Detention (ASOUE)

Chapter Thirty

"Pick up, pick up, pick up," I whispered to myself, quietly pleading to be given even a slice of good luck.

It wasn't that late yet and I knew that Lily was a night owl. There was no reason for her calls to be going to voicemail. And yet, they were.

I cursed after the twentieth attempt and sent her a flurry of texts for her to call me as soon as she could. Then I banged on the door, something I had already tried but wanted to try again. But no one came to answer.

My phone pinged in my hand and I felt my heart jump. But when I looked, it was just from Quigley, apologising that he wasn't being allowed to open the door. I had a couple dozen from both of my brothers, asking what was going on and updating me on what was happening on the other side of the door. Apparently, it was like the house had gone into lock down, and Duncan and Quigley were being threatened that their phones would be taken away if they kept trying to call me. Their texts also gave me options for the night. Some of which included: sneaking into their room, staying at Pierre's house, or making the two hour walk to our grandma's house. They had reassured me that Lily would eventually pick up, but I wasn't so sure. Even though I wanted to have faith in her, I couldn't help the feeling of doubt that came over me. Lily was forgetful and would sometimes leave her phone in weird places, or have it next to her on silent and just completely forget to check it. Usually, it was just a sometimes-irritating-sometimes-funny trait of hers, but tonight it was heartbreaking. What the hell was I meant to do?

Sighing, I slung my bag over my shoulder and wiped my eyes. I didn't want to get my brothers in trouble by trying to sneak into their room. Plus, the last time I'd climbed a tree I'd fallen out of it, which made the idea of me scaling the side of a building difficult to imagine. Quigley's friend Pierre was an instant write off (although I was sure he was just joking when he suggested me going there) so my only option was to start the long walk to my grandma's house. If Lily called me on the way, she could probably convince her mum to pick me up and I could go there. But if she didn't, at least I was on the way to warm and guaranteed accommodation.

I had only walked a short distance when I froze, hearing footsteps that weren't my own. I spun around, trying to make sense of where they were coming from, and just hoping I wasn't about to get mugged or kidnapped.

But then, out of the darkness, a figure appeared in front of me and I squinted to make sense of who it was. It quickly came to light though, as soon as the person called out to me.

"Isadora!" Violet said, "Are you okay?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that question. It wasn't everyday your own mother kicks you out for something completely ridiculous. Violet must have been expecting my silence though, because she didn't wait for an answer and instead grabbed my hand, pulling me along behind her.

"Come on," she said, "you're staying with us."

My mouth fell open but I didn't complain. The thought of staying in a house that was forbidden to me made me nervous. But at the same time, I was annoyed at my mum, and if there was anything I could do to irritate her, right now I would happily oblige. So I didn't fight Violet as she took me across the road and towards her house. 

"Thank you," I managed to get out, and Violet just squeezed my hand in response. The idea that the Baudelaires (and probably the whole street) had heard my mother and I's altercation was extremely embarrassing but I wasn't focusing on that for the moment. Instead I was focusing on the fact that the Baudelaires had been kind enough to offer me a place to stay, despite overhearing the comments my mother made about both Violet and Klaus.  The thought warmed my heart a little and for a moment, the reason I was out this late with my belongings in a bag disappeared and it felt like I was just on the way to a sleepover. 

Mrs Baudelaire was waiting at the front door as Violet and I approached, and she gave me a tight smile. "You know you're always welcome here, Isadora," she said and I smiled back at her.

"Thank you. I'm sorry about my mum."

Mrs Baudelaire shook her head. "It's alright. You don't have to apologise for someone else. Just because you're blood related doesn't mean you have to take the fall for... their mistakes."

She glanced away and in that moment I noticed that her eyes looked sad. She smiled at me politely but it didn't reach her eyes. She was hurt by what my mother had said about her children; that much was obvious. Any parent would be upset to hear someone else speak about their kids that way. I wanted to apologise again but I didn't imagine it would do much. She had already told me not to apologise, and it wasn't like she blamed me in the slightest: she wouldn't have opened her door for me if she suspected I had the same opinions as my mother. 

We headed upstairs and I followed Violet to a spare room. It was dressed in a similar fashion to the rest of the house: lots of dark wood but an airy and bright feeling all the same. I barely had time to let my bag drop to the floor before Violet jumped on the bed and and gestured for me to do the same. I sat on the edge tentatively and rubbed my eyes. They hurt. Like they usually did after I cried a lot.

Violet offered me an empathetic smile. "Are you okay?" she asked me again and I  shrugged in return.

"I guess so," I replied, "I was trying to call my friend but she must be asleep or something. Thanks for coming and getting me."

"No worries! But you can't give me all the credit. After all, it was Klaus that asked our parents if you could stay here."

"Oh really?" I asked, surprised. I hadn't even seen Klaus since I had arrived so I had just assumed he was already asleep.

"You know what?" Violet said, a small smirk appearing on her face out of nowhere. "I have to tell you a secret. I think Kl- oh hey Klaus!"

My head snapped to the door where Klaus had just walked through, a frown on his face.

"Were you guys talking about me?" he asked quietly.

Violet laughed. "We've got more important things to talk about than you, silly."

Klaus sighed and eyed Violet carefully, as though he didn't believe her. He didn't press it any further though and instead said: "Dad made hot chocolate."

"Nice!" Violet exclaimed and leapt up at once. She held her hand out to me. "C'mon Isadora, let's go!"

I took her hand and we went downstairs to find three mugs of piping hot chocolate waiting for us at the counter. Maybe this evening didn't have to end badly after all. 

A/N:

This chapter ends so awkwardly hahaha sorry!! Hope you enjoyed it anyway.

Today I discovered that a wattpad writer blocked me :(( Their ASOUE stories looked really good and I've had a couple in my library for ages and I really wanted to read them but now I can't. I have no idea what I did to make them block me but um, I guess this is a formal apology if I've done anything I wasn't aware of :(( I'm really confused about the situation.

Anyway, enough of me moping. I hope you guys have had a nice day. Thanks for reading!! See you soon!