Chapter 137 Just Stay Cool
"When you finally get your head straight and give me back my money, I'll let you out." Aaron pocketed the key and stuck his tongue out at Katniss.
"This house isn't just yours. If you know what's good for you, let me out early!" Katniss shot back, eyes glued to the locked door.
She walked over and gave it a little shake, but it didn't budge.
Aaron smirked, "If you got the guts, get Tristan to rescue you. If you can make me let you out today, I'll let you boss me around from now on!"
He eyed the phone in her hand, kicking himself for not taking it, but he wasn't about to open the door again to grab it.
He had no choice but to give up, stubbornly refusing to open the door. With a cold snort, he turned and bolted.
Katniss opened her mouth, but he was gone before she could say anything.
She had no choice but to plop down on a chair in the greenhouse and take a quick nap.
As evening rolled in, the starry sky was lit up, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of flowers.
An hour drifted by, but Aaron was a no-show, and she started to get antsy.
She whipped out her phone and fired off message after message to Aaron.
[You know locking someone up is illegal, right?]
[Think I won't call the cops?]
[I don't have any cash here. Let me out, and I'll get you the money.]
Nothing but crickets. Aaron probably didn't buy it and couldn't be bothered to reply.
Feeling a bit down, Katniss sniffled and mulled over Aaron's words: "If you got the guts, get Tristan to rescue you."
She tapped her finger on the screen a few times, staring at Tristan's Facebook in a daze.
After a while, she ditched the idea of asking Tristan for help and waited it out for another hour.
At nine PM, when the class was supposed to end, she spotted Aaron in the bedroom through the villa's lights, with a dim light on.
She had no choice but to pick up her phone and send Aaron another message: [If I don't go back, my family will freak out and call the cops. The cops will come knocking!]
Within two minutes, the dim light in the bedroom went out!
Aaron had hit the sack!
Katniss felt a sharp pain in her head and slumped onto the chair. No matter how stunning the starry sky was, she wasn't in the mood to enjoy it.
But she didn't believe Aaron could keep her locked up here to starve or die of thirst!
As long as she stayed cool, he'd have to come and beg her to leave!
The greenhouse had power, and she had her laptop, so her work wouldn't suffer.
There was also a small room in the corner with all sorts of fertilizers and gardening tools, plus a bathroom. It wasn't used much, but it still worked.
The only bummer was she'd have to push back tutoring Donna tomorrow night, so she decided to stay put. After all, it wasn't cold here.
In his room, Aaron stuck his head out the window, trying to see what was going on in the greenhouse, but the angle was all wrong, and he couldn't see squat.
He had no choice but to leave the room and quietly head to the top floor. To his surprise, as soon as he hit the stairway, he saw Tristan standing at the corner.
He jumped and blurted out, "Tristan."
"Where you headed?" Tristan had a cigarette between his fingers, dressed in a suit like he just got back and hadn't had time to change.
But weirdly, there was a pile of cigarette ash at his feet, like he'd been back for a while.
After a quick think, Aaron said, "Just wanted to take a walk. Can't sleep; need some fresh air."
"It's late. Don't wander around. Go back to your room and sleep," Tristan said firmly.
The hallway was tense. Aaron wondered how long he could keep Katniss locked in the greenhouse. He'd keep it a secret as long as he could.
He mumbled, "Got it." Then he turned and went back to his room, flopping onto the bed and crashing out.
Tristan stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it in the trash. With one hand in his pocket, he turned and headed upstairs.
The glass greenhouse on the top floor took up a quarter of the villa; it was surrounded by colorful lights, leaving the whole place lit up like daytime.
Katniss's long hair glowing in the warm light. She was curled up on a chair, wrapped in a black coat, her delicate face peaceful.
She was out cold, not waking up even though he stood outside the greenhouse for a long time.
"Stubborn," Tristan smirked, pulled out his phone, tapped it a few times, and then turned to go downstairs.
Around five in the morning, the first rays of sunlight streamed in, bouncing off the glass onto Katniss's face.
She frowned, shifted uncomfortably, and almost fell off the chair.
Propping herself up with her hands, she stared blankly for a few seconds before remembering Aaron had locked her in the greenhouse.
She got up and walked to the door, which was still locked.
In the corner by the door, she spotted a few cigarette butts. She was stunned for a few seconds.
Aaron didn't smoke. Could it be Tristan?
But she wasn't sure if the cigarette butts had been there yesterday.
She knocked on the door a few times, but it was useless, so she sat back down.
She tidied up the greenhouse a bit, moved a small glass table to a spot with a power outlet, and started working on her laptop.
She worked until ten in the morning when her phone buzzed. It was a colleague from the education center calling.
"Ms. Grey, are you coming to the office today?" the voice on the other end asked.
"Probably not today," Katniss said, checking the time. "And maybe not tomorrow either."
She was ready to hunker down, determined not to cave to Aaron.
Her colleague hesitated for a moment and said, "Mr. Turner is here. He said he's packing up to leave and wants to see you."
"I don't have time. Just let him pack up and go. No need to meet." Katniss figured Jesse wanted to apologize in person.
After giving her colleague a few instructions, she hung up and stretched, only to suddenly notice a bowl of spaghetti outside the small window of the greenhouse.
It was still steaming, with a few sprinkles of green onions on top.
She rubbed her eyes and looked again; the bowl of spaghetti was still there.
She wasn't super hungry. It was normal for her to skip a meal or two when she was deep in work, so she decided to ignore it.
She figured Aaron was scared she'd starve and had brought his own breakfast over. If she ate it, Aaron would know she wouldn't starve and would be even less likely to open the door.
She decided to stick to her plan of starving herself, so Aaron would get freaked out.
So not only did she not eat, but she also closed the small window.
She went back to work and saw a message from her colleague saying that Jesse had left but insisted on seeing her and would come back next time.
She didn't reply and sighed quietly.
At the third-floor stairway, Aaron leaned over to look at the first floor and could vaguely see Tristan sitting on the sofa.
'He isn't going to work?' Aaron hesitated and glanced upstairs, looking a bit conflicted.
At noon, he went downstairs to eat and, while Tristan wasn't paying attention, stuffed a piece of bread into his pocket.
"What are you doing?" Tristan glanced at him. "Take it out."
"I'll be hungry in the afternoon," Aaron said.
Tristan raised an eyebrow. "If you're hungry, there's food in the fridge."
With Tristan's cold and indifferent gaze on him, Aaron instinctively took the bread out.
Then he absentmindedly ate a few bites and went upstairs, glancing down from the third floor.
Making sure he couldn't see Tristan, he went up to the top floor.
The midday sun was just right, and Katniss, who had been busy all morning, was taking a nap on the chair.
Suddenly, she heard a noise and turned to see Aaron.
He knocked on the window by the door and, seeing her turn her head, immediately said, "I'm giving you one last chance. Are you gonna return the money or not?"
"No." Katniss turned away and closed her eyes to rest.
Her calm and chill demeanor was a total contrast to Aaron's obvious impatience.
"I'm telling you, this greenhouse is haunted. Late at night, you're all alone. Aren't you scared something spooky might happen?" Aaron said, trying to spook her.
Even resorting to scare tactics, he was still just a kid.
Without missing a beat, Katniss said, "If there are ghosts, that's awesome. I won't be bored."
Aaron was stumped. Worried that hanging around too long would get him caught by Tristan, he turned and left.
Katniss didn't even have time to ask him to take the bowl of spaghetti away. She glanced in another direction and was surprised to find the bowl was gone.
She hesitated for a few seconds. Could Aaron have already taken it away?
On one hand, he was scared she'd starve, and on the other, he was threatening her. Truly a kid's mindset.
She took a nap, and when she woke up, she found another serving of corned beef hash outside the small window.
She could vaguely smell the aroma through the window, but she resisted.
At dinner, Aaron asked Tristan a question. "Tristan, how many days can a person go without food and water before they die?"
"Three days without water, seven days without food," Tristan said slowly, eating his meal. He furrowed his brow, lost in thought.
Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. It had only been one day.
He looked down at his bowl of clumped spaghetti and frowned. "Tristan, what is this?"
"Leftover spaghetti from breakfast," Tristan said.
Leftovers for dinner? Was the family out of money? Aaron only dared to complain in his mind. He glanced at a plate of not-so-fresh fried rice in front of him.
He asked again, "What's this?"
"In case the spaghetti isn't enough, there's fried rice too." Tristan pushed the corned beef hash toward him. "Don't waste it."
Something felt off, but Aaron still ate everything.
As night fell, Katniss adjusted the greenhouse lights, leaving only a small one on.
The light shone down on her, and thanks to Nightfall City's mild nights, she could endure it.
By now, she was regretting not eating the food. She was really hungry after a day.
She glanced at the small window and saw another dinner there.
She got off the chair, torn with indecision.
Should she eat? If she did, Aaron might really plan to keep her locked up here long-term.
But she was really hungry.
Should she ask Tristan for help?
She bit her lip, scratched her head, and stopped halfway, torn between eating and not eating.
Her brain told her not to eat, but her eyes kept glancing at the food.
Then she noticed a note under the bowl.
She quickly walked over and took the note. It had only one word on it: [Idiot!]
The handwriting was familiar, bold and carefree, just like Tristan's personality.
So the food was from Tristan, not Aaron!
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