Leira [Completed]

Chapter Six

"I've got a best new friend for the rest of my life."

—

LEIRA'S POV

"Why would you be frightened of a scared girl?" I asked the man.

"You? Scared? I severely doubt that. You handled yourself quite well in front of those bullies," he sounded as if he were praising me. "It was quite a show you put on there."

"Is that a compliment?" I slid the knife from my palm into my pocket, feeling safe around him. It was alright to put my guard down. He did not seem like one who would take advantage of my kindness. Though I was oblivious to who he was, there was no chance he was my weakness.

"Sure, take it as you want." A smile formed on his face as he asked, "I've never seen you around before, do you live around here?"

"Yeah. But I barely leave my home."

"Why?"

"There are rules," I told him vaguely, not responding with any more information.

We strolled together for a while, and I silent the warning bells screaming in my head. I needed this, a moment without a weapon. Without the infuriating thought of my biological parents and the constant recounting of the steps that I needed to defend myself.

There was always something about me that I found maddening. I open up and trust too easily. Everything I know about myself will come spluttering out of my mouth within minutes.

I started telling him about the family that abandoned me and how I was taken in. I kept information about Andrew from him, however, because I knew to let such a secret out was an act of betrayal.

"That's horrible," he told me with sorrow laced in his voice. "I'm glad you shared and I'm truly sorry for what happened to you."

From that moment, he knew of my past. My secret. My weakness.

And as I was told: "If I wish to live, weakness is not an option."

—Present—

The scintillating sun that ignited the world shone through the curtains of my room. The same nightmare of my past family that haunted me for what felt like an eternity gradually drifted from my memory.

I raised an eyebrow as I scan the room, realizing I was not alone as I should be.

"Good morning, Leira." I recognized the owner of the voice almost immediately, causing my drowsy state to fade.

"Luna? What are you doing here?" Confusion swarmed in my head as I recalled any said news about a visit from the Blake family. Nobody mentioned it.

"My father allowed me to bring you anywhere you want to go around town, provided guards come along with us. He convinced your father as well," she filled me in.

Enthusiasm for the trip started to cloud in my chest. It had been months since I went somewhere outside the forest without the presence of Andrew.

I hastily got ready for the morning and notified Andrew before leaving the highly secured house.

Luna led me to a cafe I had never visited in the south of town. I learned more about Luna and her life outside the dangerous industry her father dragged her into. Her friends, school and how she had the luxury to leave the house whenever she wished to.

"Do you have a place you've always wanted to go to?" she asked while sipping her drink.

"Actually... yes. I do," I said after a long pause of hesitation. It was somewhere I wanted to visit for years without the best intentions. "Three years ago, my parents were in debt and they sold me to a group of gangsters. They had so many choices but they chose to let me go because I meant nothing to them."