United Amidst A Great Divide Ch.16 - In The Silence Of The Night
Hey guys! Hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long for this chapter, I think this may have been one of the fastest updates in a while! And once again, thank you SOO much for all of the comments! I decided to do a double update this time because I wrote a lot and I thought I would use it as a thank you for always being so patient while I take forever writing this story! Anyway, hope you enjoy it and keep in mind that this is definitely NOT the end, so I’ll try to get the next one out quickly! :)
Chapter 16 - In The Silence Of The Night
“Chuck!?”
The abrupt exclamation caused both Blair and Chuck to start, and the hand that Chuck had extended to Blair’s cheek twitched against her skin upon hearing the tone of the familiar voice. He had not heard it in such a long time that it was both strange and comforting all at once.
Swiftly rising from his knees, Chuck caught a young woman with long layers of blonde locks in his embrace, as she flung herself against his chest.
“I’ve missed you so much, Chuck! I didn’t think you would ever come home!” she announced, while holding Chuck around his shoulders and burying her face in his neck. Blair felt her heart sink, whoever she was, she was certainly gorgeous with her gold colored hair and she certainly held no resemblance to the dark haired man she was hugging fiercely.
Chuck smiled softly at her slightly dramatic words and pet both of his hands down the girl’s thick waves, and as Blair sadly noticed, in just the same way that he would stroke her hair. “Oh, Serena, did you really think your big brother would not come home to you?”
Blair’s emotions were so shot that she felt that she could have cried with surprise and relief when she heard Chuck refer to himself as the young woman’s brother. She knew nothing of him having any siblings, and the fact that he had not told her made her feel as if the time they had spent together was unimportant. Yet, she still sat uncomfortably in his family’s foyer, watching him have a long awaited homecoming with his sister.
Finally, after what seemed like several long minutes, Chuck turned his attention back to Blair and placed his hand on Serena’s back, urging her forward. And suddenly, increasingly worried blue eyes were concentrated on deep brown ones.
“Serena this is Blair, and Blair this is my sister…well, my step-sister, Serena.” Chuck said somewhat uneasily. He was not sure how Blair would be welcomed into his home, but he could only hope that it would be warmly.
Blair felt like a fool, at a loss for words and looking like complete trash in front of this beautiful girl in her obviously expensive silk dressing gown. She had never felt such an emotion before and it brought back memories from when she had those luxuries, and when she would have never felt like she was below anyone. But as the seconds ticked past and Serena continued to study her silently as well, she began to notice that the only expression on the other girl’s face was one of concern.
“Did you come from the ocean!?” Serena anxiously inquired after taking in Blair’s drenched and shivering form. The question was meant for her brother, although her gaze was directed at the brunette that she was moving to kneel beside. She did not have the slightest idea as to why Chuck had someone with him and a woman no less, but she would wonder about that later.
“You poor thing, you’re soaked to the bone!” Serena said with dismay, after she had placed her hand over Blair’s knee.
“Charles, is that you!?”
Suddenly, the room was erupting into chaos with different noises and emotions, keeping Chuck thoroughly distracted so that Blair could only timidly look to Serena for guidance. Both of their eyes reflected confusion, and knowing that she had an advantage in the situation, Serena held Blair’s hand between her own, hoping to give her some reassurance.
Chuck was taking another woman into his arms, this one older and more restrained in her affections, but with the same light hair as Serena. He seemed to enjoy the reunion, but his eyes were trained on the figure hanging back in the shadows of the dim room, who was watching the exchange with an imposing presence.
Sensing the preexisting tension that emanated from the two men that stood on opposite sides of her, the woman slowly pulled away, turned around, and stepped to the side. Blair watched with bewilderment, trying to determine what might happen next, while Serena trained her eyes on anything besides the other individuals.
“Charles, you are the last person I expected to see this evening. It has been a year and a half, and you could not even give word of your homecoming?” The man’s voice was rich and deep, but his tone was full of a coldness that automatically sent Blair into a state of uneasiness, especially when she realized that he was not finished speaking. “And it seems that you’ve brought company, how fitting. I can see that your enlisting had a great affect on you.”
The young blonde before her tightened her grip, but it could not have helped, Blair wished to disappear after hearing the cynical comment.
“Bart, don’t be so -”
“Quiet, Lily, let my son speak for himself.” Bart stated plainly, taking a few steps forward so more of the candles’ glow lit his heavily creased brow and stern expression.
“Father, I…” Chuck’s words died off soon after beginning, and Blair felt her pulse quicken with anxiety. He never doubted himself, at least not in her presence and seeing him do it in such a situation made her fearful beyond explanation.
With an air of defeat about him, Chuck turned to glance at Blair and his sister before turning back to his father. “Maybe we should discuss this in private?”
Bart’s response and acknowledgment was a curt nod, and him turning on his heel to make his way to a different location in the house. When Chuck moved to follow behind him, Blair’s lips parted and a shaky breath escaped; she wanted to call him back, but what could she say?
He seemed to take her into consideration for even though he could not have heard the sharp exhalation, he turned around once more to look at her, his eyes apologetic. But it was no use, he still walked away - leaving Blair with his step-sister and the woman that she could only assume was his step-mother - and for that she could have cursed him, screamed at him, slapped him, anything to make him realize what he was doing to her.
As Chuck left the room, Blair could feel stinging tears gather on her eyelashes and she tried to breathe evenly in an effort to hold them at bay; she would not let herself cry. It was only right that he chose his father before her, or at least that is what she would try to tell herself.
“Blair?” Serena gently tested, brushing her thumb over the brunette’s knuckles. She herself was nearly lost in what exactly was happening, but the poignant look on her brother’s face and the pain in Blair’s eyes told her it was somehow serious and important.
“Yes?” Blair whispered, meeting the blonde’s gaze while hoping that her simple answer would suffice, since she did not know how clearly she would be able to speak.
Once Serena had her attention she realized that she did not know what to say to someone that she did not know, and who appeared to be on the verge of breaking down. But thankfully, her mother knew to take control, as she so often did.
“Come with me, my darling. We’ll have a bath drawn for you,” informed Lily in a way that was tender, yet firm enough to not be refused. She smiled warmly as she gestured for Blair to stand and follow her, and without any other options the brunette listened obediently.
*****
After the time it took to fill a porcelain bath with heated water, Blair found herself in a tub with her knees hugged to her chest. It was soothing to have washed out her hair and sloughed off the feeling of sickness from being at sea, but she still could not rid herself of the chills that had set in when she, Nate, and Chuck had left the ship.
Serena sat beside her, as she had finished bathing long ago and now just sat numbly in the cooling liquid. She could not bring herself to be modest, and although she truly did not know the blonde woman, she did know that she did not want to be alone. Her thoughts were of the man she loved and whose baby she carried, and of how his father could treat him so badly after not seeing him for so long.
“Won’t you eat anything?” Serena suddenly asked, referring to the plate of food that Lily had, had prepared for her by the family’s cook. Her mother had insisted that she try to get the young brunette to eat, stating that they needed to remedy her lack of color and liveliness.
Blair lifted her head a little, bringing the tips of her hair from beneath the water so it created light dripping sounds. “I can’t…”
Serena smiled softly, trying to be as friendly and comforting as possible. “Of course you can, Chuck would want you to have anything you need.”
“No, it’s not that…” Blair whispered, shaking her head and staring down at her knees, “I feel ill…”
The confession was not surprising and prompted Serena to urge her from the tepid water. Blair rose up, not feeling shy at all as the beads of moisture ran down her bare skin to be replaced with goose bumps, until she was handed a plush towel.
Serena politely averted her eyes while Blair dressed in the chemise and dark green robe she had gathered for her, all the while silently wondering who the person she was caring for really was. She had already made a point of sneakily examining Blair’s left hand; random letters had been the only correspondence between her and her brother during his time in the military, but she was certain that he would have told her if he had secretly taken a wife. There was no ring though - if that meant anything - and with the personality and skewed morals that she knew Chuck possessed, she did not doubt it. She could have never imagined him being selfless or patient enough to care for anyone in that manner, and for that reason she still could not find an explanation for Blair’s presence.
“Serena?” Blair said lightly, pulling the blonde from her thoughts and indicating that she was finished. Then, she waited until they made eye contact before speaking again. “Thank you…”
A soft smile came over Serena’s face once more, and she looped her arm into Blair’s, while telling her, “You’re welcome.”
Whoever she is, Serena though to herself, she is the sweetest thing to have ever set foot near Chuck.
*****
“So, who is she?” Bart asked his son bluntly. He lounged into the cognac colored leather armchair of his office, clasping his fingers together and waiting expectantly. From years of experience, he knew it was best to relax while his only child tried to explain himself, because there were usually many false twists and turns along the way.
Chuck’s face was solemn as he thought of Blair and the easiest way to describe their relationship to one another, but there was no easy way to do so when they themselves did not know what it could be considered. One thing he did know though, was that he would not let his father dissuade him from Blair.
The older man sighed in exasperation, becoming impatient with his son’s speechlessness. “You know, Charles, I did not send you off to the military so you could come back with the same trouble I was trying to get you away from.”
“Blair is not trouble.” Chuck finally said in a firm tone, after hearing what his father had labeled the woman that meant so much to him.
Bart’s brows raised and then lowered again in a sarcastic show; anything involving Chuck Bass and beautiful women created some type of tribulation. “Lovely to know she has a first name. And if she is not trouble, then what is she to you?”
“I saved her, she needed someone and I was there for her…” Chuck began to explain, only to be cut off by a gruff sound.
“You saved her? Or she saved you from your enlistment!?” Bart quizzed, his voice growing with intensity and his eyes hardening further. “You mean to tell me that, that girl wasn’t the reason for your deserting!?”
Chuck was beginning to haze over with anger, he had always known about his father’s dislike of him and he knew that his choice to leave the army would be greatly frowned upon. But he was in disbelief that his very own father could not forget the discretion, and the ones of his youth, to take the time to appreciate that his son had come home alive and not in a pinewood box, or not at all.
“She had nothing to do with it!” Chuck shouted, standing from the chair he had been sitting in; he had too many emotions ripping through his body to stay still. “She wasn’t the reason. All along it meant nothing to me!”
“Well, I still won’t have your whores in my home!” Bart bellowed back, mirroring the movement of standing up.
Chuck hardly heard the comment; he was too focused on his father’s absurd attempts to act as if Blair was the real reason for his unnecessary anger. “Let her alone and tell me the real reason you are angry - me! I never wanted anything to do with you and your damn cause, and that is why you pushed me into it, to embellish your name and get rid of me all at once! Well, it didn’t work! The son you hate has come back!”
*****
Blair had toyed with the sash of the robe she was wearing for countless minutes, lost in thought. It felt nice to have the elegant slip of silk against her skin again and pillows beneath her head, but at the same time it reminded her of exactly where she was. Alone in Chuck’s sister’s room, missing him and wishing that it was his skin that was brushing along her body, instead of something that was not even her own.
Serena had left the room, most likely thinking that Blair would have liked to be left to her rest. But that only allowed for more wondering and anxiety, and once the sounds of individuals moving about the house had settled some Blair eventually let her nervous energy guide her to the door.
After taking up the candle that had been left lit and forgotten on the young blonde’s vanity, Blair curled her fingers around the knob and was relieved to find that its well oiled mechanisms did not grate as they slipped past one another.
The area beyond the door was even darker than the room she had left behind and made her rethink the reason why she was lurking about an unfamiliar house in the first place, but she continued onward. The reason was more important than she could begin to explain, but it was time to try.
As she walked silently through the hallway - occasionally lingering near doorways and listening for the low tones of Chuck’s voice - Blair had to admire the luxury that surrounded her. She could not discern them in great detail in the faintness of candle light, but the plush texture beneath her bare feet and the smoothness of the varnished wood beneath her fingertips told her that if she could see it in the daylight she would find an equally opulent saturation of color and images. His father was a businessman and that was as far as Blair’s knowledge went concerning Chuck’s family. She had supposed that he was fairly well-off judging by his mannerisms and his seemingly high level of education, but she would not have expected it to be as much as she was witnessing. And in addition to admiring a part of his life that she had not known, she also had to appreciate the family members that she had no prior knowledge of either. Serena and Lily had showed her a caring nature that she had not felt since many months before, when her mother was still alive and healthy.
Exploring the upper level of the house was fruitless and after tipping her head to the numerous doors and hearing nothing, she descended the stairs and felt her nervousness increase with every step, knowing it was bringing her closer to Chuck and her confession.
The cold marble at the foot of the stairs gave Blair’s senses a jolt and she stood still for a moment, feeling as if she should hold her breath in the house that up until a couple of hours before had been undisturbed. If she looked to her right she could see a slice of light falling across the floor, having escaped from the slightly ajar door of a chamber - maybe a parlor or a dining room. But if she listened to her left she could hear the strains of voices from another room down another hall, which sounded like they were possibly rising with anger.
“She had nothing to do with it!”
The words were surprising and clearly recognizable and Blair tensed, if she had not been standing still already hearing Chuck’s shouts certainly would have stopped her. He was arguing with his father and the subject - her - made her mind reel with guilt, but nothing could have prepared her for his next harsh announcement. Nothing at all.
“She wasn’t the reason! All along it meant nothing to me!”
To her, it meant everything and nothing all at once. He had obviously not wanted her to hear it, but now that she had overheard the words Blair did not know whether to be thankful for finally learning the truth or be crushed by its implications. Though it seemed the latter would wreak its havoc before anything else, because she had absolutely no reign over the winded feeling that stole the breath from her lungs and made her vision tilt like she had boarded another pitching ship.
As she climbed the stairs as fast as her shocked body would allow, the candle flame multiplied to double and triple, and then back to one as the tears welled in her eyes and blurred her vision, and then cleared again as they spilled over her cheeks. Her mouth parted in silent agony and her hand grasped at the green silk covering her abdomen and fisted the material, subconsciously wanting to protect her mistake of a child from her own torturous pain of rejection and betrayal.