War of Hearts 》Bellamy Blake

S E V E N

Brinley sat beside Charlotte on the cold ground, watching as the younger girl drew patterns in the dirt on the floor of the cave. Bellamy sat across from the two, arms crossed and looking tense.

Brinley rested her head against the flattest part of the cave wall that was within reach, closing her eyes as she spoke.

'How long do you think we'll be in here?'

Bellamy sighed. 'I don't know.'

Brinley didn't reply to his answer as she opened her eyes, feeling Charlotte moving around near here. The girl was tugging at the braids in her hair, pulling the hair ties out in annoyance.

'You okay there?' Brinley asked, amused at the scowl on the young face.

Charlotte huffed. 'My hair is annoying and I can't fix it.'

Brinley frowned. 'Who did it for you last time?'

'Clarke.'

Brinley forced herself to not roll her eyes. It was such a Clarke thing to do.

'Do you want me to fix it up for you?'

Charlotte looked up at the older girl with kind eyes. 'Can you? Please?'

'Come sit here.' Brinley gestured to the ground in front of her as Charlotte immediately shuffled her way over.

'Do you want two braids again?'

Charlotte nodded. 'Yes please.'

Bellamy watched curiously as Brinley's hands moved gently through Charlotte's hair, untangling it and fluffing it out as best she could without a proper hairbrush.

Bellamy could remember Octavia at Charlotte's age, always wanting to try different hairstyles she'd seen in old magazines or books. No matter how hard he tried, braiding was the one thing he couldn't get the hang of. Tying a complicated knot or making a weapon from scratch was no problem but braiding? It just wasn't something he could do.

Brinley carefully separated Charlotte's hair into even sections before she began twisting her hair into two thick braids. Her fingers worked quickly and efficiently and in no time at all, Charlotte's hair was neat and tidy again.

It was the first time Bellamy had really seen Brinley without a sarcastic sneer plastered on her face, she looked different, he noted. Of course, the two seemed to bring out the worst in each other, he couldn't imagine Brinley being so sarcastic and cold towards his sister because there is no way Octavia would be friends with someone like that willingly.

Brinley tugged on the ends of Charlotte's braids playfully.

'There you go, why don't you try to get some rest? One of us will wake you if anything happens.' Brinley's voice was soft as she spoke gently to Charlotte, who smiled up at her.

There was a slight rustling from across from the two girls and Brinley looked up in interest and Bellamy shrugged out of his jacket, holding it out in front of him.

'Here, you'll need this.' He smiled at Charlotte who smiled tentatively back.

'Thank you.' She whispered gratefully. The cold had already begun seeping through the thinning jacket she wore.

Charlotte wasted no time moving to a flatter area before curling up on the ground with Bellamy's jacket over her and combined with the gentle circles Brinley had unconsciously began tracing on her shoulder, it wasn't long before a deep sleep claimed the small girl.

One she was sure Charlotte was asleep; she turned her head in Bellamy's direction.

'That was nice of you.' Her tone was surprised and Bellamy couldn't help but feel slightly insulted.