Good Things Never Last

Chapter 29

I shuffled back to my room, my eyes darting around the new place I could explore as I walked along the wooden path that led back to the house I had been staying in. But I knew that my exploring would have to wait. The masked man had clearly stated in the meeting that I would need to be supervised at first on my little adventures just so they could be certain about trusting me and I completely understood that and I was grateful for them to even consider letting me have some freedom. With that in mind, I had already decided that I would stay in my room until I knew for certain it was okay for me to leave as I entered the base and headed to my room.

I made my way along the cold stone corridor as I let out a tired yawn, which was followed by a deep sigh. Rolling my shoulders back, I opened my door and stepped into what I thought would be my permanent room for the time being. Another sigh escaped my lips, this time lasting a lot longer than the one before.

Closing my door behind me slowly, I headed over to my bed and turned away from it before I allowed myself to fall back onto the duvet. Yawning once again, I stared up at my ceiling as a weak smile briefly made its way onto my face, but it disappeared almost instantly.

I kept on telling myself that I should've been happy. That I didn't have to stay locked up in my room all day like I had expected, but for some reason I still felt devastated. The thought of them not letting me go was still prominent in my mind as I went over the meeting again in my head, attempting to focus on the positives. But all I could focus on was how I had gotten my hopes up for no reason at all.

I assumed that over time I would probably become acquaintances with both George and Sapnap, maybe even friends if I was kept around for long enough. Yet I knew deep down that the bounds that I could have potentially formed would have been nothing in comparison to what I already had in L'Manburg. We had been one big happy family until I left, and of course as soon as I got back, I was unwillingly dragged away once again but without the guaranteed fact that I would be returning.

Even though my time in captivity had been becoming more bearable by the day, I still found myself longing to go home and reunite with my friends.

Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I continued studying the ceiling above me as I pushed away the tears that had begun to well in my eyes. Of course, I knew what I was signing myself up for when I put my little brother's life before my own on the day L'Manburg had been blown up, but I hadn't realised how much I would miss each of the boys back at home. But I knew deep down that I wouldn't be seeing them for a long time.

That was something else I was confused about. It was blatantly obvious that Dream was planning something as I saw no other reason for him to keep my alive with a roof over my head if I wasn't going to be used for something beneficial. He had some sort of plan and I was certain I was going to play some sort of part in it, yet I was completely clueless as to how I could be of use to him in any way. I did remember how he told me he was just using me for leverage, but my gut told me that there was something more that was going on, a reason that had something to do with why he had chosen me to take out of all the other things he could've asked for from my fellow L'Manburgians.

I couldn't work out what he would end up using me for. The possibilities seemed to be endless. I could just be a spare set of hands to help them gather materials quicker for the war, but he could've chosen anyone for that. Or it could've been that he wanted to use me as bribery of some sort. Maybe he could've traded me off for L'Manburg's independence in return. He could've even threatened to kill me if they refused to surrender. He was just going to use me as if I was some sort of object. That's all I was in his eyes. An object. Nothing more, nothing less.

It was then that I realised the silent cold tears were making their way down my rosy cheeks as I let out a muffled sob. I only had one thing on my mind and that was how I was nothing more than an object in the context of the war. But maybe I wasn't worth anything more than that.

Dream's POV

I stood there, frozen in the spot with my hand raised a couple of centimetres away from the door that stood in front of me. I had been so close to knocking on the oak wood before I heard the sound of quiet sobs coming from the other side. They were the sobs of a broken girl.

An unknown feeling was quite to rush over me, the sensation making me back away from the door. Guilt. It was a forgotten emotion for me, yet I felt it all the same.

She had nothing to do with the war until I dragged her into it. But I wanted her to be a part of it. I wanted to explore what she was capable of without the constraints that the opposition were bound to put on her because it would keep her safe in their eyes. But that didn't matter. She chose the other team because, in her eyes, she had no other options. She had no other choice. She had traded herself for her brother's life. She chose to, so it was her fault. Yet I was the one that took her away from everyone she loved and cared for, only to lock her away for safe keeping.

But all is fair in war.

And in love...