𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐘𝐀𝐑𝐃━︎━︎M. Hill ✓︎

𝐓𝐞𝐧

CHAPTER TEN:
PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

SAGE WALKED INTO THE COFFEE shop once again, finding it weird that she was actually excited for this evening out with the woman that she was supposed to be growing close with. The woman who she was being forced to gain the trust of. The more and more Sage thought about it, the more that she no longer wanted to go through with this mission. But she knew that Beatrix would simply send out someone else from another division, whilst torturing the rest of them for Sage's failure.

There was one thing Sage never understood, and that was why Beatrix punished all of them for one of their failure's. And because they had a kid in their unit, a teenager that was growing closer and closer to her time of being transformed into a soldier, they couldn't fail. They had to protect Malia at all cost. Sage hadn't realized that she had been standing there, blankly looking ahead of her as she thought about her so called family until a hand was placed on her shoulder, making her jump.

     "Whoa, hey." Maria spoke with a laugh. "I didn't mean to scare you."

     "You didn't scare me." Sage denied, offering the woman a small smile.

     "You looked like you were somewhere else." Maria spoke as the two moved so that they were standing in line. Sage glanced at the woman before sighing.

     "I was." She nodded. She took a step forward, smiling at the cashier and ordering both of their drinks, Maria surprised that the woman knew her order. They stood there for a moment in silence before grabbing their drinks and walking out of the shop.

     "Penny for your thoughts?" Maria questioned, looking at the woman before taking a sip of her drink. The two walked down the streets of New York, the sun not ready to go to sleep for the day, but instead decorating their walk with colorful hues of pinks and reds.

     At the question, Sage realized that this was her chance to get close with the woman. To silently prove to herself that she was focused on the mission at hand and only that. She swallowed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear before answering her. "I was thinking about my family."

     "What about them?" Maria questioned, frowning slightly at the woman's hesitancy.

      "When I was fifteen, my entire family was killed." Sage started. "I had been over at a friends house, doing make-up with her just for fun, before realizing I was late to get home. So, I left. But by the time I had gotten there, my house was on fire. My family was inside, burning alive, and had I not stayed over at that friend's house, I would've been burned alive too." She felt her eyes gloss over, making her swallow the tears away. "My entire city was blown off the map. And I was the only survivor out of thousands of people that had lived there. And all I can think about, is the fact that I didn't get to say goodbye."

     "Sarah, I'm so sorry." Maria deeply frowned. Sage closed her eyes at the fake name that Maria had called her, finding herself desperately wanting to tell the woman that that wasn't her real name. But she bit her tongue, keeping her words in her mouth, knowing that the reveal of her real name could simply change everything. "I didn't know that that happened to you."

     "Not a lot of people do." Sage answered her truthfully. She then stopped for a moment, causing Maria to do the same thing. The two turned towards one another, and Sage's eyes met those of Maria's. Searching them for a moment before she spoke. "But, I trust you, Maria. And I know that we haven't really known each other for that long, two weeks now I believe, but I like you Maria. I like you a lot more than a person should when they first meet someone." She paused, taking a deep breath. "And now that I've said that out loud, I feel like you think I'm creepy and obsessive, or some shit like that."

     Maria shook her head in response, her lip quirking upwards at the sight of the woman rambling. "I don't think of you like that at all, Sarah. In fact, if I'm being honest with you, you're the first person that I've found myself growing closer to in a while."

     "Well, I must say I feel honored." Sage joked, smiling in amusement. She silently cheered in success at watching a smile start to over take Maria's feature's as well.

      "Let's continue on with tour, shall we?" Maria asked.

     Sage smiled before motioning her hand forward. "After you, Ms. Hill."