Starcrossed | Bellamy Blake

3. hesitate

Hesitate (verb): pause in indecision before saying or doing something.

Bellamy

Murphy had one. A grounder.

There were more of them, but they had escaped before I could get a closer look. The spear that had been aimed at me had gone straight through a girl's heart. I think I heard someone call her Violet, she was lying in the dirt, eyes wide open but not seeing anything and I couldn't look at her.

It could have been me.

It would have been me.

But one of the grounders had called out in a language I didn't recognize. It was so dark that I only saw it's eyes. There was a desperation to it that confused the hell out of me but now Murphy had one and we could get some answers.

Everyone was rioting. There were people crying and some had gone after the grounders that had fled. It was chaos. My own words from earlier echoed through my brain.

"What's wrong with a little chaos?"

I had said. I looked back down at the girl and her glassy eyes. That is what's wrong with chaos.

"Alright! Everyone gather round!" Murphy called out.

Two boys hauled the grounder into the clearing and everyone crowded around in a big circle. They pushed it down onto it's knees. It had a large dark green hood over it's head and it kept it's face down. Silence hovered over everyone like a fog.

Murphy circled the grounder like a vulture as I grew impatient. I wanted to see it punished for hurting my people, but Murphy was caught up in the game, putting on a show. Suddenly he yanked back the hood and murmurs whipped through the crowd. I stepped back in shock as the grounder raised it's head defiantly.

It was a girl.

I didn't know what I had expected but I hadn't imagined a girl. She had long dark brown hair that framed her face in messy waves. Her skin was olivy and smooth and her features angular. She was startlingly beautiful. She raised her eyes to mine and I drew my breath in sharply.

Her eyes were the green of the forest and they were the same eyes that had warned me before the spear was thrown. She had saved me. Why?

"Is this thing what we're meant to be afraid of? She doesn't look scary to me." Murphy said, dragging a finger down her face.

She jerked her head away. I could see the evidence of the struggle. There was blood on her lips and a bruise already blossoming on her jaw. The crowd laughed in agreement but I wasn't saw sure. There was a fierceness in her eyes that made me think there was more to her than we thought.

"What do you say? Should we show her what happens when you mess with us?" Murphy called out and the crowd roared in agreement.

Murphy laughed and then pointed at me.

"Bellamy! She's all yours." He said and the crowd came close in anticipation.

I walked forward, knowing all eyes were on me. I knew they were waiting for me to make an example out of her, to hurt her but something inside me wanted to hesitate.

"Finish her." Murphy hissed.

I stopped almost right infront of her. I balled my fist and rose it slightly but then she lifted her head and she stared me down, defiantly and for a moment, just a moment,

I hesitated.

Her brow creased and she cocked her head. Then she moved.

In a flash she grabbed Murphys hand that rested on her arm, twisted it around and flipped him so that he landed on his back gasping for air. She whipped around to look at me as two boys grabbed her. She struggled and thrashed like a wild animal.