Heath didn't want to come along so Micheal, Nick, Cage, and I were at the Alberta Halloween Carnival. Key word here is Halloween. I wasn't aware that it was a horror carnival until we drove up to the gates and I saw the jester at the front waving a giant axe and handing out pamphlets. Needless to say, I hated being here every second and Cage wouldn't let go of my hand. Not because he was afraid, but because I was. It was comforting to cower behind him whenever a clown jumped out at us.

Since it was the last day, the fairgrounds was full of mostly teenagers and adults. There weren't very many kids because it was late at night and it was a horror carnival even though it wasn't anywhere close to Halloween. It was the middle of January, for goodness sakes. The sky was a clear dark blue with very few stars and everything was lit up from the fair lights. There was the usual House of Mirrors, Maze of Jesters, and Tunnel of Death along with many booth games and fair stands with vendors dressed as ghosts, ghouls, and goblins selling food.

There was also a very ridiculous number of clowns, which meant a very ridiculous amount of nightmares I'd have tonight.

I don't know why we were even here. Cage Vickers was not the type of man who went to carnivals, it seemed, but apparently I was wrong. He didn't even scream when a man that had a fake axe sticking from his chest rushed at us even though I did. I did more screaming in one night than I had ever done in the past seventeen years. And Cage loved every minute of this new form of torture.

I was sweating through my clothes. Not because I was scared, but because of what I planned to do. The little bubble of desperation that was in me from the night they hijacked my car had grown bigger. Four days without Fern. That might not seem like a lot, but spending 96 hours with Cage Vickers and the Crows (yes, I did the math) for four days straight was one hour too much for me.

The burner phone shoved into my bra was uncomfortable but I wasn't complaining. It was more than I could think he'd let me do.

Through all the laughter and conversations around us, I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. There was something very important that Cage and I needed to talk about and I was desperate to get the truth from him whether it killed me to hear it or not.

"You've been very quiet, November." Nick suddenly spoke up, his voice amused. "I never would have believed it would ever get this silent again with you around."

"Shocking, isn't it?" I replied quietly.

Cage pressed his lips together and said nothing. He'd been very quiet as well and barely said more than a couple sentences. One hour, and the only things I heard from Cage were 'If you pull on my ear again, I'll break your fingers' and 'Stop walking so slow. A turtle walks faster than you.' and 'They're not going to hurt you, November. They're just clowns.' and 'I think mashed potatoes are the best version of potatoes.'

I stuck out my foot to try and trip Cage just for the heck of it. Of course, Cage didn't trip because he was one composed bastard, but he did give me a glare colder than the night air. Hey, that rhymed.

"We're gonna go the concession stand." Micheal announced. I think they just wanted to get away from Cage and I because the tension between us was so uncomfortable. With a wave, Micheal and Nick walked away and that's when I noticed the gun tucked under Micheal's shirt very unstably. Thankfully, Nick noticed it as well and made Micheal fix it before anyone else could see.

Cage and I were holding hands. Actually, it was more like Cage forced his fingers through mine and I was just letting it hang there because I could see no other choice. Before we entered the fairgrounds, Cage said, and I quote, "You can either hold my hand or I can handcuff us together. After your little failed stunt to escape, I'm not letting you wander around because I know you'll get yourself into some stupid fucking mess-" and that was as far as he got because I wet-willied his sorry butt after that.

Someone tapped my shoulder.

I turned around, saw the face, and screamed my little butt off before I realized it was just a mask.

The man, dressed in an orange prison suit and a plastic pig mask with bloody yellow fangs, chuckled loudly and stumbled off to scare other people. Do you see now why I was so reluctant to come here in the first place? I mean, I know it was their job and everything, but really, this was getting very ridiculous.

My heart was still bouncing around. "At least one of us is having a good time." I frowned at Cage, who was doubled over with laughter. My shriek had attacked the attention of several people around us, who also chuckled at my fright. I hated scary things, unless it was me doing the scaring. Then it was hilarious.

"Oh, come on princess." Cage straightened up, his face back to its usual iciness. "Lighten up."

Lighten up? Lighten up? After everything he's done, he tells me to lighten up. The nerve. Stinging with anger, I forced myself to calm down before I did something I'd regret. Lighten up. Like it was that easy. Everything was suddenly different and it was overwhelming. I didn't want to be here, I needed to go home. And I needed the truth from Cage before I left.

Grabbing his sleeve, I dragged Cage over to a tan brick building and shoved him through the door. I was surprised he let me do that, really.

"November." Cage said quietly. As always, he became the dominant one. Suddenly intimidated, I realized it was a bad idea to drag him in here. Not just to get away from the cold, but also because the suspicious front Cage had up for the last few hours was eating away at me. A hand touched my arm. I jumped and moved back, avoiding his piercing eyes.

The lighting above was dim, casting shadows over his face in a way that made Cage look even more dangerous. The fear tightened my chest but I knew that I wasn't afraid of him. Just of what he was going to say. But why wasn't I afraid of Cage Vickers when everyone else was? Because he promised not to hurt me? How silly.

"Why did you ask me about my parents' death?" As Cage reached for me, I backed away. I couldn't bear touching him, to feel his skin on mine and like it when I knew how bad Cage Vickers was. I didn't care where I was going, I just needed to go. Unfortunately, Cage was not the type of person who left things alone. With each step he took, I took one step back.

His face gave away nothing. When Cage didn't immediately answer, I forced myself to elaborate even though it was killing me just thinking about it. "You asked pretty specific questions, Cage." I whispered. A lump in my throat made the words hard to speak. "Why? Why did you need to know so badly about when they died-"

My back bumped into a wall. Cage was still walking towards me, taking his time. Slow, torturous steps that made the panic in my stomach grow. He said nothing, did nothing. The light above flickered, making my heart thud. Fumbling behind me, my shaky fingers found the doorknob and I pulled it open.

Cage paused and glanced at something behind me. "Come here." His voice was hard and firm, holding a threatening tone that I tried to ignore. I knew he had a gun on him somewhere. I wasn't afraid Cage, so long as weapons weren't involved.

I stepped into the room, too nervous to focus on anything but Cage's dark figure in the hallway. My legs felt like jelly but I forced myself to keep taking steps backwards to keep the distance between us equal. "Answer my question, Cage." My voice shook on his name.

"I will explain everything, November." Cage growled. "Come here. Don't go any further into that room, you won't like it."

I finally understood what Cage meant by that. A reflection of a girl who looked just like me, missing eyebrow and all, stared back. We were in the House of Mirrors. Every wall was covered with it, even the floors. The dim lighting above cast a bright glare down on everything. Cage saw that I wasn't coming back out so he came in, boots thudding hard enough to break the glass. Even as Cage strode towards me, I walked back, deeper into the room until everywhere I looked, I could see myself and Cage.

I couldn't care less about my surroundings. I needed to hear whatever bullshit explanation Cage planned to give me. And if he wasn't going to tell me the truth, there was always Micheal. But their conversation in the kitchen and the nervous stare Cage has been giving me all day didn't not mean nothing.

"Then tell me!" I said angrily. "Tell me why you needed to know, Cage."

"Before you jump to conclusions-" He said carefully and slowly, each word enunciated through the air like he was making sure I understood. Cage paused, seeming to struggle to say the next part. "-I need you to know, I had absolutely nothing to do with your parents' death...Romeo Barsille did."