Make Believe

Thirty Three.

"Sorry to interrupt, but who the fuck are you?" Finn walked over and stood next to me, peering down at the bleeding mess on the floor.

"Didn't you hear your girlfriend? I'm George, mate." He mumbled, standing up and rubbing his forehead. "Dang, I think my nose is broken..."

"How do you know Lola?" Finn demanded.

"Lola!" George nodded at me. "I'd forgotten your name. We met at a rave ages ago, she's friends with someone I know called Kris."

"You're the fucking rave guy!" Finn suddenly lunged towards George, who put his hands up and dodged Finn's anger. "You drugged her!" Finn fumed.

"By accident!" He sighed. "Don't start a fight with me, man. I can't be bothered."

"Sorry to interrupt you morons," I started, glancing back at the girl hiding behind Ross. "But I think there is a more pressing matter to discuss. Why the fuck are you chasing a little girl?"

George frowned and shrugged. "I'd rather not say..."

The girl spoke up angrily from behind us. "He's trying to get me to tell him where my big brother is! He won't leave me alone. He's a fucking creep."

"Who's your brother?" I asked.

The girl sighed and looked at the floor. "You won't judge me?" She looked at us.

"No way." Ross said gently. "You can trust us."

The girl blushed at Ross and took a deep breath. "My brother deals drugs to everyone in the area. George couldn't find him and went crazy, turning up at our apartment and banging on the door. I was home alone and opened the door, and George started barging around the apartment looking for my brother. I ended up bolting and he chased me all the way out here."

"What do you want her brother for?" Finn asked George.

"I need to stock up, we're raving at the weekend." George shrugged. "I know that she knows where he is, so I thought I'd get the truth out of her. No biggie."

"You're a dickhead. Fuck off." Finn rolled his eyes. "Leave this girl out of your business, no matter what her brother does." 

George rubbed his forehead and groaned. "Fine. See you around, Lola."

"Nice to see you." I rolled my eyes. I watched as George walked through the trees towards the main road and path. No one said anything until his footsteps were completely gone. "So, whereabouts do you live?" My attention turned to the girl. "What's your name?"

"I'm Cara." She smiled. "I live in the town just behind this forest."

"Hi, Cara." Ross went red and stared at her.

"Hi..." Cara moved her head to the side in confusion. "What's your name?"

"Ross." He nodded.

"Hi Ross. I like your hair." She grinned and adjusted her red sweater. Ross looked like he was the happiest kid on Earth.

There was a moment of silence and Finn winked at me. I smirked at him. "So..." Finn looked at Cara. "You want us to drive you home then?" 

She sighed and looked at the floor.  "I really don't want to go home... My parents put my brother, my sister and I into a care home when we were younger and once my brother turned sixteen the orphanage let him move out and let me live with him. It's been four years now and he deals drugs, brings round loads of girls and breaks the law. I hate it. Please don't make me go home, I'm going to find somewhere to live until I get my own apartment."

"What are we supposed to do with you?" Finn frowned. "We can't leave you here."

"You can... I'll find somewhere to go." Cara promised. 

"We live in the next city over, just past the beach. You know Brighdon?" Ross said. "We pass your town on the way home, we can easily drop you off."

"My sister lives in Brighdon!" Cara exclaimed. "In the West of the city!"

"That's where we live." Ross said. "Why don't we drive you to your sister's house?"

"Can you? I've always wanted to go and visit her but I never had enough money to travel there." She grinned. "Please!"

Finn sighed and looked at Cara. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen." She said quietly.

"Fine, get in the car." He groaned. "I can't believe we're giving a stranger a lift."

We all climbed in the car, Finn and I sitting in the front and Ross and our new passenger in the back. Cara giggled. "Am I hitchhiking right now? That's scary. Can I trust you guys?"

"Of course." Ross said softly. "Don't you worry. We'll get you there safely."

I grinned at Finn. He rolled his eyes. "This is mental." I mouthed to Finn. Finn nodded and started the engine. We ended up driving for most of the night, everyone falling asleep at some point except Finn. The trip went quite quickly, but we spoke to Cara and learnt so much about her. She was a sweet girl, and we were glad that we could help.

Little did we know how much help we would end up giving her.