She was thrilled to finally disclose some information she had been holding back from everyone. 

“I’d heard an interesting rumor years ago about Salvatore. It was an odd rumor that upon hearing it seemed too outlandish to even be considered plausible. Especially since I’d only ever heard it from one person.”

She was a true storyteller, from her movements to her expression, she left you wanting to hear more about this supposed rumor. She carried on giving me more and more to draw me in to end with one strange sentence.

“Grey can’t distinguish faces from each other, he has face blindness.” She studied my face as she whispered it to me as our meal came to an end.

“Since when? I know some people are born with it, but was that the case for him?”

She shook her head before taking a sip from her drink. 

“I'm not entirely sure, there is no way of telling. He hasn’t directly told me anything. I never see anyone he works with either, so I can’t coax anyone to tell me anything either. However, his behavior has always alluded to it. He distinguishes people by hair color, eye color, and their voices, though it’s not perfect method, so he keeps his circle small.”

Tatum further discussed how he couldn’t give much detail on Astrid when he asked her to look into who she was. He also dismissed the photos she presented him with that were sent to me as he couldn’t distinguish her face himself. His condition had made him terribly irritable, which I of course understood.

“He was desperate to find any way for you to side with him over your father— oh right, sorry about that.” 

She held her hand to her mouth and let out a slight giggle.

“Being your father’s right hand meant I found out rather quickly about you and your parents, sorry.”

“I get it, it’s fine, but what I really want to know is the real reason why you started working with Salvatore.” 

She fell into deep thought upon hearing that. It was clear that what she had just shared with me was quite shocking and if she shared it with me so quickly, it wasn’t here main reason for working with him.

“Honestly, I still haven’t found what I was originally looking for. It doesn’t seem like there is any answer to it. So, I guess you can say it doesn’t matter anymore.” 

She tried to play it off nonchalantly, but her words rang as untrustworthy. I could tell she hadn’t given up on finding out, she just couldn’t tell me that. 

I accepted her words and our meal and time together came to an end. With that, I found myself home alone and by that time it was nine at night. I begrudgingly picked up my mail from the front desk and made my way to my floor.

I absolutely loathed getting home past seven. It fed into my despair of being lost in my thoughts. My life had become a whirlwind of chaos upon taking this job. I’d come to realize that there were so many things that I had chosen to overlook. 

The fact of the matter is I knew nothing in regards to my parents or Astrid. I think in a way I was scared to further indulge myself in their affairs. 

Astrid was an absolute enigma in my life. I knew nothing of her familial ties or her true worries. I never ventured past the line that she had so carefully drawn for all that were close to her. I had resolved myself to not push those around me into an uncomfortable position. I had already seen the strain words could put on others because of my parents. People who were trying so hard for normalcy. At this point, even to me, it seemed like the only way to survive. 

However, after much debate with myself, I wondered if I had made it harder for them. Should I have pushed to have them rely on me to lessen their burden? The more I speak with those around me, I see their pain of not wanting to disappoint those closest to them. That became all the more apparent when Tatum shared her story today. She doesn’t want to worry Astrid with her plans and surprisingly enough Howl either. These people around me are shouldering all the burden of their pain and worries. If I stay still, can I help anyone move forward? My heart and my mind are telling me I need to start moving.

The web we have all become entangled in is getting more intricate with each passing day. For them it must feel like they will get eaten alive by the spider that has trapped them. 

I finally arrived to my humble and rather empty home. Like clockwork, I threw the mail onto the small table by the door only to hear a loud thud as it tumbled to the floor. I thought the mail had felt relatively heavy, but what could possibly have made such a echoing sound?

In a large envelope was a pristine collection of various artworks. There was no mention of a sale or an upcoming exhibition. The artists varied with no single artist having more than two or three pieces included in the file. The only things listed were the title, size, and artist as well as pictures of the artwork. When I reached the last paper, there was a simple sticky note that read in all caps,

ISN’T THIS INTERESTING?

The handwriting was messy and unfamiliar. They were referring to the last artist who's reference images were completely missing. I looked back at the front of the envelope to see my full name written the same way on the front with no sender. How odd. It looks like someone is giving me more work.