7

Alayna

Monday 22nd January, Year 825.

I skipped past Ben without making eye contact knowing he would just want to know everything about Tiv, though I was secretly happy to see his reaction to me showing affection to a Central snob. If Tiv hadn't been a Hawes, I probably would have stuck my tongue down his throat knowing it would repulse Ben. Despite this, I was still not convinced Tiv was sane so trying to convince Ben otherwise would be difficult. I escaped him successfully because he was still glaring at Tiv's car as it sped off down the narrow road. I slipped into our house, only to collide head-first into Dad's chest in the hallway. Ben must have known he was there which explained why he did not stop me.

"You're home early. What did he do?" Dad accused.

"Nothing I couldn't figure out myself, Dad."

"That's my girl," a hint of pride rippled in his reply. "Wait, you didn't do anything that'll give me more grey hair?"

"No more than Ben does every day," I tossed back.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Ben's voice rumbled from behind us, ducking through the doorway to enter the house.

"Means you probably wouldn't have entertained the idiot at all. Probably punched him at several intervals throughout the day. He was dull," I complained.

Dad let out a hearty laugh and shuffled back toward the kitchen, leaving me alone with Ben.

"You probably would have smashed his face in when he shoved his tongue in your mouth too," I muttered so Dad couldn't hear.

"Why didn't you?" Disgust snaked into his tone even though his lips twitched, betraying his curiosity. "He's good looking, breaking his nose won't change that."

"I didn't think breaking his nose would stop my classmates burning things in the garden.'

He frowned, "You did stop him though?"

"We didn't have sex, Ben," I smirked.

Predictably, Ben clamped his hands over his ears and trudged up the stairs, muttering swears under his breath. I laughed; could he be any easier to tease?

"Wait, actually I'm not done," he stopped halfway up the stairs.

"Lucky me," I chirped sarcastically.

"That other brother gave you a lift home. What's he like?"

"Tiv is... different."

It was not the answer he wanted.

Ben's grey eyes narrowed with a ferocity that gave me chills. His posture rigid and jaw set hard like stone, it seemed he wanted to wrap me in steel and padlock me away from any Hawes' touch. His look shouted, 'keep away from them or you're going to make trouble for us.'

"Tiv just seems like a normal guy. Granted, he lives in his little Central bubble and doesn't pay attention to us lot. But he seems much different to Marco."

"I highly doubt that," Ben scoffed.

"I think you're wrong. He told me he was feeling low about the death of Lucy and Sarah. He was really close to them. So he clearly has scab friends."

"Don't call us scabs. What's wrong with you?" he barked. "And he didn't know Sarah or Lucy."

I raised my eyebrow, "And how would you know that?"

Exasperatedly, he threw a hand into the air, "What? You think the girls wouldn't have mentioned those brats if they'd ever hung out with them? He's lying! Will you just trust me and listen for once!"

"I would if you weren't so overprotective and irrational all the time," I replied stonily.

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"Fine, do what you want. They've probably got a bet on to see which one of them can screw you first," Ben raged before disappearing along the landing.

"Dick," I shouted after him and heard his door slam.

"Pack it in, you two," Dad chastised from the kitchen, though he had no idea what he was chastising.

After Hayley died, Mum made Ben move back home. He used to live alone and still wanted his own space. He was twenty five now and certainly didn't want to be living with our parents but he stayed for Mum's peace of mind. Ever since he came back he always seemed to have things on his mind and that was also when he started sneaking off at night too. We never used to have secrets when I was young but we never spoke like we used to anymore. He hadn't even brought up Lucy or Sarah since they died. Once upon a time he would have probably given me a big hug and checked I was okay. I would have done the same but his temper tantrums whenever I mentioned Hayley made me avoid mentioning Sarah entirely.

I dragged myself back to my room and switched on the ancient computer. I sat on my bed and waited patiently as it made loud grinding noises suggesting it was about to explode, as it always did. Finally the computer woke up but it was still sleepy. I clicked the e-mail icon and continued to wait, getting more and more impatient. After a few minutes my email account popped up on the screen. To my bitter disappointment, there were no emails from Tiv.

It's been less than half an hour since you last spoke, get a grip! I scolded myself.

Despite only knowing him for half a day, I wanted to see Tiv again. I tried not to dwell on it and pushed away thoughts of Ben's warning. Me and Tiv were from different worlds, but he seemed genuinely interested in me. But maybe he just saw me as a spectacle, something weird and different. Every other guy I'd ever dated usually did something to make me run for the hills instantly and they weren't super rich Central assholes. Tiv would be the same as the rest of them. I only wanted him because he was gorgeous.

Instead, I lay on my bed and read the day's newspaper Ben had stolen, trying to shut my brain off. It didn't take my mind off anything for long, as I read that Sarah and Lucy's dad had been arrested on charges of sedition and possession of a firearm without licence. I sat up and quickly read the page. There was no mention of a trial. No mention of a sentence… But one of those alone was punishable by death for us if you couldn't pay the bail money. And he couldn't.

I lay on my bed until the sun dipped below the horizon, feeling sick. You were hung for so little if you were a scab, even stealing Central property. Suddenly, the change I had stolen from Marco seemed worthless. I looked down at the newspaper Ben had stolen, something he did most days, but today it seemed exceptionally stupid for the first time.

Eventually, I stood and made my way to Ben to talk about Mr Hall's fate. I had not even reached my bedroom door when the computer made a high pitched moan. Within a second flat I was in the computer chair to investigate the alert. My heart stopped beating for a split second at the sight of Tiv's name.

From: Tiv Hawes 17.14 22/01/825

To: Alayna Nicole Jameson

RE: Thanks for tonight.

Hi Alayna,

I just wanted to thank you for your company this afternoon. I feel rather embarrassed about my episode in the car however, ignoring that, it was good spending time with you.

Thank you for being so kind.

We should go out sometime.

From Tiv

My excitement turned to anxiety as I read the message. Did he know about Sarah and Lucy's dad? Did I tell him? That was a morbid reply to send. Not to mention the fact that Ben was right; I definitely shouldn't be getting involved with Tiv. Going out with Marco to stop the vandalism of my house and the constant torment at college seemed harmless, but doing the same to Tiv felt wrong. Another realisation, which had been poking about at the back of my brain for a while, surfaced: the torment only stopped as long as I was in the good books of the Hawes' brothers. I couldn't risk dating Tiv. Being on Marco's bad side would only make things worse. But what if Ben was right about more than just the difference in worlds? What if Tiv turned out just like the others? My mind raced with worst-case scenarios. In the end, I decided not to reply; it was too dangerous. If Marco's good side stopped the tournament, I was willing to bet being in his bad side would exacerbate it tenfold. I was also willing to bet dating his brother would firmly carve me on that bad side. Despite this, I continued to stare at the PC for a very long time, writing then deleting several emails until my Dad called me for dinner.

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We sat in silence eating for a while; Ben was still in a huff. I eventually broke it when I couldn't take it anymore.

"When do you think they'll kill Mr Hall?" I asked.

Neither Dad or Ben looked up.

"In the next few days probably," Dad said stiffly. "Poor Lynn has lost her daughters and now her partner."

"At least she has the dog," Ben muttered emotionlessly.

I kicked him under the table and his grey eyes narrowed at me.

"What do you want me to say? The girls are dead for being in a stupid place at a stupid time and their dad told the truth about it in front of a damn television camera: if they were from Central they'd be alive. Good on him but it was still a stupid idea," he snapped. "We should petrol bomb the scaffold before they hang him."

Dad's head snapped up.

"You'll have your mum in an early grave with talk like that. Shut your damn mouth," he admonished.

"We could change everything if enough of us want it," Ben argued.

"You'll end up hanging from the gallows if you don't be quiet. Get these ideas out of your head, if not for me and your mum, then for her," Dad nodded at me.

Ben went silent. I awkwardly pushed my food around my plate, feeling so sick I was unable to eat. Ben's ideas of revolution scared me. Dad was right, he was going to get himself killed.

Dad noticed my indifference to my food and banged his fork against my plate, "Just push it out your head Aly. Ben's just being stupid."

I nodded, my starvation eventually winning the battle over my sickness and I finished my dinner. Nobody spoke for the rest of the meal.