forbidden [h.s.]

twenty eight.

jade's pov

When I wake up, I'm disappointed to find that Harry is no longer beside me. I knew he was leaving early this morning, but I was hoping he'd say goodbye or something. I won't see him again for a while. I sit up on my bed and stretch, reaching my arms as high above my head as my muscles will allow. Today is the day. Today, we escape. Well, ideally. We'll see how it goes.

I'm escorted to the mess hall and they separate the males and females, just like Bambi said they would. Unfortunately, anyone that I might be concerned for is a male. Serena is the only other girl in our group, but I haven't seen her.

They make us form a line that goes far beyond the mess hall. It's so chaotic. There are so many people here, a lot more than I had imagined. I can hardly see anything because I'm too short to look over people. Damn my height.

And then, in the distance, I see a head of blonde hair exiting one of the examination rooms. A guard grabs her harshly by the arm and she turns quickly, trying to get them off. I gasp as she pushes her hair out of her face and I feel like I'm going to pass out.

It's Serena.

But, how can I get to her? I can't raise any kind of suspicion or our entire plan is fucked. She's alive. She looks healthy. Relief washes over me for a moment, but its quickly overcome by anxiety. She doesn't even know about the plan. How did we not take that into consideration?

The guard starts escorting Serena to the door and my window of opportunity grows smaller and smaller with every second. If I don't make contact with her, she's not going to get out of here. I try to think of something quickly, but all of my ideas seem like they will only get us into more trouble. But, I have to try something.

"OW!" I yell suddenly and several heads turn in my direction. Serena furrows her eyebrows and looks up, looking paralyzed as she makes eye contact with me. I can't decide if that's a good thing or not. After a second, a hint of a smile spreads across her lips and I sigh in relief.

"Are you alright?" A voice calls and I turn to find a guard beside me.

I place my hand over my stomach, unsure of what else to do. "Yeah, I'm fine. Period cramps, you know?" I ask and the girls around me nod in understanding. The guard rolls his eyes and walks away and, for the first and time ever, I thank God for giving girls periods.

I look back over to Serena and she laughs quietly. The guard takes her to the other side of the room and she sits among a few other women that have finished their exams. I step out of line quietly, making my way over to her without being noticed. Her smile widens as I approach and she stands. Before I can even get a word out, she wraps her arms around me and hugs me tightly to her. I gasp at first, but eventually hug her back. She squeezes me so tight I fear I might break.

"Fucking Christ, Jade. I've missed you." She whispers quietly.

"I've missed you too, Rena. We were all so worried." I squeeze her again before pulling away. "Did they hurt you?"

She furrows her eyebrows. "Hurt me? No. But, they've had me in solitary confinement since the day we got here. I thought I was going to lose my mind."

Solitary confinement? Why on Earth would they keep her there?

"How are the rest of you? Have you seen the other boys?"

I nod. "Almost every day. Louis has been a bit out of it, but that's mostly because he's been driving himself crazy worrying about you. The last time he saw you was when you were being carried away by the police."

"He ratted you and Harry out to save me, didn't he?" She asks and I nod again. Serena groans, rolling her eyes. "That prick! I told him not to do that." She says and I laugh quietly. Serena closes her eyes and shakes her head in irritation. "Are you okay, though? Have they hurt any of you?"