Cruel World (The Tribe Book 1)

20. Marry Me

Brady's screaming echoes through the mall, yet again, telling me Trudy's gone into a depressive spiral once more. I rush up the stairs and hurry in to sooth her, picking her up from her cot and cradling her in my arms, bouncing and shushing her to try and stop the crying.

"Shh it's okay, Lele is here bubba," I coo, referring to myself by a nickname the three of us came up with since she probably won't be able to say my name for a few years.

"Trudy what on earth is going on?" Amber exclaims, entering the room. I give her a warning glare to be careful what she says and how loud she speaks.

"Don't tell me what to do! You of all people!" Trudy bursts out, annoyed by Amber's presence. My gaze switches to Trudy, telling her to be nice.

I finally manage to calm her so she stops crying, but she's still letting out grumbles.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amber responds, confused.

"Oh, I've seen how you look at Bray! Making big eyes at him!" Trudy hisses, and although she's not wrong I'm not impressed with her current behaviour.

"I thought you decided to move on from him? What he does, doesn't concern you," I say gently, trying to diffuse the tension. Trudy decides to bite her lip finally, but Amber is now riled up.

"Trudy, your baby has been screaming and you're ignoring it," Amber bites, and I wanna smack both of them upside the head.

"Who do you think you are? You come in here, boss me around, accuse me! I don't have to take that!" Trudy strops.

"Then look after Brady properly!" Amber scolds, patronising her.

"I will, if you get out of my face!" Trudy snaps at her, sick of being told how to parent by someone with no idea about what Trudy is going through and who doesn't take care of the baby at all.

"How come you don't treat Alleia the same way?" Amber snarks, and I glare back at her.

"Because she actually helps me! She offers to help and gives advice rather than scolding me like I'm a 5 year old! She can sympathise with me when I need it and knows how to get through to me properly. And she is basically her stepmom, and she knows a hell of a lot more about how to parent someone and look after people than any other girl in this mall, and we all know it!" Trudy rants.

Amber storms off in a huff, unhappy that Trudy doesn't want her 'help'. I change Brady, letting Trudy calm herself down with her drawing and her magazine, when something triggers the alarm, causing lots of screaming noises to echo through the mall.

Everyone starts to panic and hurry around, getting into hiding places and prepare for any attacks. The boys go find out what it is, and the noise gets shut off, letting us know the threat is gone. We all come out and gather by the fountain, waiting for the boys to come back from the sewer, they come back with Bray, and I put two and two together and realise he set it off.

"Bray! Thank god you're alright!" Salene cries, hugging him. One glance from me and Amber holds her back. I pass the baby to Trudy and move to the front of the group, angry.

"Are you kidding me?" I ask, deathly quiet. The boys move behind me with the rest of the group, leaving Bray on his own in front of me. He looks at me confused, not understanding my anger.

"You have been gone for over a day, leaving everyone worried about you, doing god knows what! And you have the audacity to be confused why I'm angry. You keep repeating this behaviour, potentially putting the tribe in jeopardy every time if someone was to follow you home! How the fuck, by the way, do you manage to forget about an alarm system we set up, THAT SCREAMS?!" I seethe, breathing heavily at the end of my scolding.