Words are not easy when your mouth is sewn shut.

Chapter Four

|Chapter Four|

"We're going to stop off at the local shops before we head to your Auntie's house." Dakota's mum said, turning her head to look at her. 

Dakota smiled. "Okay." 

"Damn it." Her dad groaned. 

They both looked at him to see what was wrong. 

"Looks like the bridge is blocked off due to works. We're going to have to go the long way around instead." He finally said. "Sorry about this ladies." 

Water is rising, water, WATER. 

Dakota opened her eyes and shot up as her alarm clock rung loudly. 

She was breathing heavily after yet another bad dream, soon she would have to start seeking help from another doctor, someone who could help her stop these terrible dreams. 

She sat up, turning the clock off and looking at the time. It was now nine-thirty in the morning, this meant Dakota had time to re-dye her hair with the black dye she had brought from the supermarket on the way back from school last night. 

The girl in Maths had mocked her about her roots coming back through, so she felt insecure. 

** 

Dakota now pulled on her long purple jumper to go along with her white shirt, black skinny jeans and creepers. 

She had applied black make-up to her eye lids and a bit of pink lipgloss. And she had also teased her freshly dyed black hair. 

She was now around the corner from the school gates so she took a deep breath and waited outside.

She arrived about two minutes early, then as soon as it was noon, she saw Matt walking up towards her, smiling. 

He still had the stitch make-up on his face, but other than that he looked slightly different. He looked very handsome.

He was wearing a short black coat, skinny jeans and he had black hightops on. 

"Hello Dakota." He simply said, smiling at her. 

She blushed a little, suddenly feeling nervous, she was alone with someone her age, for the first time in two months. "Hey." 

"Come on then. I'mma take you to my den." He said, walking ahead of her. 

She followed him, but she was a little confused by what he meant by 'den.' He was sixteen years of age, he couldn't possibly still hang out in a little den in the woods. He probably meant his house, or a place where he hangs with friends.

Oh, but no. It really was a little den in the woods. 

As they got there, Dakota suddenly felt scared, like something bad would happen to her. 

"Aren't you a little old to have a den?" She asked. 

Matt looked at her, at first he looked angry, but then his face softened. "No. I think no matter what age you're at, you'll never be too old to have a den." 

Dakota nodded along with him, just standing there. 

"Come over here. Let's talk." Matt said, sitting on a log and patting the spot next to him. 

Dakota headed over, sitting next to him. He watched her for a while, but then finally spoke. 

"What happened to your parents?" He asked. 

Dakota widened her eyes and looked up at him. "What do you mean? How do you know something about my parents?" 

He just shrugged. "I had a feeling that something bad happened to them. Why? What actually happened?" 

Dakota suddenly felt really uncomfortable around him, how did he know about her parents? None of the kids at school would dare mention the accident to him. 

"Urm. They passed away in an accident two months ago." She replied, now looking at the ground.

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Matt replied softly. "What kind of accident?"

"A car one. We were on the way to my Aunt's house and then, it all just happened so suddenly."  She answered, feeling terribly upset. 

"We?" Matt asked, frowning a little. "So you were in the car accident also?"

Dakota just nodded, trying to hold the tears back. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you, I jus-"

"No, don't worry." Dakota interrupted. 

Matt fell silent for a little bit, but then he spoke again. "So, you live on your own now?"

Dakota nodded. "Yes, I am legally allowed to own a home. I still live in the house I was brought up in." 

"I guess that's good. At least you know your parents will be watching over you." Matt said. 

Dakota went to open her mouth to reply, but nothing came out, she just stuttered and bursted into tears. "I-I'm sorry for crying." She said through sobs, trying to hide her face.

Matt removed her arm from her face and looked right at her. "It's okay. I lost my parents too, I know how it feels to be lost like that. It's good to cry, to let out your emotions." 

Matt then pulled her into a hug, holding her softly, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him back, still crying. 

"Thank-you." She whispered.

When they pulled back from one another, Matt smiled softly at her. "Come on, let's go." 

He took her hand and they started walking towards the lake. 

"Hey." Matt spoke up after a while of them being silent. 

Dakota looked at him. 

"Did you dye your hair after that girl insulted you yesterday?" He asked. 

Dakota blushed. "Yes. Hannah made me feel slightly insecure, so I just went over my hair with dye again." 

Matt shook his head. "You didn't need to, your hair looked beautiful the way it was. I mean, it looks pretty now, but you didn't need to change it for her." 

Dakota smiled. "Thanks, and I guess so, but I just felt upset about it." 

** 

Several hours had passed, and now it was getting dark. 

Dakota and Matt were now standing outside of the school gates again, hugging eachother. 

"I'll see you on Monday, thanks for an awesome day." Dakota said to Matt.

He smirked. "It's alright. We got to know eachother pretty well. See you on Monday." 

Dakota headed home with a smile on her face that night, she hadn't been able to smile so much since before the accident.