Speaking Isn't My Strong Point

SEVEN

As I struggled to keep warm whilst I walked through the chilly wind, I couldn't help but contemplate in my head whether I should go home or not.

No-one would be there and I was beginning to lose hope and get bored of just sitting and waiting for my dad to come home. I had no clue where he was and really hoped he wasn't lying in a ditch somewhere lifeless. It would honesty break me if I ever found out from them or someone else that he had been murdered in cold blood. My dad was the only family I had left.

Letting a few defeated tears slip from my weary eyes, I stopped by the riverside that was empty like usual. Not many people chose to spend their time near a grimy old river. Especially not ignorant teens.

Spotting an old bench to sit on, I dragged myself to the lonely bench. I always found myself sitting on a bench somewhere, just enjoying the peacefulness. It calmed me down when I was feeling incredibly anxious, empty or maybe even both.

A few seconds went by, until I felt someone's presence beside me. I turned my head towards the figure that I saw in the corner of my eye. I had visual perception, meaning I could sense my surroundings due to the visible light.

"Hey, Leia. I haven't seen you in a while," Mason grinned, slouching down onto the bench next to me. "It's actually kind of hurtful when you unintentionally avoid me."

"You know what unintentional means, right?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.

"Of course I do! I'm not stupid Craze," he replied with fake-shock in his eyes.

Rolling my eyes I responded, "Could have fooled me."

"In case you lied, unintentional means to not do something on purpose," I added, falling back onto the bench.

"I knew that," he growled angrily under his breath.

"Sure you did," I scoffed, scanning the river that winked ever so often when the trees unblocked the light as they swayed in the breeze.

Silence fell upon us. It was a confortable silence, not an awkward one which was unexpected.

"So, how have you been lately?" He asked, breaking the silence. "Ever since we got locked in the school, I can't help but think that you've been ignoring me lately."

"I haven't."

"You have," he bluntly said. "And it's annoying. What did I do wrong?"

In fact, he was correct. I had been ignoring him. And he hadn't done anything wrong. I needed to get away from people. I really couldn't make friends at that point in time. It was too risky.

I opened my mouth to speak, but he interrupted me.

"You know if you don't want to be friends, then you could just say," He frowned, rubbing his chin. "I just don't want you to detatch yourself from the world because...I knew someone who did the same."

I turned to look at him with an intrigued look on my face, "Who?"

Huffing out a breath and rubbing his tired eyes, he stood up and kept his face impassive, "I can't say."

Alarmed by his response, I sprung up from the bench as he began to walk away without another word. Was he leaving? The topic obviously was very personal to him and it clearly must have affected him in some way, but why? What was Mason hiding? And how could I uncover the truth when we both had problems? I needed luck to be on my side right then, but I totally wasn't feeling the luck with what had happened last week.

"Where are you going?" I called out quickly, trying desperately to get his attention.

His dark brooding figure stopped on the old cobbled pathway. However, he never replied. He just stopped for a moment and carried on walking. Like nothing in the world bothered him. Like I was just a stranger, being ignored by another.

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Flinging my boots across the hallway, I stumbled into the lounge. I then decided to bundle myself up in a load of warm thick blankets as I layed stretched out on the uncomfortable sofa.

I didn't have enough money for heating so I just had to use what I had around me to keep warm. I couldn't see the point in spending lots of money on heating that was just going to seep out of the windows anyway. It was exactly like throwing your money out of the windows. Atleast with blankets, you could buy really cheap ones and have it for years and years.

There was no point in radiators. All of the companies were just money-hungry buggers who loved to rip off people. Even when some people didn't earn that much for a living. As long as they scammed innocent people, they were satisifed.

Turning on the radio beside me, I listened out for any useful news for me.

"A man who seemed to look over fourty five years old was found lying on the road wounded at Thornborough street today. Police say that the man was seen stumbling across the road with an injured leg as he tried calling for help. An eyewitness stated, "I don't think he knew that he was on a road."

The man was brought down to the hospital around 12:30 pm to get his wound checked out. More information about this is online at our website-"

I switched the radio off before the man could finish speaking. Sitting still for a moment, my heart raced in my chest as I thought of all the possible explanations for this strange man. My dad was a little over fourty five. But they said he seemed over fourty five and my dad didn't look fourty five. He looked younger for his age, yet with all of the torture he may had gone through it could had made him look his age or older.

If that was my dad, what would I say to him? I was his only family so at one point the hospital would call me to pick him up. I didn't want to see his face though. What if he looked terrible? I would feel so guilty and pathetic.

"Leia he got himself in that mess, not you," I whispered, reminding myself that it was his choice to be that way not mine. I wasn't part of his decision.

Suddenly, before I could blink, a large rock came flying through the window. It shattered the glass into tiny sharp shards. Those shards then chipped and scratched my face as I was too late to cover myself.

Feeling a hot liquid drip down my cheeks, I wiped it off with my hand as I scanned my surroundings. The rock was like a boulder. It was as big as a bowling ball. No wonder it smashed my whole window. My window?

"No, no, no, no no!" I panicked, collapsing to the ground.

My window was broken and I had no money whatsoever to pay for a new one. Grabbing onto the rock, I began to throw it back out until I spotted a piece of paper attached to it.

Ripping the paper free, I unfolded it. In scrawled blood-red writing, it read,
Are you petrified? Afraid to leave your house? Well you should be. I told you to beware, but I guess you haven't learnt your lesson yet.

What surprised me most about that letter was that it was hand-written. The first note was typed not written by someone. Could that note be a clue to who was actually part of them?

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Hello! Sorry about this cheeky little update. I promise, no-one but my brain was harmed in the making of this chapter.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Please remember to vote and also comment. I don't get many comments. And the only comments I get are from friends. I really would like to hear from you.

Here's a queston for ya, what genre of books do you like?

Mine is romance and a bit of action. But I do love teen fiction. That is like my go to aisle in Whsmiths or Waterstones.

Thank you so much for reading and I will see you soon my lovelies <3
G

em Gems