Lost Game Notes (Novel)

Chapter 3: A Deep Breath

The train swept over the sloping hills, and despite the rhythmic whir of the wheels, Dawn Brooke kept her eyes peeled. She sat by the window, clutching the satchel that held her belongings to her chest, staring absent-minded at the woman in the seat across from her.

The woman was mocha-skinned, her curly hair twisted in a bun on top of her head. She wrote furiously, as though she had an entire story in her mind and had to write it out in a few minutes.
She would look up once in a while to think, catch Dawn staring, and smile.

Dawn smiled back, hoping the woman wouldn't notice her trembling hands. She grasped her satchel tighter to herself and hoped she looked natural, as though she were headed to her new job or the likes. She had never had a problem with height, and now it would be to her advantage. No one would suspect she was twelve.

Don't you worry about a thing, Dawn told herself. Everything will be just fine. Lexy will do just fine.

If only had had more time to write the letter, make things clearer.

But she didn't.

 She didn't even have enough time to pack all she needed. She had packed enough clothes to last her a few days, and maybe she would find a laundry somewhere. But she had no food. She had done a fair bit of traveling already, and had used a few dollars to purchase a burger and soda at a rest stop. The only money she took was what she had saved up in her money bank. Taking a couple bucks from Lawrence's safe wouldn't have been a problem, but the thought of getting caught stopped her short.

Dawn peered around her, like she has done many times already. Business men picking one call after the other, women tending to squalling babies and whining children, an old man who snored with his chin on his chest.

The only person left to consider was a rotund man with a straw hat hiding the upper part of his face, chewing on an unlit cigarette.

Dawn's large jacket successfully shrouded her from his pig-eyed stare, but no matter how unlikely it was that he was stalking her, she couldn't be be too cautious at this point.

Her satchel held a cellphone with a list of contacts, one of which was Hudson, her only hope if her plan took a turn for the worse. He had done a number of regretful things before, but now he was different. Dawn knew Alex wouldn't understand. That was only one of the many reasons why she refrained from including her brother in her plans.

Dawn stifled a yawn and blinked hard. It wouldn't be long now. As if her thought had summoned him, the conductor appeared in the aisle, droning: "Avendale. Five minutes to Avendale station," as he made his way through the cars.

Dawn stretched as far as she could in the small space of her seat, watching the woman across her gather her writing equipment. She took a deep breath, crossed her fingers, and hoped with all her heart Alex would take on finding the lost notes.

*****
Alex sat at the kitchen table, munching on dry cereal and watched his father do the same. The silence between them was evident, screaming louder than the clink of metal against ceramic, or the dull roar of a lawn mower in the neighbor's lawn. Lawrence knew nothing about the art of keeping the sabbath holy and was apparently "late" for an important court case.

 Leafs of recently inked papers were scattered across the table in front of him. He alternated between scribbling down a paragraph of writing, and shoveling spoonfuls of cereal into his mouth, oblivious to the dry, flavorless texture.

Lawrence froze with the spoon midway to his mouth and looked up, catching Alex's gaze. His eyebrows drew together. "Where's Dawn?"

Alex's jaw tightened. How was it that Lawrence could act so composed after exploding in such an ugly manner, one mere day ago? Alex didn't even want to speak to him, but then Lawrence would get suspicious when Dawn didn't return that day.

He thought a moment to remember what Dawn had written in the letter. "A school trip."

Lawrence nodded, eyes glazing over as he sipped his water. "Alexander, do me a favor and get some groceries. I have company tonight."

Alex let his spoon clatter into the bowl. He felt some of the anger from last night creep back into him as he snapped, "So I'm your servant now?"

"You said Dawn has gone on a school trip. That leaves you."

Alex scowled. "I can't believe you'd have the nerve to ask me favors." He didn't need to explain. Lawrence knew what he was talking about. An uncomfortable silence washed over them. Alex poked at his cereal and tried – and failed – to remember the last time he had gone shopping.