The Stronghold

Ready To Go

One day later...

"I still don't see why you had to sedate me," I grumbled, splashing water onto my face to wake me up a little better.

"You were laughing like a lunatic on drugs," Georgina said, leaning on the doorframe. "And you had a sword in your hand. We took our chances."

"Did Shaade stab me with the sword, by any chance?"

"Yes."

"I wondered why there was a dull ache in my butt." I straightened up and undid the top button of my white shirt, regarding my style with a judging gaze in the mirror. I caught Georgina's eye and smiled, pulling a stupid face and then immediately checking my hair.

"You're so vain," she chuckled, walking away from the little bathroom to go and pick something up off the bed. I darted out and wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my head on her back.

"I'm not vain," I mumbled. "Just very fashion conscious."

"Same thing."

"Is not!"

"Is too."

"Is not!" I spun her around and kissed her, silencing her side of the argument.

*

Whistling 'Penny Lane' to myself I wandered through to the kitchen area, pouring a glass of juice and downing it, barely taking a breath.

"Multitasking much," Shaade said. I looked up just in time to see Bench fade back into the wall.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked, putting the glass in the sink and walking over to where the keys were all kept.

"I've come to apologise," Shaade said.

"Josh made you, didn't he?"

"Well, yes, but I think I should apologise."

"For what?" I'd located my keys and was getting impatient with his hesitating.

"For being a twat," Shaade said at last.

"Shaade, if you apologised for that then you would be apologising every second of every day."

"Thanks," he muttered sarcastically, following me as I moved around the room. "Am I forgiven, then?"

"Yes."

"Hurrah! Now I can finally go." He grinned and patted me on the shoulder. "Thank you."

He walked briskly to the door and threw it open, vanishing down the hall back to his room. I shook my head and continued to collect things, slipping my (stolen) car keys into my pocket and grabbing a notepad. Taking a pencil from the random jam jar full of them on the side, I wrote a note.

*

"You are not leaving," Tom said, barring my doorway. I pushed past him, snatching my jacket off the coat hook as I went.

"Yes I am," I replied, breezing down the hallway and towards the stairs as if nothing was wrong. He followed, walking backwards and alongside.

"Think about everyone else," he said. "What will Georgina think of you?"

"I left a note."

"A note? You didn't even speak to her face to face?"

"Nope."

Tom stopped walking and turned to shout after me. "You're just too afraid to do it, too scared that someone will stop you and you'll bottle out."

I spun around and marched up to him. "Look," I snarled, stabbing him in the chest with one finger, "if you tell anyone where I'm going then I will murder you."