Chapter 39

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Anger.

I felt the red hot anger coursing through me as I looked to the people I had called 'family' for nearly 14 years. I had been in their care for as long as I can remember; constantly made to do their bidding. I had been fine with that; that I could excuse.

Yet, now it was different.

They had hidden details of what I had been given from my actual biological mother. I had been told all this time that I was given to adoption because no one wanted me; completely oblivious to what had actually happened. My mother had given me up to protect me, along with possible clues to helping me.

I breathed to relax myself as I eyed Debra. She watched me with arms folded, but even she was unaware of anything but my compliant nature. She had only seen the side that I had allowed her to. I bit back the urge to rage and, instead, spoke with levelled breaths.

"And, where would this gold be right now?" I asked quietly in a bid to keep calm. Debra was oblivious to this, shrugging purposefully, an angry smile on her red face.

"If I were to know, do you think I'd tell you, huh?" She said snarkily and Sierra smirked beside her, her nose scrunching up as she did.

I rolled my eyes at this. I was fed up with their duo team, trying to make my life hell. I had loved them and they had taken undue advantage of it. In a desperate need for answers and exhaustion over the drama, I moved closer to Debra abruptly.

Demir and Emut watched intently as I walked to her, an impassive look on my face. I recalled how many times she had used her size compared to mine to coerce me into doing work. I stood as close as she would, my eyes levelled with hers.

"Don't even think I'll tell you, Hanna. I'd rath-"

I cut her off by pulling her to me roughly by her lower arm. Richard moved in slightly at this, but the boys eyed him to which he halted. Debra let out a yelp at this before trying to pull back, a lock of shock on her face. But, my training had made me stronger. I held her in place as I spoke.

"I don't have time for games, Debra. Either you give me an address or you give me a good reason to stop them from finishing you." I bit out and both Sierra and Debra flinched back at the malice in my tone.

I heard Demir laugh slightly from behind me.

"And it needs to be a good reason; I'm not one to be easily persuaded." He said simply.

"Or to be persuaded at all, for that matter." Emut added, giving Demir a pointed look.

Fear emanated off the three at the boy's words as they looked to each other and then to me to see if I was joking. But, I wasn't as compliant as I was a month ago. It was evident now.

Debra gaped for a minute before stuttering out a response.

"The Handelsbanken building on Rutherford Court. It's in Vault 38, locker 719." She said finally, a quiet mutter and I nodded. Many a time, when I had gone to work, I would take a route that passed there. Little did I know then that the bank would hold so much importance to me.

I turned to the boys then, removing my grip on Debra who flounced back a few steps.

"I know where that is." I said and Emut nodded his head at this.

"Then, let's go." He commanded and I nodded in agreement before grabbing a backpack from the corner of my room. Last time I had left, I didn't even have time to grab anything; it had all happened so fast. But now, with the help of Demir and Emut, I'm able to retrieve these things. I placed the Polaroid camera into the bag, along with a couple of my products that I used, making sure to only grab the things I had bought with my hard earned money.

I moved to the bed then, giving a small glance to Debra who watched me with careful eyes. They were stood, withdrawn near the door entrance. There was not much else they could do now, especially with Demir and Emut here. With a slight push, I picked the mattress up, pulling out the small envelopes there, filled with money.

I listened as Debra let out a small gasp at this, acting as though I had stolen her dues. When, in actuality, I had saved up every tip I earned in the last 4 years of working at the cafe. I didn't know why I hadn't given that to Debra along with my salary. Partly because there was a part deep in me that knew I would need it, if I ever chose to escape. I tried my hardest to repress and ignore these thoughts, but they wouldn't go away and I subconsciously began collecting the tips. I placed it in the backpack, listening to the small clinking noise of change that I also saved. Every penny had counted for me.

Lastly, I grabbed a nude hoodie before throwing it over my form and turning to the boys.

"Okay, let's go." I said, swinging the backpack over my shoulder. They nodded at my words before moving to the door, making 'my family' back away. Demir scoffed at this, purposefully letting his glaive come too close to Richard's nose who let out a small scared grunt before pushing himself into the wall behind.

"Demir." Emut warned, almost playfully, and Demir conceded, pulling away as they walked out. I followed behind, stopping when there was a tug at my arm. Looking to them, I saw Debra holding onto my arm tightly, a warning look in her tiny eyes.

"If you step out of that door, don't even think about coming back. The food, a roof over your head- they'll all be gone! Think about what you're doing!" She hissed out, her grip tightening.

I used to think it was the tight grip of a mother who loved her birds too much to let them leave the nest. Yet, now I knew it for what it was- the bittersweet hold of a snake until I was supple enough to eat.

Until they got what they wanted.

I smiled, wrenching my arm away from her to which she gaped. Sierra and Richard watched with tepid eyes as I spoke in a simple tone.

"I wasn't ever looking for the food or the roof. I was looking for love and care. There's none of that here." I said, eyeing her with a bland look. She looked at me as though she had eaten a lemon and I decided that I had enough of her now.

Rounding out the room and to the stairs, I looked back slightly.

"I hope we never see each other again." I uttered out truthfully, not even bothering to look back as I bounded down the stairs.

These were the stairs that I had run down many a time, through all my years of school to when I woke in the morning to make breakfast or when I was late for work. Running down them now made a small feel of sadness run through me, as did looking through at the living room and kitchen when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

I had sat there in the living room at 6am at points, eating a bowl of cereal before I waited for the bus to go to school. The kitchen was where I had first read the acceptance letter I received from Staffordshire University.

I had studied hard to get to that University; I had wanted to go to one a bit further away, but Debra had forbidden it, so this was the next best thing. I still recall sitting in the living room, a bleak lamp light on while I worked through my coursework. Debra had convinced me to stay downstairs, so I could also make food for Richard when he came.

Or, those days when I was young, staring out the living room window as rain pattered down. Sierra had chased me downstairs for trying to infiltrate her game of barbies. All I remember hearing was the hacking laughter of Debra as she watched TV behind me, asking for a drink on some odd occasions.

"Where to from here?" Emut asked suddenly and I snapped out of my daze, turning to look at him. It took a while to process his words and I blinked slowly before pointing to the door.

"Let's get out of here first." I said in a tired tone and Emut nodded understandingly before opening the door and walking out.

When the first gust of wind hit me, I was suddenly grateful for the hoodie I was now wearing. I turned to the boys, feeling shocked that they looked unfazed by the coldness.

"Are you both not cold?" I asked, shutting the door behind me and hugging my arms around my form. My teeth were chattering slightly as I looked to the boys in their tank tops and shorts.

Demir let out a small laugh at this, looking to me

"We've dealt with far worse, ghabi." He finished and I laughed through the chattering, icy breaths escaping my mouth.

"Far worse? So, you make a habit of looking in the mirror?" I questioned tauntingly, making my way past him and leading the way down the street.

"I hope you're directing that just at Demir." Emut said with a raised eyebrow and I nudged him hard before turning to look to the streets.

I heard a sound and turned to see the door of the neighbouring house open and the familiar female leave the house and walk to her car.

"Morning, Hanna." She uttered her trademark words warmly and I nodded with a smile in response.

"Morning, Alexis." I greeted back, repeating the actions I had been doing for the last few years. I had become so accustomed to this house, job and life and I sighed deeply at my thoughts. I had to forget it now.

"It's 25 minutes from here if we take the bus." I muttered more so to myself than them, but they nodded at my words.

"Bus?" Emut asked in a way in which I knew he had never said that word before. I let out a small laugh at this.

"Yeah, bus. It's another mode of transportation. It will make getting there quicker." I explained, nearing the bus stop. From going on the buses frequently, I knew the schedule a fair bit. Making my way to the bus stop at the end of the street, I came to a halt and turned to the boys. They stopped as I did and I felt slightly strange being the one who was leading. I was usually the follower.

"We wait here. The first comes at 5.22am, which is in 2 minutes. If we're lucky, it'll be quicker." I said, feeling the wave of nostalgia hit me when looking at the bus stop. The last time I had been stood here was the day I had left, when I made my way to work. That was before all the events of university and Sierra happened. Where that old man had given me a paper that changed my whole life.

"What's this shit?" Demir's voice broke me out of my reverie and I turned to see him looking at the bus stop bench littered with cigarette butts. I cringed slightly before turning to the side.

"Ignore it." I said, feeling grateful that the bus was turning the corner, so I wouldn't have to explain the concept of litter.

"It's here." I pointed it out, opening my backpack and grabbing the necessary change. It came to a squeaking halt, the automatic doors reeling open and I watched as Emut and Demir stepped on, heading for the back.

"Oi!" The old bus driver called to the back and I hurriedly placed all the change into the money slot before they picked up their weapons like I knew they would.

"I've got them." I voiced out to which the bus driver let out a gruff nod and processed the money. I collected the tickets before walking through the empty bus. I heaved a tired sigh as I looked to the boys sat on opposite ends.

"If anyone asks, cosplay, okay?" I said, looking at their large weapons. Emut's eyebrows furrowed at this.

"Who's cosplay and why would anyone ask for him?" He muttered and I let out a laugh as the bus took off before seating myself down at the front.

I spent a while gazing at the newspaper then, catching up on what I had missed. I could hear the voices of Demir and Emut as they looked at the 'oddities' of Earth and I smiled to myself. Was this how I had been when entering Aaru?

I looked back to the newspaper. Other than political news, there wasn't much going on. Just as my life had been here, an endless routine of night and day of which there was no escape.

I had dreamed of moving to London and pursuing a career in Braxton Publishing, but I wasn't too sure why I had been so excited about it. A lonely apartment and 9 to 5 job. Perhaps, it felt a solution to leaving home and, so, I had clung to it as though it was my saviour. As if it would chase away the loneliness.

I jolted slightly when I felt the warmth beside me and turned to see Emut seating himself next to me. I smiled as he looked down at the newspaper I was reading. He gazed out the window then at the dark cold streets. The sky was lightening to a slight grey now as it neared 6am. When we had been in Aaru, it had probably been around 8pm, given the position of the sun. The timings of both were so different and I remembered how I had first left Earth in the dead of the night to enter the scorching sun of Aaru.

"So, this is the place where you lived? It doesn't seem so bad." He mused, looking around and I followed his line of sight. These streets were one I had become familiar with throughout my years, each with different memories. I let a small sad smile grace my face.

"Not too bad? Where were you for the past hour when I was with my family?" I joked to which he let out a small laugh and I turned to look at him, a somber expression on my face.

"This place and my family- I had always felt so lonely here. Like, I didn't belong. I was just so... miserable." I bit out sadly to which Emut nodded, his gaze deep as he listened to my words. He let out a sigh then.

"I'm not seeing the bad side." He said simply and I stuttered out a sound to which he turned to me, his honey eyes melting the cold away.

"If you weren't so miserable, you wouldn't have left. And, then I never would have met you that day." He explained and I smiled brightly at his words, feeling grateful at his words.

"I'm glad I did too then. I feel like I finally belong. As if I've finally found my family." I admitted almost sheepishly to which Emut ducked his head slightly to make eye contact with me. I looked at him as he spoke.

"There's nowhere else that you could belong. You were destined for Aaru." He spoke and I smiled brightly at his words, feeling so content at that moment- to have removed the dead weight of the past and indulge myself in the promises of the future.

"That means a lot, Emut." I answered honestly, reaching out and placing my hand in his, in gratitude. His hand was smooth and warm, compared to the icy surroundings of the bus. He tensed at this, his eyes snapping down to the contact before looking up to me and tightening his hold.

"It's stopped." Demir's voice pulled me out of my trance and I turned to see him looking out the window, his glaive leaning against his side. I was surprised at this; I hadn't even been able to lift the glaive properly during training and here he was, holding it like a baby on his side.

Emut moved his hand out of mine before looking outside, curiously.

"We're here." I announced. 

                             °°°°°°°♧°°°°°°

Hey, guys! Thank you for reading.

I hope you guys enjoyed it because I very much enjoyed writing it!

I will update every week (or twice a week), so there will be plentiful to read.

Please vote if you enjoyed it and comment on what you would like to see!

Much Love,

S.A.A


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