Claimed (18 page)

The man frowned on hearing her name.
“Governor Callum’s daughter?  What is this about?”

Ellie looked down at her out-stretched hand, feeling rather awkward. It was obvious that the man didn’t trust
her nor did he welcome her presence.

“I was wondering if I could volunteer teaching at your school. I’m a New America University graduate
with majors in social sciences and psychology.”

“I’m sorry, Miss
Callum, but there is no one here in need for counseling or psychiatric therapy. If you try the local clinic, however, they might be interested in opening a special department for such a need,” he replied tersely before turning away from her.

“Please, there must be something I could help with.”

He turned back slightly towards her. “If you are bored, Miss Callum, I suggest you revert to whatever hobbies you elites usually resort to in your luxurious, gated suburbs. There is nothing here that could possibly hold your interest for very long.”

She
quickly ruffled through her bag and pulled out a card. “Would you please reconsider?” she asked, handing it out to him.

He looked down at the card severely and then muttered, “Goodbye, Miss
Callum.”

She stared after him, that awkwardness at the base of her throat again. “I’m leaving the card in your letterbo
x,” she shouted. She closed her eyes, biting her lips in helplessness.

She leant against her car tiredly. No one took her seriously. Not her fiancé, her father. Her mother thought she was a
freaking joke. And the man she loved- he certainly made one out of her. She was torn between two classes and neither accepted her. It wasn’t her fault if she was born into an affluent family. Why didn’t anyone see she was only trying to pay it forward to those who weren’t as lucky as she was? Why did she meet so much opposition and suspicion from either side?

She sat heavily back into her car. There was nothing more she could do if these people didn’t want her help.

“Where were you?” her mother screamed as soon as she entered the foyer.

She didn’t answer but headed straight for the stairs leading to her bedroom.

“Answer me,
Ellie!” Myra Callum shouted again. “You were at that dreaded town again, weren’t you?!”

Ellie
darted up the stairs quickly before she could catch any more of her mother’s wrath.

“How am I ever going to train you to be a proper First Lady if you keep being so disgustingly… charitable?” she heard her spit out.
“You know, it’s not winning you any votes! There are other ways of showing your benevolence then spending time with those filthy mutts at Central.”

Ellie closed her eyes with relief as she reached the top landing of the stairs, and walked hurriedly on to her room.

“Does this girl ever listen?! Oh, I’m getting a headache,” her mother groaned. “Nessie! Now, where is that stupid girl? Nessie, get me a migraine pill.” Her heels clicked away into the distance. “Aaron! Oh, Aaron,” she heard her cry.

Ellie closed the door behind her and
slumped into a chair by the window. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wondering what she should do. She covered her face, feeling more hopeless than ever.  Her mind reeled through the lists of everyone she knew. Yet, she couldn’t think of one who would support her without some self-benefitting agenda. And in Sector 8 Central, what self-benefit could anyone get? She tightened her lips in deep thought and then pulled out her phone.

She scrolled for Tara’s number, and then looked at it as if
she was entranced by it. She shouldn’t go anywhere near the Ryders. Any incidental meeting with Jared would simply rupture her healing wounds. She clutched the sides of her head and rocked with the pain cramping her insides. She didn’t understand where the hurt came from. She didn’t even know if there was even a pill for such pain.  Tears streamed down her face and she stifled her sniffles into her arm in case they were heard by anyone.

A long while later, she wiped her face and straightened herself.
No man deserved to be wept over like this. Especially not for a heartless, scheming bastard like Jared Ryder. She picked up her phone determinedly and then dialed her number.

She bit her lips as she waited for
Tara to answer it.

“Hello?” Tara answered
after a little while.

“Tara?”

“Ellie?”

“Tara, there is… something,” Ellie hesitated, biting her lips. “Can I talk to you?”

“Ellie, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing… I just need to talk…”

“Of course…”

“But not here… not now.
Can we meet?”

The beautiful sweet aroma of coffee. That always did calm her nerves no matter how tensed she was.

The barista behind her whisked another serving. Ellie glanced around at the customers lazing through
Bergstrom Mall. They chatted busily amongst each other as they browsed through the stores. Their smiles lightened up their faces and it was not hard to imagine that they didn’t face the inner conflicts she had impressed upon herself. If they knew, they would probably laugh at her. “
Why
?” they’d ask her. Did she enjoy self-affliction? She should just enjoy the riches and luxuries she was born into, they would advise her. As for those unfortunate souls she was tormenting herself for, they would most likely have given her the same advice.

“How does your family feel about it?” Tara asked, watching her closely.

“Does it matter?”

Tara pulled in a deep breath. “The Governor
’s maybe your father, Ellie. But to the rest of us, he is still Governor Callum. So, his opinion does kind of matter in a way.”

Ellie fiddled with her napkin, playing absently with its folds. She should have guessed that anyone who wasn’t related to the
Callums would find it threatening to defy her father.  It was widely known that the Callum women had always kept their distance from the impoverished locals of Sector 8. She, herself had never ventured into the poor districts until five months ago.  Had it not been for Jared, she would never have known of their plight. She, like every other affluent citizen of Sector 8, had been living with the misbelief that all was well. And if there indeed was a person suffering, then it was due to their own poor life choices. It wasn’t any surprising wonder that those of Central distrusted people like her. They were never given any reason or opportunity to see them as anything else but rich, selfish jerks.

“These people need our help, Tara. If you’re afraid of what my father may think of you, then there is nothing
more to talk about. I understand how you feel. But I thought you would be interested since you have lived amongst them and know better than any of us of the burdens they bear each day,” Ellie said, gazing inside her now empty coffee cup. She had heard of tasseomancy and she wished she could have someone read her future too.
Would she be happy with Edmund? Would she continue to regret ever having met Jared? Would her people accept her as more than the Governor’s wife?
In a coffee cup, nothing remained other than the trace of deliciously fragrant coffee and cream at the rim of its mouth. And like her empty coffee cup, she was left in a quandary as to what her future would be like.

Tara sat in silence, deliberating. “When do we start?” she said finally.

Ellie looked up at her, her eyes widened with surprise. “You’re helping me?”

Tara smiled. “How can I not? I can’t imagine you going out there all alone.
You’d be completely lost.”

Tara strolled into the kitchen and found Jared there, ravaging the pantry.

“Hey,” she announced.

He looked up at her and then straightened up. “You’re back.”

She sat onto a bar stool, watching him retrieve a can of dog food.

“How was she?” he asked as he pulled open the lid of the can.

“She’s okay. I think she may still be upset about what happened between
the two of you.”

He played with the can, rocking it gently without spilling its content.
“Is that why she asked to see you?” he asked slowly.

“No. She never brought you up at all. But I can tell from her eyes she isn’t herself, Jared. It hurts me to see her like that.”

He tightened his lips and then emptied the can into Wolf’s bowl. Wolf eagerly awaited by his side until Jared signaled his permission to eat.

“There is nothing we can do about that,” he muttered. He tossed the can into the
trash. “So, why then did she call for you?”

“She wants to help the poor in Sector 8.”

He frowned. “Why?”

“Why?” she remarked sardonically. “Don’t you think that it is
awfully kind of her for stepping up and doing something for the people of Sector 8? No one from her class has ever bothered showing any genuine benevolence at all.  She’s got a good heart, she has, that girl.”

He tensed, his temples beating with that frustrating rhythm again. “Convince
her to stay out of there.”

“I tried. She won’t listen. She is even willing to defy her family.”

“Tara, she’s not safe there. With the current protests and uprisings, I’m afraid her life could be in danger. Those people will not hesitate on venting their frustrations out on her.”

Tara shifted uncomfortably.

Jared raised his brows. “What is it, Tara? You’re hiding something.”

She swallowed. “She visited the school and met with
Julian Henley. She asked to volunteer.”

He jaw tightened, anxiety knotting in the pit of his stomach.
“And?”

“He hasn’t welcomed
her so far. But you know as well as I do, that’s gonna change the moment he finds some use in her for his cause.”

His fist clenched. Why did the woman have to cause him so much pain and trouble? Why did she have to have any common sense? Couldn’t she simply have been like every other dumb wealthy bimbo he’d met so far? At least, he wouldn’t have to continually worry about her then.

“You need to change her mind, Tara,” he said tersely.

“And I told you she won’t. That is why I’ve deci
ded to help her. She would be safer with me than she would be on her own.”

“But…,” he argued.

“You’ve got to trust me on this, Jared,” she interrupted him. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her too.”

He stood there in silence
, watching Wolf lick his bowl clean. “Thanks,” he whispered after a little while.

She reached out for his hand and
squeezed it. “It’s the least I can do for you. You do know I love you, little brother, right?”

He squeez
ed her hand back. “You and Ellie both had better be safe.”

“We will,” she smiled.

*****

Tara fidgeted nervously with the straps of her bag. She had
never been back at Central since she had left it. She had often wanted to return to visit her friends but James had requested for them not to. She had been bitterly upset about it but she understood the reasons. In their rebellion against the government, they needed to keep a tight lid on Jared’s disguise. They had to prove that they were not associated with the poor in Central. They needed to pretend that they had discarded and obliterated that part of their lives forever.

She looke
d over at Ellie as she licked her drying lips. By helping Ellie, she was placing her entire family at risk. But Jared loved Ellie and if she didn’t step up to help her, there was no way he would let her roam about the village without keeping his eyes on her.

Her hand unconsciously
grasped for her phone.

“Have you got your phone?” Jared had asked her for the umpteenth time.

“I have.”

“And if anything goes wrong, you call me,” he had reminded her sternly.

“I will,” she
had replied, walking towards the doors. James had promised to drop her by the Callums and if she didn’t move any more quickly, she would be late on meeting Ellie. She despised tardiness and she was damned if she would be one of those who were in the annoying habit of turning up late; even if it meant that she wasn’t all too keen on the mission she was set out to accomplish.

He caught her elbow before she made it to the door.

“You call me,” he had repeated.

“I heard you,” she had growled back. He was only trying to assure himself that they would be fine. But sometimes Jared’s
protectiveness was stifling, she had huffed with annoyance.

She clasped the phone tightly in her hand. She was glad for once that he was over-protective.

*****

Tara rapped lightly on the door. Tessa had been her neighbor for almost ten years. Their children had grown and played together. And whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on, it was always Tessa she had run to. If there was anyone she could trust in Central, it had to be Tessa.

The blonde, trim late thirties woman
swung the door open harshly, ready to hail her abuses at annoying kids who often played ding dong ditch at her door.

“You better watch-” she froze in
mid-sentence, staring at Tara. “Tara?” A wide smile broke her stern face and she leant over quickly to hug her. “Tara! Oh my god, you look different.”

Tara laughed, eagerly hugging her friend
back.

“Damn, woman!” Tessa stepped back. “Let me look at you. Oh, the hair, the dress. You look absolutely gorgeous!”

Tara laughed again. “I doubt that’s gonna happen. Spruced up a bit and that is all.”

“
Gah, you calling that sprucing, do you?” she dismissed lightly. “I missed you.”

“Me too.
The kids miss Bernie and Bryce. We all miss Central actually. Especially, Ma.”

“Yeah, I can guess. But I’m so happy for you, Tara.
Making it into upper Sector 8.”

Tara smiled an
d turned a little towards to glance at Ellie who was waiting for her by the car.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come by any sooner, Tessa. I’ve been having some… um… problems.”

“Problems,
shmoblems,” she waved her hands at Tara, dismissing her apology. “Don’t we all have them? I’m always here, right? When you’re ready to come check on me, I know you will.” She grew briefly quiet as if she was finding it hard to string a set of words. “How is Jared?”

“He is fine,” said Tara, not entirely sure of what she was implying.

“I saw that man in his fine car come
to your house that night,” Tessa said concernedly. “And the next thing I knew, Jared was wrenching in pain. I saw you and that old man carry him into his car. He could barely walk. I was so worried seeing him like that. In fact, I’ve never seen Jared ill. But that night, he was drenched with sweat and almost unconscious from his pain as he was being dragged out to the car,” she shivered.

“What happened to Jared?” Ellie interrupted.

Tara spun around in shock. When had Ellie had walked up to them?

“Ellie!” she spurted out
dazedly.

“What happened to Jared?” Ellie asked again, slightly more sternly than she had previously.

“Nothing happened,” Tara blurted quickly. “He had gotten ill and James had arrived to take him to the hospital.” She licked her lips, wondering how she was to explain this to Ellie without alarming her. She looked up at an equally startled Tessa. She realized Tessa was finally beginning to recognize the beautiful stylish woman standing beside her. “Tessa, could we come in? There are some things we need to talk about.”

Ellie frowned at Tara. “Is that all there was to it, Tara? Jared was ill?”

“Yes…,” she replied hesitantly and then glanced at Tessa. “No.” She closed her eyes and reorganized her thoughts. “Please Ellie, let us sit down and then I’ll explain. Tessa?”

*****

The hall came alive with classical music. Ellie leant daintily against a pillar, watching the formally attired orchestra fill the air with somber melody. She faintly recognized it as Bach’s Air on a G String. Mesmerized by the fluid movements of the row of violinists, her mind drifted into a dreamy state. She imagined being lifted gracefully into the arms of Jared as he would swirl with her across the marble floors of Sector Hall. And as it drew to an end, she could almost feel his eyes bearing upon her as he would sweep her low, gradually leaning down slowly into her as he would kiss her.

She
nipped at her lower lip gently, her body stiffening at the mere memory of his lips against hers. They had been firm as they caressed the corners of her mouth and she shamelessly had parted them even more as he had surged in, delving into it with his tongue. She tremored at the memory, quivering with an unbearable burning ache at her inner core.

A pair of hand
s grasped her waist from behind her and she froze.

“Why are you hiding?” Edmund breathed against her ear.

Her face reddened as if Edmund had caught her cheating on him in her thoughts.

He caressed his cheeks against her face, turning to place a kiss at her neck. But she stepped aside as naively as she could and smiled. “You should be with your guests.”

“You’re right,” he nodded, his mouth drawn tightly in deep thought. His hands still had her captured in the circle of his arms. “But they’re beginning to notice your absence. And
I
was beginning to feel lonely without you.”