answer and for a brief second, I wonder if he’s playing a game with me.
Is this a trap?

“I
don’t know…” I whisper, afraid someone else will hear. “I’d care about my family, if I had one. I’d care about nature and music—and reading. I would care about humanity.”

In the darkness, I can feel him watching me. I’m staring back, too
, and I’m thankful he can’t see.

He clears his throat
and returns to his back. “That’s the difference between Fortunates and Unfortunates. That’s why the strong prosper. Caring for things gives others access to your soul. Do you know what someone could do to you if they knew you inside and out? They could destroy you. Unfortunates are weak… and in this world, the weak suffer.”

“Weak…” I
repeat, breathing and blinking quicker to stop sudden tears from restricting my throat. “Right.”

I draw my knees in, curling up into a ball in Kade’s bed.
I’m not sure how long I stay like this, but I do know it gives me some semblance of comfort.

“Perhaps I moved t
oo fast earlier,” he admits. “Tomorrow we’ll work on something a little more your speed.”

“Yes, Master Kade
,” I say and he pushes himself off of the bed.

I want to ask him where he’s going,
but then I realise I don’t care. I want him gone. I want him to sleep somewhere else, not here in this bed with me. In the dark, he manages to gather all of his things and leave, locking the door after him. I roll onto my back and kick off the blankets. That conversation goes to show that no matter how kind a Fortunate is, their virtues will never change. They’ve been taught since birth that equality doesn’t matter… that their life is more precious than ours, and for the first time in my life, I realise just how depressing my existence really is.

∞ Kade ∞

Kade stormed down the hall, adjusting his tie.
How’d she do it?
he thought.
How’d she get me talking?
He began to roll the sleeves of his shirt, stopping the fabric just above his elbows. Kade had told Nine more about himself in that ten minutes than he had anyone his entire life—not even Elizabeth knew about Kade’s leaf collection and they’ve been friends for as long as he could remember. Thankfully, Kade was able to catch himself and rectify their relationship before he opened up about anything else.
I’m the Fortunate. She is the Unfortunate. She has no business asking questions… she has no business being curious.

Kade
knew for certain that she couldn’t stay in his room, but he wasn’t about to let her out of his sight, not with Vince snooping around and making threats. Adding to his already lengthy list, Kade had to protect Nine from Vince and teach her how to please a Fortunate all while keeping her from his head and finding out what’s happening in his mine. Things were getting complex, much more complex than he’d planned. Towards Nine, he needed to remain detached and cold. He didn’t know how, but Nine had a strange way of making him feel inclined to protect her...to comfort her. Maybe it was her eyes, the beautiful pale violet wasn’t a colour he’d seen before. They were striking—captivating—they made him want to do vile, perverted things to her and it didn’t help his resistance any knowing he could do whatever he wanted to her, whenever he wanted. One bat of her eyelids had Kade hard and ready to throw his plan out the window for the slightest taste. The other… well, the other made him think of his mother… before she was killed. Kade’s mother was a humanitarian. She loved people, regardless of their stature. Growing up, Kade would help his mother do rounds at the Sario manor, feeding soup to their overworked and underfed Unfortunates. No one else treated them like people, even though Kade was certain they were the same.

‘I’d care about humanity
…’

Kade gritted his teeth. Of course
humanity was as important to Nine as it was to his mother the last night he saw her. Was this a cruel joke? Was his mother pushing at him to remember what she taught him from beyond the grave? Was there a reason Nine fell into his life? Questions bounced around Kade’s skull; he refused to entertain any of them.

Mom swiped her hands over her face, collecting falling tears. I don’t understand why she’s crying. She never cries this hard before she leaves with Dad to go into the city.

“
I need you to be a good boy, Kaden, and I need you to look after your brother.”

I nod as she runs her finger
s through my hair. It catches in a knot and pulls on my scalp but I don’t mind. Sometimes I don’t see her for weeks.

“
Remember what I’ve taught you. No matter what they tell you, no matter what they teach you, nothing is as important as compassion, love—humanity. You’re going to lead one day... Make the world better, not worse.”

I don’t understand why she’s talking like this... Like she’
s not coming back. She grips my shoulders and pulls me in.

“I'm sorry
,” she whispers, her throat clogged with tears.

Somet
hing heavy swirls in my belly and it makes me feel sick, and sad.

“Now, Helena
,” Dad calls as he storms past the door.

Mum jumps and releases me. She swipes at her face again, collecting more tears. I stand still, confused as she straightens out her light green gown and pulls her cardigan further over her shoulders.
Lightning flashes, lighting up the room and a bang of thunder sounds out with a loud clap. I’m trembling in my bed. Does she have to go? She knows I can’t stand the storms. The loud bang doesn’t wake Vince and I guess I didn't expect it to. Vince loves storms... even though he’s a lot smaller than I am.

Mum strolls slowly towards the door and I watch
her from my bed. She twirls around one last time, blows me a kiss and switches out the light...

That was the last time Kade saw her. His father had taken her straight to her death.

Music from the party still filtered through the windows of the Sario Manor. Kade hadn’t cared for music since he was a little boy. To him, the noise was an unnecessary tool to make people more comfortable around each other. His lips curled at the thought of people standing around with drinks in their hands, but no music to accompany them.

Kade stormed down the hallway
, adjusting his suit jacket so it sat comfortably on his shoulders. One by one, he did up the buttons and sauntered into the kitchen. Like Kade expected, Vince sat perched on the bench, sipping on his drink and groping an uncomfortable Thirteen, the newest kitchen slave. As Master Kade surged forward, Thirteen’s eyes went round, but she didn’t dare back away from Vince, not until Kade gripped her shoulder and shoved her against the pantry.

“Brothe—”

Kade swung hard, connecting with Vince’s jaw. His chest rumbled with a growl as he gripped the collar of Vince’s shirt and dragged him across the bench before dropping him against the cold stone floor. Kade hit him once more, his knuckles smashing into Vince’s nose. He didn’t stop until he saw the blood on his knuckles. Finally, he released Vince and straightened his posture, towering over his bleeding little brother.

“How many times do I have to tell you to leave my things alone?” Kade panted, wiping sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his
shirt.

Vince
spat blood against the tiles and grinned, wiping blood that trickled from his nose with the back of his hand. “So, did you do it?”

“Of course I did, but I wouldn’t have if I knew the order came from you!” Kade lied. He never touched Nine, but he had to make Vince believe he did.

“How was it? Is she as tight as she looks?”

Kade launched forward and punched Vince again, this time hitting him in the mouth. Vince
groaned, rolling onto his side and clenching his face.

“If I have to tell you again, Vincent, I’ll fucking kill you.”

Kade turned around and Thirteen flinched against the pantry. Her body trembled. There wasn’t a hair on her body that wasn’t shaking fiercely. Kade felt a pang of sympathy in his stomach—not because he pushed her, no. That was easy. He felt sorry because he knew Vince had to take his anger out on someone and Kade was certain she was the closest pussy he hadn’t tasted, or destroyed.

Kade left her to deal with Vince. If he was preoccupied with Thirteen, then he’d leave Nine alone. Besides, Vince always did prefer
small, pretty blondes.