Save ourselves- One Direction

Daisy

Who would have thought that working on a boat could be so exhausting? Meanwhile, sweat was on my forehead as I greased the boards that Liam and Ed had sawn up to make sure there were no splinters and the wood was smoother. We had been free since yesterday. When I woke up yesterday, it took me a moment to realise that this time I wasn't in a tent, but in a bed. For the first time in months I was in a bed, I had slept under a roof.

Although it was special to sleep under the stars, it was a much more familiar feeling to be sleeping in a house again and not on a sleeping mat in a sleeping bag.

Ed had lent me some of his ex-girlfriend's clothes so that at least I had something else to wear until we finished with the boat and the others came to get our things. Liam and I hadn't spoken much since we arrived here. It was like we were caught up in our own thoughts. Each of us had to get used to the idea of no longer having to fear for our lives every day. That from now on we could lead a normal life, at least to a certain extent. That we no longer had to answer to anyone when we went somewhere alone, and that we no longer had to expect beatings or prison if we made a mistake. We no longer had to work all day and were allowed to express our opinions freely. These things, which were so ordinary and actually taken for granted, suddenly seemed like a great gift to me.

And I think Liam felt the same way at that moment. These things had been denied him for over a year, and I could imagine that it was hard for him.

We had eaten breakfast in silence yesterday before helping Ed in the garden. When the wood and the rest of the materials arrived around noon, we set to work immediately and without interruption. Ed helped Liam cut the wood while I laid out the ropes and cut them into equal length pieces.

Towards afternoon Ed drove back to camp. He told us that he would be back at some point in the evening. His older brother had been kind enough to let Ed's grandmother stay with him for a few days. We hadn't met him because at the moment any contact with the outside world was just too dangerous. We didn't know yet what measures Hempton had already taken. Whether he had sent other people into the city to look for us. Or whether he had perhaps already called in the police.

"When Hempton gets the police involved, and at some point he is going to have to, he is probably going to say bad things about you so they will go at full speed looking for you. He will say you are aggressive or mentally ill and he will do anything to get you back to him. Whatever it takes is fine with him. So whatever you do, stay in the yard until everyone is there. No wandering on your own, no field trips," I still had Roxanne's voice in my ear.

And as paranoid as it sounded, she was probably right. I had heard that a few people had actually escaped from the camp, but had been found and brought back after hours. Either Hempton had bribed the policemen or simply convinced them that it was better to leave the children with him again. I had no intention of finding out.

I finished polishing off the last piece of wood and looked at Liam. He laid the already finished boards next to each other and began to nail the two bottom boards, which served as a frame, to a couple of boards.

"Do you want me to help you?", I asked.

Liam shook his head.

"No, I'll be done in a minute. Tomorrow we'll take care of the rope and the tarp and then we can start the day after tomorrow," Liam said concentrated.

"How do you think the others are doing?", I asked.

This question had been burning under my nails all day. Liam looked up and looked at me. His look was serious.

"Daisy, don't do this to yourself," he said gently.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it. It's just that I'm worried. Especially about Linda and the baby," I explained, smiling almost wearily at him.