Greyscale [✓]

Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Hannah ran in the park, her breathing heavy and her footsteps soft. She ran to the beat of the music in her ears and her hair swayed in the cold air, bobbing up and down with every tiny movement.

She had woken up early the following morning with a sad heart and had decided to put on her running clothes and get out for some air. It had been a while since she ran properly but it never failed to clear her head.

She stopped to catch her breath, her hands resting on her knees as she wiped the sweat off her forehead. Her eyebrows twisted in something between amusement and confusion as she saw a guy around her age take photographs. He was trying to walk silently to photograph the ducks in the stream without scaring them but he failed, causing them to flutter their wings and wade away.

Hannah stifled a laugh as her phone buzzed in her sports bra, signalling a text message. She felt warm and fuzzy inside when she read the sweet message from her aunt, reminding her that it was almost time for her and Cam to come to see the family. She missed her aunt and uncle a lot and was looking forward to the long weekend with them.

Hannah made her way home, pulling her headphones out of her ears as she reached her driveway. Humming to herself as she showered, she took care to wash her hair perfectly, making the most of Cam being asleep. He always conveniently needed the toilet when she was trying to shower and it was nice to spend some time on herself.

As she pulled on her clothes in her bedroom, Hannah flinched when she caught sight of grey in her wardrobe. It was the Jazz dress that Ashlyn had brought for her to wear to Gabriel's sister's wedding. Well there was no way she was attending now!

She wanted to do something drastic like burn the dress in the back garden on a barbeque but that was a little dramatic. She'd also feel bad considering it was both excessively beautiful and excessively expensive.

With a sigh, she slammed the wardrobe door shut, trying to push it out of mind. She was pleasantly surprised to find Cameron was awake early for a change, sitting on the kitchen surface eating toast.

"Get your fat ass off there, don't want your butt germs in our food!"

He only snickered at her, putting in some more bread into the toaster for her. They spoke for a while, about school and people they knew when he stopped and stared at her, worry etched into his skin.

"How do you feel?"

She scrunched her face in confusion. "Huh? About what?"

Cam jumped off from the gleaming surface and settled down on the breakfast bar stool beside her. "I mean, about Gabe and what he did. Or tried to do."

Hannah waved her hand in the air as though it was nothing and snorted lightly, trying to ignore the way her heart pounded irrationally in fear when his name was mentioned. "I'm fine, its nothing."

Cameron's eyes were solemn, his mouth etched in a tight line. "It's not nothing. I know you don't want to talk about it and that's perfectly understandable but Hannah, c'mon, he tried to rape you."

She yelped, almost choking on the toast she was chewing. "He didn't, I mean, it wasn't, well–," she stammered, feeling nauseous at his words.

He tugged his stool closer to hers and gripped her hand firmly, his skin soft and his grip comfortable. "He did Hannah, he did. He would have if you hadn't run away, thank God you ran. You know he would have. And I hope you know that it's not your fault at all and on second thought, I hope you also know that I still haven't killed him yet so I'll be doing that soon."

Hannah giggled, although it was weak it was still something. She had a random mental image of the two of them in a brawl and Cameron scratching her pathetic ex-boyfriend's eyes out.

"I'll be fine but thank you," she whispered, standing up behind him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her cream skin contrasting with his terracotta, and kissed him on the cheek. "I know I bully you a lot Cammie but I love you, you dork."

He smiled genuinely and then groaned, wiping his cheek dramatically. "Gross, keep your saliva to yourself!"

Hannah laughed.

---

The clouds were grey and Hannah was walking as fast as she could, hoping to make it before the heavens opened up and threw rain down at her. The sky had been clear in the morning for a change, so she hadn't grabbed an umbrella with her when she'd left. Stupidly.

Luckily, she made it to the library just as it began spitting down light rain. Pushing the old doors open, she stepped in and peered around, a plastic folder in her hands.

"Afternoon!" a cheery voice spoke from behind a shelf and Hannah jumped, smiling when she saw the familiar tattooed European girl. "Hannah wasn't it?"

She nodded and handed over the folder. "Yup, and you're Dee, right? I'm just here to drop off my results and stuff, for the job. That is, if you still want me?"

Dee beamed at her, the smile contrasting against the hard impression she gave off with the dyed hair and metal combat boots. "Of course, I'll just have a look through this and photocopy it all if that's alright and then we can work up a rota for ya. How does that sound?"

Relief rushed through Hannah's veins and she was grateful for the opportunity to earn some money for herself instead of always having to rely on her uncle and aunt. "That would be great, thank you!"

They chattered for a while, about random topics, while Dee photocopied and Hannah filled out an application form. It felt good, to have a simple conversation without worrying about how she portrayed herself. It was a refreshing change and Hannah welcomed it, glad Mr Harris had told her about the job opening.

"So, how do you know Rayne?" Dee asked.

Hannah's eyes widened slightly although she kept her expression neutral. "We're in the same English class and we have a project to do together, that's all."

Dee nodded, the pink bit in her short hair jumping up with the motion. "Oh," she murmured, her eyes down on the paper.

Hannah shuffled in her seat, wanting to ask but not wanting to sound nosey. Her curiosity won though and she hesitantly opened her mouth. "Are you two, um, together?"

Dee didn't answer, intentionally pretending she hadn't heard the quiet question. Instead she turned and photocopied the last page before piling them together and handing the original copies back. Her smile was bright, a little too bright but Hannah didn't want to pry.

"Here you go. I've copied the timetable too so you know when you're in and if you can't make it for any reason, just let me know the day before at latest alright. See you soon!"

Hannah thanked her and left, waving goodbye on her way out, trying not to think about what she'd asked. It was none of her business, she barely knew Rayne. She had no right asking personal questions. They were probably together or almost were anyway.

She walked home slowly, thankful the rain had stopped and took notice of her surroundings. The people all looked tough, the walls around her were littered with graffiti and the air smelt faintly like smoke but she decided she almost liked it. It had character. It was real.

Unlike her world.