‘ plead the fifth ‘ – and bang. door shut right in his face. that’s what judith lidell wants to do when she sees him there. – her own blood, her brother. the way he bears a resemblance very close to their father is giving jude a sharp headache, it is sobering to an annoying level. perhaps she can actually shut the door without saying a thing, however, this time it wouldn’t solve her problems. after her eyes study him with no hint of softness in them, she waits for a few seconds. she doesn’t know what exactly she is waiting for other than viktor showing up and maybe that giving her brother a reason to leave her apartment’s entrance. nobody shows up, nathaniel doesn’t move – alas ! – the peculiar silence is broken all at once as judith gives him an answer in the most soulless way possible. “ never heard of them. are you done ? because i don’t have time for this kid. ” the door already half-closed, she thinks her vulgar behavior will do the job, she kind of prays it will do. her annoyed expression veils the way she exactly feels. haunted and alerted. she has been running from her past, running from him. protecting him secretly. she had her doubts but she thought she was doing well. – where did she go wrong ?
“ no, wait — ! ’ his foot finds the gap at the door first, immediate physical reaction to stop her from closing it, and then come his eyes, peering through the breach a second later, staring — all hopeful — at the annoyed expression on her features. every atom in nate’s body was begging him to let it go, go home, leave this stupid idea behind. ( his palms were sweaty, his heartbeat ringing against his ear. ) every part of him was insanely curious to figure out the outcome of this. it did not make sense. jude lidell was one piece of information that did not make sense with everything else. he needed to know. “ hi, well, sorry, no. hm. it’s just, well, it’s not that— not that i am accusing you of lying or anything, but it’s, hm— well, you share the same last name as them, and some uncanny resemblance too, especially to charlotte. i, hm. ” he half shrugs. the sentence getting lost midway through being uttered. he was going over it again and again in his head: jude lidell was spirit. she had saved him more than a few times. she had the same last name as his biological parents, the same eyes as his mother. he just couldn’t come up with any conclusion out of it. at least, nothing that didn’t sound outlandish, insane. “ i promise i won’t take long with the questions. like, fifteen minutes max. i can, hm, buy you an ice cream ? for the trouble ? everybody likes ice cream, right ? ”
