Fragile // 5sos [under MAJOR reconstruction!]

Fourteen.

(Rewritten)

Dru woke up on her messy and fluffy bed at seven in the morning, just like every other morning before that for 6 months now. She had only been living in this new home for three months, since her family had to move out of that house that Sarah's friend had so kindly offered for her. They lived in the Southern suburbs of Sydney, in a nice neighbourhood, similar to the one that they used to live in.

Mindlessly, she got out of bed and rubbed her tired eyes, pulling bed sheets back up and smoothing them out. Slipping into her slippers and gown, she crept out of her room and out of the house. Holding her small panic button in her fist which was linked to her mothers' phones, she ran around the long house three times to wake herself up before finally running back inside and locking the door carefully. She looked through the peep hole to make sure no one was looking at her, then set off back to her room. Taking the outfit that she had laid out on her chair the night before, she crept down the corridor and into the bathroom, locking the door and starting the second part of her daily routine. Shower, wash hair and face, shave if needed, dry off, put clothes on, brush hair. Eat breakfast while watching the new episode of her favourite TV show if there was one. If not, re-watch her favourite episode saved to Foxtel.

By the time she was done, Sarah and Karen woke up together and shuffled out, yawning to each other as Karen made cereal and Sarah made coffee. They were never surprised to see Dru sitting on the couch, working through Sadie's school work so she could improve on her reading and writing. Her parents had asked Sadie's teacher to give her two copies so Dru could have a look at it and sometimes, even Sadie taught her and gave her direction whenever she was stuck on something she couldn't grasp.

But that day was different; with it being the 6 month anniversary since Dru was found, she had to go to court, along with all of her sisters who were found, and testify against her bosses, because they had pleaded not guilty. The charges against them were cruel - very deserving, but according to them and their lawyer, a life sentence with no bail in a maximum security prison was too much. Especially since their colleagues were getting the choice of bail, even though it was up to twelve million dollars and probably wouldn't go through anyway.

Of course Dru was notified, but she wasn't reminded of it, so with her mind filled to the brim of the ABC's, snakes and ladders and her TV shows, she was bound to forget that today was indeed the day that she would have to relive her most traumatic moments as a child.

Her nervous habit of rubbing her thighs until they were red returned as they travelled in the car on the way to the court hearing. News reporters and cameras littered the entryway of the court hall, and Sarah threw her jacket over Dru's head so she was covered from the bright flashes and scary noises, and held her close as they made their way up the stairs and into the safety of the building.

Dru shrugged the jacket off and handed it back to Sarah, who praised her for her politeness. It was the little things that made Dru feel warm inside, but this time she didn't feel any different. The atmosphere in the air was stretched thin and it felt like everyone was holding their breath, eager to see what will happen.

"Mrs. Saint, how are you?" Their lawyer, Mrs. Harraway, had asked them as soon as they entered the break room linked to the court room. She had her lavish and expensive brief case tucked under her left arm and she had this smug personality that made Dru frown at her in discontent. Each victim, Dru's sisters, all had to be there to witness the whole thing going down; the two accused were hidden behind a screen for the victims' safety, so they didn't have to face their abusers. Dru hadn't seen any of her sisters ever since she had escaped, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to, either. She was conflicted; she didn't know if they were going to be happy to see her or if they were going to be mad at her for leaving them all behind. She was more nervous at that more than anything - those girls were her family, the ones she grew up with, the ones that went through her hard times with her, the ones that understand her the most. Perhaps they won't even recognise her; she had changed over the course of six months. She was taller, fuller in the face, and her bones didn't stick out anymore. She hoped that they all had underwent the same treatment as her, but some didn't even make it out of that hell house.

In the court room, each girl sat in the front row with their foster parents or by themselves, since they were over the age of 18 and no one could take legal care of them. Dru remembered each name of her sisters; Elise, Avery, Rose, Jacinta, Holland, Chloe, Jessica, Lucy. Each one of them remembered Dru as well; she was the smallest one who never cried or complained because she was the one who was taken from the youngest age. All of the others were taken between the ages of 6 and 11. It had to be before puberty; that was one of their sick rules when capturing the kids.

The court trial will go over 4 days, so each girl can have a say in what happened and why they were testifying against the accused.

"We're okay. Dru is nervous, of course. Are the other girls in there already?" Sarah asked, and Dru looked up at the lawyer with burning eyes, wanting to know the answer as well.

"Yes, they are. Everyone is in there waiting for our big entrance." She said, a little too warmly than Dru liked. She crossed her arms and stuck her nose up, a clear indicator that she clearly did not want to engage with this annoying woman anymore. Karen and Sarah both knew what this meant, but Mrs. Hallaway, only having just met the girl, had no idea what she was doing, and looked up at the roof to where Dru was looking.

She quickly brushed off the strange girl and ushered them all inside the courtroom. Dru entered the small chatter and her eyes flew straight to all of the girls huddled together on the front rows of the court. She only saw the back of their heads but she could tell who was who instantly. She left her mothers instinctively, something that she never would have done before, and walked as quickly as she could down the aisle and met the eyes of Lucy, the girl who sat on the end.

Dru's eyes lit up more and more as they all took notice of her, and all of them stood up and ran to her. They all hugged her at the same time, a shared moment between the girls that Dru would cherish forever. All of them still had some mark of abuse on them, whether it be a scar, a bruise or a permanent deformity such as a crooked nose or lumpy eye socket. But Dru didn't care for appearances, since they were all just like her; scarred and alone.

Karen and her mum watched in a slight fear, feeling Dru's sudden absence from their side. They let Dru hug the girls and have their moment, but they quickly walked over to make sure she was okay with all of the sudden attention she gained. After their reunion, they had settled into the front row together and waited for the Judge for enter. Security guards armed with guns and batons stood at every entrance, and a screen sat behind the defendant's seats the crowd didn't have to see them. There was another in front for when witnesses were called to the stand to testify.

The Judge was called into the room. They all stood and sat down again. Dru knew vaguely of what was going on; all she knew that she was about to come face to face with her kidnappers very soon.

It had been a long time since she had actually seen them; even when she was at the house, she hardly saw them. But when she did, she knew she was in for it. She wasn't as afraid of them anymore because she knew that she was safe.

So when the two menacing men came walking in, wearing their orange jumpsuits and handcuffs, Dru's eyes had met theirs. She couldn't help but stick up her middle finger at them, something she once saw on TV.