Temptations (#Wattys2017)

Three

Two weeks later

Sunlight trickled in through the narrow gap between the floor length curtains, lighting a crooked golden path across Saskia's sleeping form. Her phone buzzed on the nightstand beside her, causing her to jolt awake violently and throw one arm out to keep from toppling off the side of the bed. The text was from Zoe, demanding she meet her in their favourite coffee shop as soon as possible.

Today was the day. Later that afternoon she would be sent on her way to the Willow Park Academy in Exeter, located on the south west coast of England. It was also hours away from London. She was still deciding if she would leave calm and dignified, or kicking and screaming. The latter sounded more appealing. Dragging herself out of the makeshift cocoon she'd created, she headed for the shower and remained in there until the gloriously hot water ran cold. Heaving a sigh, she shut the water off and vacated the now steamy bathroom, rummaging in her chest of drawers for something to wear.

Settling on grey ripped jeans and a strappy black top, she paused to look in the mirror as she shrugged on her leather jacket. Her light green eyes stared back at her as she took in the almost faded bruises that decorated her neck. Ignoring the rush of anger those marks made her feel, she turned and stalked towards the door, deliberately avoiding looking at the fit-to-burst suitcase sitting in the corner. Only the night before had she been sat atop the case, desperately trying to force one of the zips to meet the other, cursing colourfully and yelling to herself for attempting to take her entire life with her.

As she reached the front door, her hand almost on the handle, the voice of her father drifted through from the recently modernized kitchen.

"Where do you think you're going?" he inquired loudly.

"To say goodbye to my best friend, or is that not allowed either?" she snapped in response. A few seconds passed without retaliation, and she took that as a sign she'd won. Yanking open the door, she stalked outside into the bright sunshine, slamming it behind her. One of the flowerpots adorning the doorway fell to the ground with a crash. Good.

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"Sass!" Zoe's voice called out to her from a seat near to the counter. The coffee shop was small but comfy—plush couches littered the floor, arranged around rectangular polished wooden tables. A glass display containing an array of assorted cakes and pastries covered an entire wall, and Saskia made a mental note to buy every salted caramel cupcake they had on the way out. Spotting Zoe's golden blonde hair, she made her way over, scooting past people holding hot cups of coffee and trying not to knock into them. That was the last thing she needed.

"Hey! Aw, hello my favourite person in the entire world..." she cooed, bending down to stroke the pointy ears of Luna, Zoe's tawny-haired dog. The animal practically trembled in sheer excitement, and satisfaction gleamed in Saskia's eyes. She always knew the dog loved her more.

"She's a dog, not a person and I'm still her favourite. She's just pretending," Zoe huffed, glaring at Luna as if to accuse her of a terrible betrayal.

Collapsing onto the vacant part of the couch, Saskia scratched Luna's head as the dog laid it across her lap, bright brown eyes begging for her attention. "I can't believe I'm really going," she admitted, reaching for the remaining half of chocolate brownie Zoe had abandoned. Luna's eyes magnified as she zoned in on the item of food.

"Neither can I! I've been pretending it's not happening ever since you told me. That man deserves to be locked up for what he did to you, and your dad still manages to put the blame on you! If he weren't so attractive I might have slapped him by now on your behalf," Zoe threatened, slamming her mug down with slightly more force than necessary. "Please tell me you have a plan to get out of this, you always have a plan," she pleaded, faltering at the blank expression on Saskia's face.

"Gross, please don't mention how attractive you find my dad ever again," Saskia shuddered, lightly swatting away Luna's nose as she sniffed at the brownie. "I don't have a plan to get out of this mess. But how bad can boarding school be, miles away from everything and everyone I know?" she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Zoe raised her eyebrows, a sorrowful expression appearing on her pretty face.

"Have you told Sam?" Zoe pressed, knowing that Saskia had been avoiding telling him until she couldn't hold off any longer.

"I did, it wasn't very dramatic... He'll find another girl to mess around with in my absence, I'm sure," she replied somewhat bitterly. She'd avoided telling Sam mainly because it would become all too clear how casual their ...friendship really was. She wished she could be in a real, committed relationship with someone she loved, but she was beginning to think she just wasn't wired that way.

"Oh Sass... What the hell am I going to do without you? I'm going to have to start sucking up to some other snobs around here," she sniffed.

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A few hours later, after the girls had devoured most of the cakes in the shop and stopped to watch the hot guys working out in the park, Zoe had cried inconsolably in Saskia's arms as they parted ways. Now she meandered slowly back towards home. She wasn't really one for crying, but a few tears had slipped out, no matter how hard she'd willed them not to.

The townhouse rose into view, and the sleek black Mercedes idling out front was no doubt awaiting her arrival. Her suitcase stood poised to be packed into the back of the car, and her father was standing on the front steps. Eyes narrowed, she squared her shoulders as she walked towards her inevitable fate.

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