Y O U R C R U C I B L E
"May you be in heaven a full half hour before the devil knows you're dead."
Lottie Thorne, sister of the notorious Freddie Thorne, is counted as part of the Shelby family. And her loyalty is...
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"You'll always be safe here"
She didn't think of where she was going. She knew she couldn't go home - she wouldn't be able to bear it. She normally would have stayed with Ada or John, but Ada was not in any condition and John... she couldn't face him. Her heart still hurt from the wedding. Despite her minds cluelessness, her feet seemed to know where they were going. They took her through the streets until she was out of the city and walking down a country lane. The sun was beginning to rise - it was beautiful, as if it was mocking her.
Lottie finally stopped at a small house in the middle of a field. She sighed, closing her eyes. She knew this place and was thankful that she had now come back. She didn't know if anyone still lived there - she had known the last occupants, and they were the ones who had let her stay last time. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. No vehicle was outside. When she entered, she made her way into the living room and saw that it was empty. She listened for any sound, but there was none, and then settled on the armchair. She closed her eyes and instantly, she began to sob, crying herself to sleep.
***
A sniffing sound and the feeling of something cold and wet against Lottie's own nose caused her to wake. When she opened her blue eyes, they met with the warm brown eyes of a dog, whose face was practically pressing against hers. As if seeing that she was alive, the dog began to bark loudly making Lottie cringe from the sudden sound. Sitting up, she stretched and found that her back felt extremely sore. She didn't know how long she had slept, but daylight was streaming through the windows. The dog - which she noted was a border collie, it's black and white fur bouncing as it jumped up and down around the room - tried to catch its owners attention.
The collie then ran out the room, seeming to have spotted its owner. Lottie creased her brows and looked over at the agape door. The collie trotted back into a room and behind it was a tall man, his soft brown hair was brushed, but slightly messy and he had large, kind eyes and a defined jaw. Despite how much he had changed, Lottie recognised him instantly. He seemed confused by his dog's behaviour, but when his eyes landed on the girl on his sofa, his eyes widened but also softened as he recognised her, too.
"Lottie," he murmured.
Lottie sniffed and tried to smile. "Nic."
The dog barked once more and they tore their eyes away from each other. Nic quietened his dog and sent it out the room so they were left alone; her on the sofa, her eyes swollen and still red from crying and him by the door, his expression confused and shocked.
