Curiosity

4.

Luke swiftly drove down the road. Jai slouched in the front passenger seat, miming the words to the song he was listening to through his headphones. The sun was rising through the trees. The storm had passed and left the roads soaked and slippery, and although Luke was being cautious, he had a long way to drive and he needed to get there urgently.

Luke pulled the keys out of the ignition and both him and Jai stepped out. Wasting no time, they walked over to the warehouse and pushed the shudder up, making a loud creek from the force as it was flung open.

Beau was leaning against the wall with one hand in his pocket, the other one holding a perfectly rolled splint. His lips pouted as he exhaled the smoke and closed his eyes, tilting his head back.

Luke and Jai started to walk over, and Beau's face dropped as soon as he saw them.

'What are you doing here?' Luke shouted. Anger in his voice.

'Go,' Beau sternly ordered as he pushed himself off the wall and pointed back towards the shudder.

'Are you stupid?!' Jai screamed.

Beau stumbled over to his younger brothers. He didn't know what they were doing here and he didn't want them here. It was for their own safety.

A loud thumping noise echoed through the warehouse from the next platform, causing the boys to jump.

'You need to go. Now.' Beau's voice was low and his breathing pattern had changed to a fast pace. He was getting restless and the veins in his neck were visible. Beau was panicking.

He pushed his brothers across the floor, grabbing onto the collars of their tshirts. Before he let his grasp go, he pulled them back so they were either side of him.

'I'll be back later,' he breathed. 'Cover for me.'

He pushed them out and lowered the shudder.

'Scarlet, where are my sons?' Gina asked, laughing slightly at how silly it sounded.

A look of desperation flushed over Scarlet's face.

'I don't know...' she replied. It wasn't a complete lie. She had no information to give, but she had to go along with whatever she said on the spur of the moment.

'Are you sure?' Nicole said, suspiciously eyeing her daughter.

Scarlet quickly nodded, avoiding eye contact. She was a bad liar, and she couldn't deny that.

Gina was about to open her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening.

Luke and Jai stepped in, looking frustrated.

'Where have you two been?' Gina asked. 'And where's Beau?'

Scarlet was also wondering the same thing.

'We went...' Luke froze. 'To the shops.'

'You're hiding something, I know that,' Gina said. 'For the last time, where is Beau?'

Luke and Jai were stuck on this one, but they couldn't tell their mum the truth, no matter how much they wanted to.

'He walked,' Luke quickly said, and Scarlet bit her lip at his silliness.

'Right ok...' Gina sighed. If she was honest with herself, she couldn't understand their generation.

Scarlet pulled Luke and Jai upstairs and pushed them into her bedroom.

Jai sat on her bed, cupping his face in his hands and Luke paced the room as he rubbed his forehead.

'Are you going to explain to me what's happening?' Scarlet said as she closed her door and leaned against it. She was desperate for some answers.

Luke walked over and gently gripped her wrists. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't. He bit his lip at the urge.

'I can't,' he sighed.

There was a moment's silence, as Luke and Scarlet fixed their gaze on each other.

'But why?' she finally said. 'You can't even you tell your own mum.'

Luke let go of Scarlet's wrists as he glanced over at Jai, who slowly nodded as he made his way over to where Scarlet and his brother were standing.

'We'll tell you,' Jai whispered. 'If you promise not to tell anyone. Do you understand?'

Scarlet nodded. She understood very well.

'Do you trust me?' she asked, gazing at them both.

Luke and Jai didn't hesitate to reply. 'We trust you.'

A smile crept across Scarlet's face. She had never gained trust from others before, and she felt content at the thought of it.

Luke and Jai didn't know whether it was her beauty that had pulled them in, or if they really did trust her, but there was something about this girl that made them believe they could tell her anything, against their will or not.