daylight

chapter nine. . . the ugly truth

OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, EVERYTHING GREW HECTIC. The bakery got busier, but Thalia still found ways to spend time with Sejanus. Over the weekends, they'd spend most of their time together—at the Hob, the meadow and even the lake. She'd introduced it to him, justifying it because Coriolanus had gone, why couldn't Sejanus? Besides, he ended up appreciating it more than Coriolanus did.

Regretfully, Lucy Gray and Thalia would only talk occasionally during the week. Lucy Gray and the Covey spent most of their time crafting new songs, finding other odd jobs to keep food on the table and hanging out at the lake. Thalia couldn't afford to attend anymore; the bakery was becoming more demanding now that her ma was sick, and her pa spent most of his time looking after his wife. She was set to inherit it and spent most of her time there, ensuring that they made money and things ran smoothly. Dorcas was busy planning how she was going to run away with Travis to help Thalia out—this meant most days it was just Thalia and Dawn in the bakery.

It seemed that recently whenever Thalia was free, Lucy Gray wasn't. Thalia mourned the dip in her relationship with Lucy Gray but knew that they were both maturing. Lucy Gray was focusing on Coriolanus more, having less time for her best friend. When Thalia wasn't in the bakery, she was chatting with Sejanus—they'd spend hours just talking about anything and everything. He was fun to talk to, and she was pleasantly surprised at how she grew to care for him. She'd never truly loved him the way she believed he deserved, but she didn't let him know that. Thalia made sure to convince him of her 'feelings' she pretended to enjoy everything a couple does—besides, it meant whenever they kissed, she could pretend it was her best friend.

It was a random Saturday where Lucy Gray and Thalia's schedules lined up. Sejanus and Coriolanus weren't allowed out of the compound until five, so they decided to meet up in the meadow and discuss everything that had happened to them over the weeks. Besides, they missed each other—it hurt not talking for so long. It was like Lucy Gray was back in the arena and they thought of each other constantly.

Lucy Gray was strumming her guitar, singing the song she'd performed for Thalia at the lake when she'd just come back from the Capitol. The blonde's heart melted, knowing that her friend had written that song for her.

"Hey, that song's comin' along nicely," Thalia complimented. Lucy Gray jumped, whipping around to face the blonde, before placing a hand to her heart and breathing a sigh of relief. "Sorry," Thalia sat down next to her.

Lucy Gray smiled softly, enjoying her presence beside her. "It's fine. And yeah, I might perform this for you tonight at the Hob," Lucy Gray winked at her, causing the blood to rush to Thalia's cheeks. She leaned on the blonde's shoulder, "I'll see you there tonight, right?"

"Of course."

The girls sat in silence for a little longer. Soon, they were talking about everything they'd been through that week—bragging about who had the better boyfriend, complaining about new responsibilities. It wasn't long before they got back into the natural swing of their friendship.

After a few hours, the girls realised how late it was getting and got up—they hugged each other tightly and almost sobbed. It hurt saying goodbye again, but Lucy Gray had to get practice with the covey for tonight's show and Thalia didn't want to leave Dawn by herself any longer.

When Thalia got home, she found out that a few peacekeepers had been by, bought a few biscuits and left. Heart racing, she ran to check the floorboards to find that her notebook was still intact. She had turned into a diary of sorts once she started writing all about her dates with Sejanus, how much she missed Lucy Gray and how much she hated her sister's abuser. There was some incriminating evidence in there, that if it got into the wrong hands, could potentially expose her sister's. . . rebellious ways.