Tête-à-Tête

Nighttime was certainly cursed. It must be. While the sunlight of day brought forth clarity and joy, the tenebrosity of night brought only mystery and misery. The small oil lamp which sat on the table before Oscar was not enough to cast away the creeping shadows that only grew as the moon rose and fell below the horizon.

"Effie."

Oscar looked up as he spoke, turning his attention to Effie, who was sitting beside him a few feet away. He faced her, hoping to meet her gaze and understand, through her sunken eyes, how she was feeling. To his dismay, though, she continued staring blankly down at her fingers, fidgeting and twirling them around each other.

"Effie," He spoke with a bit more power in his voice, but his throat could only squeeze out her name with a tense tremble.

"Hm?" Effie broke out of her trance, her head tilting slightly towards Oscar's. Still, she did not look at him.

"How are you feeling?"

Effie fell silent. Oscar shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Effie, please tal-"

"Does that matter?"

Oscar blinked at her response.

"What do you mean?" He leaned forward, squinting his eyes with concern, "Of course it does, I mea-"

"No, Oscar," She shuffled to the side, putting greater distance between them, "For God's sake, stop acting as if you care at all."

His face went pale, his eyes widening.

"Effie? What are you talking about? Of course I care. Something awful just happened to you."

She once again let the silence fill the ro9m before she sighed, looking up and finally meeting Oscar's gaze.

For once, her stare was firm. Not hostile, no, but filled with contempt and anger. The gentle, meek girl that Oscar had known for so long was certainly gone now.

The night had claimed a part of her too, as it did everyone.

"I know it's an act, Oscar. I mean, it's not as if I see you as malignant, but I know your motivations are self-serving," She stood up, her hands clutching her dress as she did so.

"Did Peter tell you that?" His face hardened as he quickly stood, taking a step towards her.

"No, Oscar. Stop focusing so much on him - and everyone else, too. You're so forceful and pushy and focused on everyone but yourself - God!" She scoffed, "Your lack of self-awareness is maddening. It's not as if everything that has happened is your fault, but to claim you didn't play a goodly role in this would be an immense understatement!"

With those words, she quickly turned and sped out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

It's not as if Oscar could have said anything, either. In reality, what could he say? She was right. He knew she was right.

This was his fault, wasn't it?