6

Tiv

Monday 22nd January, Year 825.

We drove without exchanging a word, the only sound the hum of the engine and the occasional gravel crunching beneath the tires. Not sure what to say, I decided silence was the best option. I had learnt quickly that 'firecracker' hit the mark perfectly; she was a very temperamental girl.

It wasn't until we snaked our way towards Outer Harroworth's winding roads that I dared break the silence.

"Um, sorry, where do you live?" Listening to my own words echo inside the car, they seemed to drip with disdain, as if I thought her neighbourhood might infect us with something or that my car would end up on blocks. I caught a glimpse of her face, hoping she hadn't noticed.

"You know the area I live in," Alayna muttered with a heavy exhale, rubbing her arms as though warding off a chill that wasn't there.

She heard the judgement.

"Sorry," I murmured.

She shot me a half-perplexed, half-amused look, "Don't worry about it. Just make sure to pull up at a checkpoint; I need to scan back in."

I glanced down to where I knew her number was, hidden by her coat. Her expression was still unreadable when I looked back at her. I had to keep reminding myself to look at the road and not her.

"So how many girls does he have on rotation?" Alayna asked nonchalantly.

Definitely not what I wished to talk about.

"I'm not really sure. This probably isn't the best conversation for us to be having. Marco will kill me," I replied.

"Why would I tell him?" she retorted, cocking an eyebrow in challenge.

I hesitated before answering. "No offence… You don't seem like the type to keep a cool head when cheated on."

A laugh escaped Alayna, but it seemed to carry more weight than amusement alone - maybe frustration or resignation trailed behind it.

"I suppose you're right. I should be more pissed off, shouldn't I? I only went on the damn date because Mum thought we'd be a good match and…" she trailed off. "It doesn't matter. It was a stupid idea. I'll keep my head down. I'm already hated, I'd prefer not to be lynched at college tomorrow."

I sealed my lips, feeling like replying might simply twist a knife deeper somehow. Alayna was always picked on. So was her scab friend, Jo, although not as much. I knew it and so did everyone else. She was a scab therefore I had deemed her lesser. I'd never enjoyed her maltreatment yet I had also never done anything to stop it. Guilt washed over me. We continued to sit in silence for a while until we made it to the checkpoint. She jumped from the car to run to the scanner as I flashed my paper identification to a guard. For the first time in my life I wondered why scabs had their skin tattooed with their ID and we didn't.

"I live in Cassibare Meadow, just head south. It's the last house on the meadow," she muttered as we pulled out of the checkpoint, "Luckily for me, my date ended very early. My parents are going a bit mental about my curfew after what happened to Sarah and Lucy Hall on Friday night."

Alayna's words wound through the car like a chill wind. My fingers tightened around the steering wheel, knuckles bleaching to white. The car sped up slightly at the pressure I had unwillingly put on the accelerator.

Lucy. Her name was Lucy. I was covered in her blood. They were dead because of me.

A subtle tremor took ripped through my body.

Without turning, I could feel Alayna's curious eyes boring into my profile, seeking an explanation for my sudden tension. Yet, there was no further demand for response; rather, she observed quietly for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Her voice was a hushed breeze.

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She placed a hand on my back, rubbing it softly - a subtle invitation to gather myself and regain composure without needing to say a single word. My entire body stood to attention at the touch.

Mustering control of my racing thoughts, I finally exhaled, "Sorry."

She stayed silent. Her hand still resting gently on my back however she was rigid, clearly uncomfortable at best. I risked glancing at her. Alayna's gaze softened as she watched me; any initial discomfort seemed to dissolve into empathy. Without another word about it, she gave my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I… I knew the girls well," I lied wildly.

We looked at each other silently as the overwhelming urge to tell her the truth clawed at me. Her eyes clouded with the shadow of doubt. Yet swiftly, as if dispelling clouds with her resolve, Alayna reached for my hand.

"Here," she said, pulling a pen from her pocket.

She inked her email address and phone number onto my palm. Her skin wasn't as soft as I expected. Instead her palms were already calloused as if she had done an entire life of hard labour. It didn't make her touch any less gentle.

"If you ever need to talk..." She trailed off before clearing her throat and starting again with more conviction. "I knew Lucy; we can talk about them whenever you like."

"Thanks," I mumbled, staring at her hand in mine.

Alayna released my fingers from hers and I refocussed on the task at hand—the drive. How I had not crashed yet was beyond me.

She knew Lucy.

Focusing on breathing steadily for the rest of the journey, my eyes were glued to the road, not daring to look away or look at Alayna. Honestly, I thought I may cry if I did. Very manly. Instead, I thought again of Alayna's bright smile and her hand in mine until eventually the unpleasant sensation passed.

When we got closer to Cassibare Meadow, Alayna started to give me specific directions until we arrived at her house. As we turned the corner of her road, she pointed out a grey house with a navy blue roof as hers. It was the last one on the street, if you could call it a street; the dirt road had no tarmac or road markings, like it had been dug out of the ground. There was no defined layout to the houses that lined the dirt path, randomly scattered between it and the meadow behind them. Alayna's home was larger than the surrounding houses and the only one with two stories. The tiles on the roof were different shades of blue which suggested they had had some cheap extension work done. It looked put together with sticks and mud. Surrounded by bare trees, the house had a small garden which was covered in scorch marks.

"Why have you been burning things in the garden?" I smirked.

She sighed and gave me a sad smile, "Ah, you're so in your little bubble, aren't you?"

"Pardon me?"

"Nothing. We don't start fires in our front yard," she answered flatly.

Outside of the house was a small grey porch that poked out into the tiny front garden. By the side of the house was a horse.

"You own a horse?" I remarked.

"Not everyone has a shiny sports car or chauffeurs you know," she scoffed playfully.

My eyes widened, "You use that for travel?"

She flushed red and I automatically wished I had swallowed the words I'd just spoken.

"I don't. I prefer driving but my Dad uses her for work and my brother rides her really well," she said quietly.

"You drive?" I asked, desperate to change the topic.

"Not legally but me and my brother used to… borrow cars. He taught me," she grinned.

"Borrow?" I repeated.

"When my parents weren't around," she elaborated with a mischievous twitch of her lips. "We always put them back where we found them…"

She was bizarre. I laughed as we pulled up outside. It was not beyond my notice that a number of people had come out of their houses to peer at my car. Among them stood a very tall, muscular man who emerged from Alayna's residence onto the porch. His scowl boring into me, making it clear that he did not want me there. If looks could kill I'd have been a dead man.

"Who is that?" I asked warily.

"That's Ben, my brother," Alayna replied, frustration lacing her cadence.

"He looks pissed off," I noted.

"He always looks pissed off," she quipped, a sly smile cutting through her features.

I smiled back and unexpectedly she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. The soft brush of her lips against my skin ignited a warm glow in the pit of my stomach.

"That will annoy him," she grinned broadly, inches from my face. "Welcome to the chaos."

She smelled bloody amazing. A mixture of wildflowers and spice filled the confined space of the vehicle.

Without another backwards glance, she silently jumped out of the car and danced off towards the house. Her brother's furious facial expression coaxed me into putting my foot on the accelerator as hastily as possible.

The interior of the car felt suddenly too quiet, too empty without her presence.

As I drove away from Cassibare Meadow, my mind became a jumble of conflicting thoughts. Images of Alayna's touch flashed through my mind; about what it stirred in me; about whether it meant anything at all beyond what lay on the surface. The thoughts swirled as I drove through Harroworth's winding streets.

Then I remembered she was my brother's girlfriend.

Or was she really?

Marco went off with another girl halfway through his first date with Alayna. On top of that it was obvious from the first time I spoke to her that she was not interested. Would it have been the worst idea in the world to ask her out?

Yes, Marco will flay you, a tiny voice in my head warned.

I tried to think of anything other than the fact I immediately wanted to speak to Alayna once more and also do everything with her apart from speak, despite the implications of that decision. I allowed myself to fantasise for a while until thoughts of her started to fade, replaced instead by the image of Lucy, left for dead.

Gritting my teeth against the onslaught of remorse that threatened to drown me, I accelerated further down the road that led back to my world - an existence marred by secrecy and suffocation. A part of me wished I had simply stayed in the slums.