Entangled (Vice Games)

by Cooper, Alice

  He was the first to look away and release me at the same time. His body seemed tense as he took a step back from me.

  ‘About Anna,’ I started. I needed something to distract me from him. ‘You’re not thinking about sending her to the Main House, are you?’

  Tristan Vice was quick to recompose himself and put on his iron mask again. His voice turned cold towards me.

  ‘There is no other option. I am not present at this house all the time and she needs an adult to keep her from self-harm.’

  ‘That’s what I’m here for, isn’t it? To be her babysitter. It would be much better for her if she stays here rather than force her to go back to the Main House. The mere thought of it threatens to give her a panic attack.’

  ‘I’m not her legal guardian and it is our father who decides where she stays.’

  There was bitterness in his voice.

  ‘But she’s much happier here.’

  ‘Yes and is unfortunate that I cannot make this arrangement permanent.’

  ‘Then what am I doing here?’

  He looked at me and I felt a flutter in my heart. His blue eyes were so piercing that it drew me in like a reel.

  ‘To keep her from self-harm,’ he said finally.

  ‘Then it is my job to convince your father that she is better off here. Do I have your full support in this endeavor?’

  ‘Yes.’

  And that was the end of our conversation. Tristan disappeared upstairs and I did not see him again for the rest of the night.

  I could hear my heart beating in my ears as I exhaled to calm myself down. What is happening to me? I forcibly reminded myself that he has a fiancée.

  Chapter 7 – Meeting Elliot Vice

  Anna decided to sleep with me that night. She grew paranoid about men breaking in and taking her away back to the Main House. When she first told me this, I began to wonder if she really did need the medication. But Lorraine quickly dispelled this thought my informing that this has occurred more than a dozen of times and that Anna had a reason to fear sleeping alone.

  ‘I was ten when it first happened,’ Anna whispered in the dark as she lay next to me. ‘Father had hired men to come into the house and shoved me in the backseat of a car. Tristan was in Milan at the time and couldn’t help me.’

  ‘They’re not going take you awake anymore,’ I told her. Anna struggled to sleep and I decided to leave the lamp on to help her with her night terrors. It was then that I decided that she didn’t need any drugs. What Anna needed was a chance to live.

  Although my eyes were close and pretended to be asleep, I laid awake for the next few hours. The thought of Tristan in the room next to me made me feel strange. It was something I’ve never felt before and my attraction to him seemed to grow with each passing moment. It was maddening and I didn’t know how I managed to get through the night.

  I woke up to a soft knock against the door. Lorraine poked her head through the door and informed us that it was half past six. We were expected downstairs for breakfast in fifteen minutes.

  ‘Why so early?’ I asked her.

  ‘The master is going to escort you to the Main House.’

  Anna turned over to her side and pulled her pillow over her head. The message made her sob.

  ‘Oh,’ I said as I blinked several times to wake up my eyes. ‘Come on Anna, let’s get this over and done with.’

  ‘He’s going to make me take the pills,’ she cried.

  I reached out and pulled her pillow away from her face. ‘Not while I’m here. Come on, If it’s going to be that bad today, we’re going to need to face it with full strength.’

  I got out of bed and went into the bathroom to wash my face. After getting dressed and encouraging Anna to do the same, I went downstairs. Anna had originally picked out a pencil skirt for me. I didn’t like tight clothing as it often made me feel uncomfortable. With the help of Lorraine’s opinion, I managed to negotiate for dress pants and a white blouse. As I put it on, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the unusual transformation in my appearance. I looked like a professional – pristine and ready for work. I supposed it fitted with the situation. I was going to need it to convince Anna’s father as to why she should be allowed to stay with her brother. Elliot Vice sounded like a stern man and I knew that my appearance could help me in my task.

  Tristan Vice sat at the head of the table while Lorraine served him his coffee and breakfast. He did not greet or acknowledge my presence as I sat down. He wore a white fitted dress shirt that outlined his strong torso. He left the top two buttons undone and it gave him a professionally casual appearance. His hair was not slicked back and the wavy locks were allowed to sit playfully on his head. There was something sexy about it and I reminded myself that he’s already taken. Besides, a relationship of that sort would be impossible and inappropriate. I was here to help his sister and it is unlikely that he takes any notice of me in that way.

  ‘Just one sugar, thanks,’ I told Lorraine as she moved around to pour me a cup of the bitter beverage.

  Anna joined us shortly and plotted herself down next to me. She poked at her breakfast but after five minutes, she gave one big sigh and wolfed it down. My words to her seemed to have worked its magic and Tristan took note of his sister’s newfound morning appetite. I suspected that this was unusual for Anna, especially when it involved going back to the Main House. I guess there would be a great deal of protest and crying against the trip.

  Jace took out the black Land Cruiser from the garage and it made me wonder how many cars Tristan owned. Anna took the back seat and I was forced to sit in the front passenger seat with her brother. Lorraine gave Anna a reassuring hug before we left.

  Tristan drove the car in silence and I could feel it gnaw at my skin and Anna’s sanity. She began to fidget and twisted her fingers nervously. My heart only raced because of Tristan.

  ‘Pick a station,’ I said to Anna, breaking the nerve-wracking trip.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Radio station,’ I told her.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said.

  I fiddled with the controls. Jace was the last to drive the car and it was set to Oldies.

  ‘Rock,’ said Tristan.

  I blinked for a moment before I registered what he said to me. It surprised me that he liked rock music. Or perhaps he knew that Anna liked that sort of music. I fiddled with the buttons and eventually found the station. We listened to classic rock. I carefully watched Anna through the side mirror and while she was still jittery, the upbeat sound of drums made her calmer than she was a few moments ago.

  The Main House was three times the size of Tristan’s home. If I hadn’t known, I would have mistaken it for an upper class private resort. As Tristan took the Land Cruiser through the front black wrought iron gates, I peered out the window towards the acres of land that seemed to expand out endlessly. I spotted several security cameras and counted at least fifteen. There was more attached to the side of the house and it made me wonder what exactly the Vice family did for a living.

  A butler waited on us as Tristan parked the car in front of the fountain roundabout. The butler held out his white gloved hand but Tristan did not give him the keys. Instead, I watched him defiantly pocket it. The butler frowned and momentarily gave me a sweeping look as he assessed me. He looked at me as if I was an imposter.

  Tristan moved to stand next to me. It was a protective sort of move that shielded me from the butler’s judgmental gaze. I touched Anna’s arm reassuringly and nodded to her.

  ‘It’s going to be alright,’ I whispered to her. Anna took a deep breath in and seemed to hold it.

  The butler notified his master of the arrival and we were led into the main body of the house. The decoration was rich and intricate. Every part of the house seeped with age and grandeur. I thought it was rather much too big to be made into a personal home. There was nothing in it to indicate that a family lived here. The butler placed us in a waiting area and another butler came out with
a silver platter. Anna immediately moved behind me and when I turned, I saw what it was that terrified her – it was eight little brown bottles. The butler placed it down on the table as the first butler disappeared and returned with a pitcher and glass for the water.

  Elliot Vice and his wife entered the room shortly after. Elliot Vice was a man in his sixties, his hair completely gray and wore a tailored dark grey suit. He and Tristan shared the same eyes, except the elder’s was stonier and colder than his son’s. It felt as if he was incapable of feeling any empathy towards his daughter. Karen on the other hand, she looked old enough to be Tristan’s older sister. She was a woman in her early thirties and I began to wonder how young she was when she married Elliot Vice. Her face was frozen and plastic, her breasts artificially enlarged, her hair set into perfect golden curls and her body tightly wrapped in a red bandaged dress. She would have been beautiful if it wasn’t for the cruel calculating red painted pout on her face.

  I couldn’t see how this woman manages to convince a man like Elliot Vice to do her bidding. It was unfathomable. But then my eyes were drawn to her rack and I began to have some ideas on how she went about it. Men seemed to have a weakness for physical appearances of women. Perhaps Elliot Vice liked his woman to be the plastic trophy sort.

  ‘Father,’ Tristan coldly acknowledged. The temperature in the room dropped and I felt Anna’s cold fingers wrap itself around mine. I gave her a reassuring squeeze.

  ‘Son,’ said Elliot. It was clear that the relationship was not a warm or natural in any sense.

  ‘As we discussed last night, I’ve hired someone to take care of Annabelle. She has taken up residence at my house and there’s no need for Annabelle to return here.’

  Elliot Vice looked at me with his cold eyes. I lifted my chin and held my ground against his assessment.

  ‘What are your qualifications?’

  ‘I have none that you would think of as relevant,’ I found myself saying. Tristan seemed to freeze at my answer. ‘But I possess a quality that you desire.’

  Elliot Vice was not moved by my reply. ‘And what is this quality?’

  ‘The ability to command obedience,’ I said. ‘Your daughter will listen to me and it has come to my attention that she refuses to take her medication.’

  Anna began to panic. She tried to pull her hand away from mine. It was as if my words betrayed my promise to her. But I held on tightly and gave it another squeeze. She needed to trust me. Elliot’s eyes momentarily glanced over his daughter and Karen narrowed her gaze towards us.

  ‘Prove it,’ she said. The young stepmother walked towards the table and took a pill out from each prescribed medicine bottle. Anna began to breathe heavily and took a step away. I sensed the onset of a panic attack and immediately spun around to face her. I placed my hand on her face.

  ‘Hey,’ I whispered. ‘I need you to trust me, okay?’

  ‘But the pills, I don’t want to take the pills,’ she began to cry as she shook her head. I glanced over my shoulders and saw that Karen had placed the pills into a small dish.

  ‘I’m going to need a minute,’ I announced and quickly led Anna out through the door. I pushed her into the nearest room and closed the door.

  ‘You said I wouldn’t have to take the pills,’ she sobbed. ‘You lied to me.’

  ‘Hey, you haven’t taken them yet. Look, the only way to get your father to agree is that you do as she wants,’ I whispered.

  Anna shook her head and attempted to run out but I blocked her path.

  ‘Listen to me, I’m not finished yet. I only said you have to take the pills, it doesn’t mean you have to swallow them.’

  That got her attention. ‘What?’

  ‘Have you seen the size of those things? They’re miniscule. Take them and hide them under your tongue. It’s a test. If you do as they expect you to do, they’ll let you go back to your brother’s house.’

  Anna stopped her tears and blinked at my genius suggestion. She had never thought to do that before.

  ‘Let them see you take it but don’t,’ I whispered. Anna nodded and although her eyes were still fearful, I saw that she understood what she had to do.

  With her hand in mine, I led her back into the large room where Karen, Elliot Vice and Tristan waited. Tristan gave me an enquiring look and then cast his eyes over his sister. I took the bowl of pills from Karen and held it out towards Anna. The fearful teen sniffed and slowly, she picked each pill, one by one and placed it on her tongue. Karen blinked with surprise at the girl’s sudden complacency. I poured a glass of water for Anna and she drank it all up. I found Tristan watching me in wonderment.

  ‘There,’ I said and turned to face Elliot Vice without a hint of fear towards him. ‘I made her take her pills without protest.’

  ‘Very well,’ said Elliot Vice. He turned and left without another word. Karen followed after him and Tristan immediately pushed us in the opposite direction towards the door. We were quick to leave and Anna struggled with the bitterness that grew in her mouth.

  The car remained where Tristan had left it and I jumped in the back seat with Anna.

  ‘Not yet,’ I told her. The butlers watched us from the steps. I reached out and pulled the seatbelt over her body. It strapped her back against the seat and Tristan was quick to leave his father’s grounds. When we were out through the gates and far away from the cameras, I held out my hand and Anna spat out the pills.

  Tristan glanced at us through the rearview mirror and realized what I had done. He cracked a momentary impressed smile.

  ‘That tasted horrible,’ complained Anna, her face contorted with disgust.

  ‘Horrible yes, but it was worth it.’

  Chapter 8 – A short lived celebration

  Half a month without the pills allowed Anna to settle into being a normal teenager. And my relationship with Tristan stalled. He avoided talking to me as much as possible and kept his icy demeanor on like a shield. It made no sense why he acted that way and my numerous attempts at conversation always failed. I eventually gave up and we coexisted in the same space out of necessity. He paid me by the week and did not say anything about my employment. There seemed to be no need for words as I understood clearly what he wanted me to do – take care of his sister. I was allowed to make my own judgment on things and I took his lack of protest against my actions as acceptance towards the decisions I made.

  Anna’s teachers came to Tristan’s house to do her lessons. They were stern and expected Anna to take her pills before each lesson. No wonder the girl was going crazy before I came into her life. It was clear that these ‘teachers’ were also getting paid to monitor Anna and make sure that she was being medicated. We continued with our ruse and I sat through the lessons with Anna.

  As the days passed, I began to understand why she desperately needed a friend. Being homeschooled meant that the girl didn’t have a chance to meet anyone outside the house. She was closed off from the outside world. The medication she was on only made things worse.

  ‘Tristan did try to get me out,’ said Anna when we were by ourselves at the mall. We hadn’t spent any money and was just window shopping for the sake of it. ‘But father always made me go back and Tristan’s always off on business trips.’

  ‘What does he do? I mean, what sort of business is he running?’

  Anna shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Tristan never talks about it and I’ve always been too out of it to care. But most of our money comes from mom. Tristan has half of her fortune and I’m set to inherit the other half.’

  We brought kebab wraps for lunch and she was perfectly content with sitting on the bench and eating them with her hands. Jace picked us up at four and we returned home with nothing but what Lorraine put down on the grocery list. At first, the housekeeper was reluctant to give me the week’s shopping list but I convinced her that a trip down the fresh foods aisle was necessary for Anna’s sense of normalcy. Jace attempted to take in all the bags himself but I wouldn’t allow it. Anna happily v
olunteered to help with the load.

  As we entered the house, I noticed something different about it. There was a strong smell of perfume lingering in the air and Lorraine came out of the kitchen with a sour face. Anna’s smile quickly faded away and Jace fell silent. I frowned at everyone’s reaction and wondered what was going on.

  ‘She’s here, isn’t she?’ said Anna, her tone as cold as her brother when he spoke to me.

  Tristan Vice came down the stairs and I was surprised to see him home. It was Thursday and not yet six o’clock. He was usually still at the office. He had on his white shirt but it looked as if he had put it on himself in a hurry. It was the first time I’ve seen him like this. The top three buttons were undone and his hair was messy. Our eyes met momentarily and I enquired him with a glance. Although I lived in his house, Tristan made an effort not to speak to me. Conversations were only made if they concerned Anna.

  A woman walked out of his room and revealed herself to me. She was tall, blonde and looked like a model. She wore one of Tristan’s shirts. It was long enough to cover mid her thighs and she did not wear any pants. She made it no secret what went on between her and Tristan behind closed doors. I felt sick at the realization and my heart cracked with pain. The woman must be the dreaded fiancée I’ve yet to meet. Of course she must be. Who else could she be?

  Anna immediately dropped the grocery bags and left. I turned after her but she was already out through the door.

  ‘Anna,’ I called out after her. Placing the bags down, I chased after the girl. ‘Anna!’

  Anna was running down the driveway and out through the front gates. She continued to run until she was out of breath and when I finally caught up to her half way down the street, I saw that her face was covered in tears. She threw her arms around my neck and sobbed.

  ‘I hate her! I hate her! I hate her!’ she repeated in my ear.

  ‘Hey, everything’s going to be alright. I’m here now.’