38: Decisions

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Spending an entire life within confined walls, was a life that couldn't be lived completely

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Spending an entire life within confined walls, was a life that couldn't be lived completely. There would always be questions, wonderings and dreams about the outside world. There were plenty of people living in such conditions that never harboured any kind of feelings driving them to fight for more. To see more.

Live more.

That pull hadn't grabbed me either, until Reece mentioned the possibility of it. I had always wondered and dreamed, but actually stepping out of those boundaries to be thrown into a world completely foreign? It was an entirely new concept. An entirely new way of life!

And now came the time for me to make a decision. Was I even ready to just up and leave a place I had grown up in?

Was I ready to give up my runs through Everett Forest? 

Give up the search for answers that the council fought so hard to keep hidden? 

The bones down at the ocean? The books that had been moved? 

How they'd constructed the protection barriers?

There were still so many mysteries left open. If I'd leave Everett Valley, I would leave behind my home. The kitchen, in which countless conversations had taken place. The Iarhus, where I'd spent hours upon hours listening and learning.

"Catherine, it's time," a maturing voice spoke, causing me to stir from the sleepless dream—the daydreaming—that I had been caught up in.

My limbs, once I tried to remove myself from the couch, ached. It was as if I had actually slept for an eternity in an uncomfortable position. I guess in a way I had.

"You've been staring at the wall for hours. You need to go now, unless you're not going to do it after all." Emmet stared down at me, a somewhat concerned look on his features. I shook my head.

"I've been thinking," I started, standing wobbly on my two legs, "and I'll go talk to them. I'll be back tonight."

Emmet nodded and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving me to stretch my aching limbs and feel the bones in my body crack. I heard Emmet turn on the stove and grab a few kitchen utensils. I furrowed my brows.

Emmet didn't cook.

My confusion cleared up as soon as Reece burst the house-door open and brushed past me. I rolled my eyes and stood there, watching my brothers start to cook together, not a word being uttered. 

They were quiet. 

Just when I was about to turn and leave the same way Reece had come in, he glanced over his shoulder and our eyes connected.

I blinked once, telling him without saying it that I'd do the right thing. Subtly, he nodded in return and steered his attention to the pan Emmet almost banged his head on.

Sighing, I turned around and left.

The cool breeze of autumn whisked my hair out of my face. Although I was dressed fitting to the chilling weather, I still managed to freeze. That was one of the things I didn't enjoy about being human. 

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