Family Portrait (Fam Series #1)

158 - Devon's Truth

Ashleigh -

'I'm getting hungry'

These three incredibly overused words are said yet again by Zaine Cordy, as he leans his head back against the wall. The idiot is sitting on the floor with Julietta lying her head in his lap. The side of her face is bruised from where Aaliyah hit her earlier. If Zaine wasn't in the room right now, I'd be terrified of murdering her. I'm so angry.

'We're all hungry, Zaine. Try to give your mouth a rest' Charlie says tiredly, as he sits on the couch, anxiously tapping his foot. Madeline still hasn't made a comeback and Ruby's also disappeared into thin air. We've all been here for hours. It's probably dark out now. Billy hasn't stopped by to check on us again.

'Any progress, Natasha?' Tamara asks, from where she sits at the end of the slide. Natasha comes down as she shakes her head.

'It's just too steep. My shoes, they're just little cheap slip ons. They're not helping. There's nothing to hold onto, I just keep falling back. The rocky ridges and ledges are up the top. Devon's planned this thing out too well' she explains, as she puts her hands in the pockets of her jeans.

'What part of the tunnels were you in when you fell?' Josh asks, from where he sits on the couch clutching his head from his migraine that started roughly an hour ago. Billy stripped him of his medication so there's nothing he can do for help.

'Um...I was locked in here accidentally this morning. I was just running around aimlessly for hours trying to find Devon. Like I said, the floor literally just fell through' Natasha says.

'How were you locked up accidentally?' Charlie asks, smirking. It's not hard to tell this odd Natasha girl loves Devon.

'I don't know. Devon brought me here and then had to go after someone else. I guess he forgot about me' she says quietly, as she disappears back up the slide again.

'This woman is actually delusional' Zaine mumbles.

'I CAN STILL HEAR YOU UP HERE!' Natasha yells.

'Well, I'm starving. Which one of us is going to brave the fatal consequences and break the door down? Find some food. An Apple. I don't know what. I'm going to faint. I forgot to eat breakfast this morning' Jade says.

'You think you've got problems. I started my day off in the wee hours by seeing Josh Dunkley's comatose body in a motel room in Ararat. Kyle and I had to transport him back in the car to Zaine's house. Then I was literally attacked by pepper spray thanks to Charlie. Afterwards I was blown up at the court. And now I'm here' I say, exhausted. All these people are soft.

'Sorry again, Templeton. We weren't expecting you to walk into the wardrobe. Had you of told me earlier, I would have disabled the trigger' Charlie says in a small voice. Delilah stands up and groans as she paces around.

'Is the mission still going to go ahead with us and Taylor locked up?' She asks.

'What mission is this?' Josh asks.

'Well, unless Zac Fisher is safe and able to coordinate the whole thing alone or recruit some people, we have two other people to depend on. Tweedle dumb and tweedle dumber' I say. Delilah groans.

'Fantastic. Jacinta, Adeline's children, and the whole population of Victoria are doomed' she says, as she goes back over to her corner and cries.

'I didn't know my brother was involved in some secret mission. But Billy made it clear they're hunting for him. He's not safe at all. I hope he leaves the country' Emily Fisher says in her tiny voice. She hasn't said much at all since getting here. She just sits in the middle of the couch with her legs crossed, while closing her eyes.