a change of heart | e.k

Chapter Nine

At the end of book three, Lane was almost given over to The Unknowns by the Governor. Because of this, they aren't exactly on the best terms.

When things went wrong, her father used to hold her close and reassure her that it was all right.

As a child, there wasn't much you knew about the world. It never quite sunk in how cruel the world could be, which hurt all the more when you were let down by it. Until the age of five, that was how she was.

There'd been a sudden shift in her father around that time. Something colder, even more unforgiving came to the surface. He was still the man that she knew, but he was somehow... different. To this day, she had a hard time pinpointing exactly what had changed. But she just knew that when she came to him crying, his response was no longer comforting.

"It's a cruel world, Brigid," her father would say, his arms an iron cage around her. "Yer brothers know this already. It's time you learn it, too."

Following that, would be different variations of statements that ultimately lead to the same thing. That she had to smarten up. That she had to dry her tears, and lift her chin. That she had to work to be stronger, for the world around her would not soften for her sake.

She still wondered what had happened to the kind-hearted man she used to know.

Glancing over at Domino, she noted the way the girl had the frying pan gripped in her hands as she slept. Lane had woken up earlier, and instead of trying to fall back asleep, had taken some time to herself.

Like Domino had suggested at the beginning of the week, they'd gone around and asked for shelter for the night, as the winds soon grew too cold to stay outside. Although shut down by many, a few older couples had welcomed them in, and had told them what they knew when asked about a man named Kyle Delancey.

It was never much.

She couldn't ignore the pitying eyes that turned to her when Domino elaborated that they were looking for her father. It seemed like a child's dream, didn't it? Yet Lane didn't believe it was, and there weren't very many things in life that Lane was hopeful about. She figured it was alright to hold onto this one impossible dream.

That was until Domino took her aside later that day, a grave expression on her face.

"I've been..." Domino pursed her lips together and glanced upward, chest expanding with a deep sigh. "I've been thinkin'."

"You don't say," Lane said warily, knowing that she wouldn't like what Domino had been planning to tell her.

Sure enough, Domino began shifting on her feet, as she did when she was uncomfortable. "Look, I know how much dis all means ta you, but I don't think wese makin' any notable progress."

"It's been a week!" argued Lane.

"A week dat coulda been spent gettin' oth-ah stuff done!" Domino yelled back. "I know you wanna find yer dad, but even if he is alive, we ain't gonna find him just like dat!" She took a moment to breathe. "If you really cared about everyone else, you'd go back ta tha lodge 'n help out dere, like everyone else!"

"My father is tha one who could changed everythin' fa us," Lane sneered. "And, in case you forgot, Frisks is aft-ah both me 'n Finch! If we go back, she's gonna make me kill him!"

"So yer jus gonna wait until she kills him for you?" Domino scoffed. "Lane, you can't keep runnin' away!"

Lane stumbled back, the words striking a nerve. "I ain't runnin', Dom."

"Then prove it."

She spent a long moment gritting her teeth, kicking at the cold ground. Domino was being reasonable, she knew that. As far as they knew, they were chasing after nothing but a mere ghost.