Lawless

Chapter FortyFive

"He's not here" my voice cracks as I finally let a sob out. Everyone else remains quiet as we meander around the vehicle.

My hands rise to the back of my head as I look back towards Class, wanting Sage to walk through the bush and join us by the Jeep.

Gunner's fingers tap on the hood of the car, the tapping getting faster and faster before he finally slaps the bonnet and rounds the front.

"Get in the car, you stay with them. Gabe come with me" he orders as he storms back into the bush. Penelope and I get into the backseat of the Jeep just as the sky clouds over in an ominous grey. Ryder continues standing outside the Jeep, leaning on it and watching as Gabe and Gunner walk away, his gun by his side.

Penelope and I sit in silence as Gunner and Gabe become hidden in the bush. Penelope grabs my arm, rubbing it gently as my eyes scan the bush, looking for any sign of movement.

"Did you see him at all?" I ask Penelope, hoping she'd seen Sage during the shooting in Class.

"No" she whispers. I nod sadly and continue gazing out the window.

Ryder stands still, his gun at the ready as he switches his gaze from scanning the bush and watching the road that leads out of Lawless and into Class.

My ears keep playing games on me as I imagine the sound of tires heard coming closer, making me flinch each time.

"Are Sir Walter and Jace dead?" Penelope questions, her voice low as she looks around the Jeeps surroundings.

I nod; the sight of both of their lifeless eyes flash in my mind as I look down at my blood soaked wedding dress, the white now stained red.

I pull up the long dress to the top of my thigh, inspecting the blood soaked tie that did its best to hold my flesh together.

"Are you okay?" Penelope asks.

"Yeah, yeah I'll be fine" I reassure her as I pull the dress back down, the sight of so much blood making me internally panic but I manage to keep a straight face, wanting nothing to take away from Sage.

Hours pass and I feel myself drifting, Penelope lies next to me, her head lying on my shoulder as she sleeps. My head keeps falling forward as my eyes close, wanting to sleep but also wanting to stay awake in case Sage makes an appearance.

Eventually I can no longer keep my mind focused and lay my head on the window.

*

The slam of a car door shocks me out of sleep; Penelope's head also removes itself from my shoulder as she shoots up in a panic.

My head spins, my blood pressure dropping as I see white stars for a second before my eyes adjust to the darkness of the car, the sun now completely gone. I have no idea how long we'd spent waiting.

My eyes quickly scan the Jeep for Sage. Ryder sits in the drivers seat, Gunner in the passenger and Gabe besides Penelope. The slam of car doors was what had awoken us.

The moon is the only source of light as rain pelts down onto the car roof. Gunner and Gabes jackets shine in the moonlight, the shine of wetness making it apparent they're soaked to the bone.

I turn my head all around the car, looking behind us, somehow hoping to see Sage in the boot.

He's not.

"You didn't find him?" my voice is a weak whisper that cracks in-between. I feel all sets of eyes land on me but I only focus mine on Gunner as he turns in his seat to look at me.

"We'll come back tomorrow" is all he says. My head falls forward, unsure whether it's due to defeat or weakness.

"Dove" Penelope calls as she places her hand on my forehead and pushes it back to rest on the head rest.