The Seven

Chapter 5

"Larkin Raleigh, you have been charged with one count of escorting unauthorized minors, one count of possession of stolen goods, and one count of possession of false government tender. Please sign here." 

The voice played itself over and over Larkin's mind. Ember had been sitting outside of the room, the low hum of hushed voices making her heart race. She couldn't help but have thought that this was all her fault. If she hadn't pushed Larkin to take her to the markets, then none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have that fake ID from that creep Larkin sucked faces with, she wouldn't have stolen that succulent-smelling fruit that she never got to eat, and most of all, she and Larkin wouldn't be here in Outer Môraine's government headquarters.

The silver double doors pushed open and out stepped Larkin, her face stony and her fists clenched. Her knuckles were white and she didn't spare Ember a single glance as she walked from the room, her feet thumping on the heinous indigo carpeting that covered the entire floor. She didn't even stop to appreciate the luxury of the massive building, standing out with its pristine white walls from the dust-covered wooden buildings making up most of Outer Môraine.

Ember stood up from the bench, losing her balance after being seated for so long. She was still a school-attending minor, and therefore assisted crimes such as this would only affect the legal adult involved, so she felt even worse knowing that Larkin was taking the entire fall for her.

"Larkin," she called, her voice strained with anxiety. 

Larkin scoffed to herself, pushing open the plexiglass front doors to the headquarters and seeing her way out. She hadn't even been the one using the fake ID, and she hadn't even been aware that Ember had wanted any fruit in particular, let alone stolen one. Her sister had pulled her into this mess, and she sure wasn't going to let her pull her into any others that day.

"Larkin," Ember pleaded again. She was walking just behind her now, her arm outstretching towards Larkin's shoulder in an effort to get her sister to acknowledge her.

Before she could place the hand down, however, Larkin turned on her heel and grabbed Ember's wrist, pulling it down and stopping her dead in her tracks. "What," Larkin spat.

"I-I'm... I'm sorry, Lark..." Ember didn't really know what to say, but Larkin had so many things that she needed to let out.

"Sorry for what? For making me spend my first actually fun day off with my pushover baby sister, or for stealing food without telling me? Because an apology for either of those things would be great, but I just want to point out that it won't fix anything." Larkin dropped her wrist, turning back around and walking further away. 

Ember ran back up behind her, trying to keep in step. "I'm sorry for both of those things, Larkin. I didn't think we would get caught, and, I mean, you used to sneak around the markets all the time when you first started work." Ember tried to reason with her, but it only made Larkin more frustrated.

"Yeah, I snuck around, but that was because I knew how! I knew not to steal food from booths or to acknowledge people I knew from school or work. I had connections that got me around, but you? You don't! I'm your only connection to anything besides schoolwork, chores, and daydreams, and I don't think that connection is going to get you anywhere in life. I'm not sure there even is a connection for you anymore. So go back home and just... Just think about dresses or something, okay? Do whatever good little schoolgirls do, because you're sure as he|| not spending any more time with me today."

Ember stopped. She had never seen Larkin act this way. "B-but Larkin... I-" She was cut off.

"I got fired." Larkin said her voice a gut-wrenching mixture of sadness, anger, and complete apathy. Turning back around to face Ember, Ember's heart nearly stopped as Larkin took in a deep breath. "I'm out of a job, and everyone, even you, knows that once you get fired, you're fired from practically working at all. I have nothing." Larkin spoke, freakishly calmly. "We're back to where we were when I was in school, two meals a day if we're lucky and maybe a twig or something for our birthdays. Father's cake and those carrots are the only food we'll be having for a while." Ember's heart dropped. She had known getting fired was easy, but hadn't made the connection of being caught to being out of a job.