Hope

Chapter 9

Again, apologies for not updating in a while.

We were silent as we finally awoke on the next morning, looking once more at the fading red wooden planks and wishfully thinking of our families one last time. Although Bex probably was thinking about the next time she'd get an opportunity to punch Noah. Let's not talk about that.

The sun gently peeked through the ajar barn doors and the rest of the sky was struggling and fighting to reach its faint essences of light. I stood first; I had barely slept. My legs wanted to let go and wither away but I forced them to keep going; my eyes watered every time I begged them to stay open; and my hand, where I had been stabbed had continued bleeding throughout the night and now it looked like a ghost-hand. Ew. My hair- trying to sleep on hay had made it into a haystack, too. Maybe I shouldn't have taken the "stay hidden" thing too seriously.

I gazed around the barn as I watched the rest of the group stand, stretching and complaining and chittering to themselves. Then my eyes darted to Noah, of which now had a black eye. Oh, I wonder who gave him that! I thought.

I led them through the doors solemnly as we braced ourselves for the thing we had all been waiting for.

The sky seemed to urge us on, the sun wanted to rise higher, but something was pulling me back.

I stroked Liz's head and gently flicked her tears out of her eyes. I sweeped her hair to the side and kissed her on the cheek.

"Willow! Don't go!"

"You know I have to go."

"I- well.."

Liz looked up to me and pulled herself out of my grasp.

"You know what I hate most, Willow," she said, sobbing. "I hate people who prioritise anything over their family."

Her light blue eyes swelled and I saw myself in them.

"Willow."

"What, Liz?"

"I've always hated you."

I put my hand to my heart and my eyes widened.

I snapped out of it, tears welling up in my eyes. Bex was staring; it'd be embarrassing, TOO embarrassing to break into a fit of tears in front of her. I wiped my eyes on my sleeve and continued walking. Silence engulfed me as I walked further away from Bex and towards nothing.