Existing (under editing)

Chapter 23*

Lucas had been cheerful throughout dinner. I had watched silently as we sat with his sister and mother, seeing how they joked and teased each other, catching up. I rarely contributed to the conversation, becoming lost in my own thoughts but was glad to see Lucas happy with his family, something like this he would never had gotten back home, and no matter the circumstances here, this is what he needed, even if it was at a loss of one man.

We got to bed late after staying up a long time in the mess hall. Ember had apologised for the down grade of the room but with so many people residing in this sector now, luxuries like an actual bed and private bathroom was provided to few, mainly original residences. We didn't mind, at least the mattress in our room was comfy, the blankets provided would get us through the nights and we were a short walk from the communal bathroom down the hall. But for a long time we just lay still, waiting for sleep to catch up with us since because we had slept in so late.

"Lucas?"

"Yeah?"

I played with the edging of the blanket, unsure of how to saw it. "Um, I'm sorry, about your Dad I mean."

He let out a sigh. "She told you."

"Yeah."

Lucas rolled over, laying on his side as he watched me. "Pretty stupid of me wasn't it? It was already too late in the end."

"No, I understand, you were angry, your father dies right in front of you and they expect you to do nothing. That's horrible, I think anyone else would have don't the same." I rolled in too looking into his eyes in the darkness, trying to reassure him.

"Yeah, but that means I left Ember and Mum to fend for themselves her."

"She blames herself you know."

Lucas frowned. "Who?"

"Ember, that man that did it, she said she had some trouble with him..." I watched and hill eyes lit up with realisation.

"Now it all makes sense."

"What?" I asked confused.

"It's hard to explain, um" he shuffled a little, adjusting himself so his upper body faced up. "There are men out there Alma, they are cruel and obsessive and only want one thing..."

"What's that?"

"Aaahhh, I'll get my mum to explain it to you sometime. But this man, he would come around often the past couple of years, constantly hounding ember while our parents were working. Because I was so much younger than her when it first started I never understood and eventually he stopped coming to try and buy her out with treats and things we would need. She refused every time. He would always talk to her outside, she would never let him in. Once he had tried to take her by force and it was lucky because the old men were running some errands for Dad and had to return something, stopped the guy, left him embarrassed and demoted from his current rank. His hounding came in letters and presents after that. But it had been so long since I had seen him in person I hadn't recognised him."

I frowned, even more confused. "But why Ember?"

"In a way, Embers' eye colour was a target. It meant people were more likely to remember her. That's why she used to always wear Dads old cap, so she could go unseen and un-hassled. This guy, he was obsessed and wanted her and her strange eyes for himself." He shook his head. "I should have seen it coming."

"I think he got her." I said.

"What do you mean?"

"Something happed to her after you got tossed out. I think the man got what he wanted, like you said even though I don't know what it was, but she would saw stuff like, 'it didn't matter in the end', I think she gave in and took a deal or something."

Lucas's eyes went wide and I saw anger welling up in his face.

"Hey," I couched his clenched jaw, "she would tell you though, wouldn't she?"

He began to relax again, settling down into his pillow more comfortably. "Yeah, yeah, she would."

We managed to get to sleep after that. I felt sorry for him but there was nothing I could do. But as I started to drift off, I though I heard his voice.

"Hopefully."