Lawless

Chapter Fourteen

It's early the next morning when my eyes peel open. I'm still lying in the position i fell asleep in and my room appears the same as it does every other morning, the only difference is the slight lingering scent of cigarettes.

My eyes snap to every corner of my room, looking for the culprit but he's nowhere to be found along with my bag. The alarm on my bedside table shows that its 6.10am. I run my hand over the space Sage occupied last night, finding it still warm.

My eyes zero in on the unlocked bedroom door; the only evidence that he was ever here.

A gasp escapes my lips as I glance at my wedding dress that hangs on the back of the door. I stumbled out of bed, my feet tangled in the throw blanket that had covered us sometime during the night.

I gently run my fingers over the torn fabric. Diagonal lines had been cut into the dress, tearing it to shreds. The knife had torn through the entire dress and left marks in the wooden door.

I huff out a breath through my nose, knowing exactly who had done it.

I'm unsure how to feel, on one hand I hate like the dress, but that doesn't make what was done okay. How am I going to explain this to everyone?

"Dove!" Ma calls from downstairs, pans clanging together in the kitchen.

"Coming!" I call back. I have no more time to ponder on the dress. I quickly change into clean clothes and brush my teeth before heading down to help Ma with breakfast.

*

After a day of struggling to keep the destroyed dress hidden from Ma I find myself sitting up on the hill outside of Class once again. The sun is getting low as dusk sets in, each breath I breathe lets out fog as I rub my hands together in an attempt to warm up.

I take a moment to think about last night, I didn't wake once. It was the best sleep I'd had in years; there was no anticipation of the alarm being triggered or gunshots being heard throughout the night. As soon as Sage had pulled me close I was out like a light.

Movement on Lawless side of the fence in the far distance catches my attention. There's a flash of a blue shirt weaving in and out of the bushes. I stand, hoping it would make my view clearer.

The figure freezes and then flinches as if to run back into the bushes. The scraggly hair made it known to me who the figure was.

Axel took a minute to recognise me before he looks both ways along the fence, waves hi and throws something onto Class side of the fence before running back in the direction of Lawless.

Taking a deep breath, I gather the courage to make my way over to the fence. No guards are in sight as I move as fast as I can towards the fence.

As I get closer I realise what the object is.

It's my bag. The same bag Sage took with him this morning, except now it's empty.

I gather the bag and hurry my way home, rain lightly sprinkling my skin. Once in the safety of my room I check the bag a second time for anything, but find nothing.

Something catches my eye as it flutters from the bag and lands on the floor.

It's a little purple flower.

*

I'm outside on the back patio with a cup of tea, gazing through the fence when I hear the shrill screech of my mother. I sit up straight in panic before noticing the noise had come from upstairs.

My face instantly pales and my heartrate picks up as I realise Ma had found the shredded dress I'd been able to hide from her for the past week.

Ma's heels clank on the stairs rapidly, getting closer and closer.