Lawless

Chapter TwentyFive

Everyone goes back to their usual duties as the one unbroken brake light of the Jeep fades the further into the forest and closer to town they go.

Nobody appears fussed about the possible outcomes of Sage going to Class alone and it eases my nerves.

"You want to go to my room?" Ivy asks me, grabbing gently at my arm, already half dragging me towards the staircase. Axel is nowhere in sight and I can hear the laughter of Rose and Lily in a room close by.

Ivy's room appears the same as last time I was here, if not messier. The bright stars shine through the window, across from the door, the moon a full circle.

"Here, sit here" Ivy instructs as I'm pushed onto the velvet chair of her vanity. Ivy rummages around on the vanity, pallets of makeup falling off the edge and onto the floor. "Got it" she grumbles to herself as she produces a hair brush.

I begin to sit up and attempt to flee the chair "oh, I haven't brushed my hair in days Ivy, it's going to hurt" I complain. The frizz in my hair is easier to deal with un-brushed.

"It'll be fine, I'll put it in a pretty braid" she says with a big smile. I can't turn her excitement down.

I sit back down, looking at Ivy in the mirrors reflection. A flashback of the last time I had looked into a reflection and met Sage's eyes bounces into my brain. I cross my legs, attempting to rid the private thoughts.

"Sage will be fine, he does this all the time" she says as she damps my hair with a spray bottle.

I watch her hands closely as they pull the tangles from my hair, making me wince. "I'm not worried" I assure her. She glances up at me in the mirror and gives me a sly smile before focusing back on my hair.

"He started disappearing more often after the first time you came to Lawless" she said, splitting my hair into parts.

"Disappeared to where?" I question.

"To the fence, or into Class, I don't know" I wince as she tugs on my hair, hearing it rip from my scalp.

"How do you know he went to Class?" I ask. For all she knows he could of just been hanging out at his house in town, by himself.

"Gunner caught him" Ivy says. She begins to braid the top of my head, leaving the baby hairs around my hairline down to frame my face.

I see the perfect opportunity to sway the conversation away from Sage and I. "What's going on with you two anyway?" I ask. I watch Ivy closely as she pauses her braiding for a second before continuing, her face bleeding red.

"We're just, you know, messing around" she avoids eye contact with me in the mirror, keeping her gaze focused hard on the back of my head. "Don't say anything to Serge!" she blurts out, her face paling.

I hold back a chuckle "I think he already knows, Ivy" I smile at her "it's pretty obvious".

Ivy ties off the end of my braid with a hair tie, the end reaching the bottom of my back.

The crunching of car tires on the gravel driveway alert us to the Jeep returning. My stomach rolls knowing that Sage is on his way to Class right now, if not already there.

I stand up and thank Ivy for doing my hair. The creaking of the front door swinging open and boots hitting the floor echo throughout the quiet house.

I make my way to Ivy's bedroom door, opening and closing it as Gunner rounds the corner of the staircase, on his way to Ivy's room. I chuck him a fleeting closed lip smile as I make my way to Sage's room.

"Hey, Dove" Gunner calls from behind me "Serge wants to talk to you". I spin around to face him as my smile drops and my face pales.

"Uh-I-I" I stutter. Sage isn't here to go with me this time and I have no doubt Serge saw the opportunity to talk to me privately and took it.

"It's okay, he'd never purposely do something that would anger Rage" Gunner attempts to assure me "he's in his office, you know where it is?".

"Yeah, yeah, thank you" I say. I begin the walk towards the office as Gunner enters Ivy's room. I would've liked if Gunner had come with me, even if he just waited outside the door but I didn't want to be pathetic and he seemed to be in a rush to see Ivy.

It's dark downstairs as the only lighting is the kitchen light, everybody except a few of the maids had headed off to bed.

The hallway leading to Serge's office is silent, absent from the banging of last time.

I reach the office door and hesitantly bring my hand up to knock on the wood, slightly paining my knuckles.

"Come in" Serge's raspy voice is heard from the other side. I take a deep breath and say a little prayer before walking in.

Serge stands at the cabinet full of alcohol, pouring himself a glass of whiskey.

"Want one?" he offers, lifting the full glass towards me.

"No, thank you" I say back, my voice inferior to his.

Serge walks back over to his desk, lifting the glass to his lips and taking a swig. He gestures for me to take a seat in front of the desk.

"I don't want you distracting my boy Rage, yeah?" Serge says, pulling out a cigar and lighting it. I take a minute to process what he'd said before replying.

"Y-yeah, that was never my intention" I say. Serge's eyes squint as he holds eye contact with me. I do my best to maintain it but eventually drop it to my shaky hands in my lap.

"You telling the truth about Class?" Serge questions, blowing a puff of smoke in my direction, the smell disgusting compared to Sage's.

I nod my reply, watching as he takes another sip.

"Anything else I should know?" he questions. I think it over for a second before remembering that I hadn't told him about Dad and Max being a part of High Class.

"George and Max Amor are my father and brother" I admit. I clench my hands together and hold them tightly in my lap. I don't know if this put me in more danger or not but I figured it'd be better if this is how Serge finds out instead of some other way.

"Right" he nods, obviously not pleased. He runs a hand over his head and releases a deep breath before inhaling the cigar again. "Alright that's all. Come to me if there's anything else you figure I should know".

"I will" I nod as I get up and beeline to the door. I reach for the door handle just as Serge opens his mouth.

"Dove" he calls "Sage will be back by morning" he flicks his lighter open and close "he's the best we've got".

I nod and chuck him a slight smile before opening and closing the door, walking myself as fast as possible through the dark house and back towards Sage's room.

I release a breath as I lean against the door after I close it gently, not wanting to wake anybody.

I head over to the open doors that lead to the balcony, the curtains flying in the wind. I take a moment to look around the yard and into the forest hoping to see some sign of Sage even though it's been less than two hours since he left but fail to see anything.

I close the doors and climb into bed.