Wake Me Up (Fables Story)

chapter 3.

    As soon as I stepped into the foster house I quietly make my way to my 'room' and grabbed a few bags filling them with clothes as fast as I could. I trusted my gut here, going with complete strangers off to somewhere I don’t even know is probably a bad idea and I know this but I need to be free. Leave this place that has kept me prisoner, I will no longer be a part of this place, but I will always make sure to visit my spot when I can. I will not regret it – I don’t know why but it is just a gut feeling. Like I can just trust him and Calum completely, to be honest I am excited about all of this for some reason. All of a sudden my bag that was in my hand was ripped free and a hand falls on my shoulder turning me around to face the head of the house – Mrs. Ballows. No one in this home – or well anyone that is or ever was here knows not to cross her. Most don’t but again, I’m not most. I go against her as much as I can. “Where do you think you are going, young lady?” Mrs. Ballows asks. I stare at her for a second and then to my bag that dangles in her hand. She knew what I was doing – she just wanted to irk me on. “I am going to where I belong, now please learn, do not touch me and give me my bag.” I snap and grab my bag from her. “Kathryn, you belong here. I am sorry to say but you cannot and will not go. Now I will come get you when supper is done.” Mrs. Ballows says curtly and leaves the room locking the door.

    All rooms have locks on the outside so we get no ‘funny ideas’ as she likes to say. She thinks nobody would use the window since all rooms are on second floor, but boy lemme tell you how wrong that old hag can be. I have escaped through that window at night countless times, her fault that I was put in gymnastics at such a young age and I have a tree outside my window. I smirk and finish packing the next to bags with clothes and shoes. One bag though has all the things I had as a baby in it. Not much but hey, I love the stuff considering I was abandoned in the forest with nowhere to go at such a small age. I sling my bag with my baby stuff over my shoulder and drop the other two bags out the window. I look down and then at the tree – this is it.

    This is when my new life begins and my old one ends. I look back inside my room and glare at the stupid locked door, if it was up to me I would be walking out that door but no. I stand on the windows edge and jump out and grab onto the tree. I don’t know who was out to get me at that moment but one of my hands slipped from the branch and was cut open. Now some would think I wasn’t panicking considering I have done this countless times, but nope, I was freaking out. I never slipped up. I reached up and tried to grab a hold of the branch once more but the cut on my hand was not allowing it. I mean from this height I could break an ankle, the worst being. So I did the only thing I knew of – I screamed for Calum. I have no clue why I called for just Calum but for some reason I felt that he would be here in a flash and help me. Not that Luke wouldn’t save me but it just happened – he was the one I called. Calum came ‘round the corner quick as can be and stopped in his tracks when he saw me dangling from a tree. “Don’t just stand there! Help me Cal! Please!” I cry out as my hand starts to cramp. Calum’s face flashes with an unknown emotion and he runs quickly under the tree holding out his arms “C’mon jump, I promise to catch you...” he says calmly. I bite my lower lip and look down at Calum. “Promise?” I ask shakily. He nods and I let out a deep breath before letting go of the tree. A small scream escapes me and Calum chuckles as I clutch his shirt when he catches me. “You’re okay now, I told you I would catch you…” he trails off as he notices some smeared blood on his shirt from my hand. “Oh Kat, what am I gonna do with you.” He chuckles and grabs a hold of my wrist checking the cut on my right hand. I glare at him a bit before Luke comes racing around the corner “hurry! She is going up to your room!” Luke and Calum pick up some bags and we race to their car. Now I felt a little funny all morning but now it was taking a big toll on me, so as soon as I got into the backseat with Luke and my bags up front with Calum, I laid my head on the car window exhausted beyond belief. “Are you alright there, Kathryn?” I hear Luke ask. I nod my head slowly my eyes fluttering shut “yes, I’m okay, just tired…” I murmur. I open my eyes a bit to see him staring at Cal in the rear-view mirror. Cal looks from Luke to me and a brief emotion passes over his face but it was gone in a second before I could really see. Cal looks back at Luke and then turns his eyes to the road as he sets off to wherever we are going.

    I stare down at the bag in my hands with my baby stuff for a moment and then look up as I feel someone watching me. “What do you have there? Seems important with the way you stare at it.” Luke says and I turn my eyes to him as he looks from me to the bag. “My baby stuff, I kept what I was left with…” I whisper and stroke the golden locket on my collarbone. “Can I see..?” Luke asks hesitantly staring at the locket and then box. I pause for a moment and look down at my locket then back to him. I have trusted him so far – now is not the time to chicken out, I should get to know the guy. “Sure,” I say and unhook my locket holding it out to him “I don’t know who they are but I assume they are my – or well – were my family, I don’t know what happened to them...” I whisper. I may never get to see them but I want a real family – one that will love me. Luke rolls the locket around in his hands “Cal, she has the same locket as your mum. That’s kinda cool.” He hands back the necklace not looking at the pictures probably trying not to be nosy. I reach in the bag and pull out a pinky baby box – with pictures of me in news reports and as a child, a blanket that was around me when I was found in the woods, and the prettiest looking ring. It has a red heart shaped ruby in the center of a silver band and a thin gold spiral running around the ring. It is truly amazing and I always keep it safe. I hand him the box and lay my head on the window “I don’t mind – go ahead and look. Nothing of a secret..” I murmur. Luke shakes his head and lays the box on my lap. “I’m good, not that I wouldn’t want to look. It’s just I think we don’t know each other enough. Let’s play 20 questions.” Luke says excitedly. I hear Calum chuckle from the front seat and he catches my eye in the rear-view mirror. A small smile settles on my lips and I lean back against the seats. We pass our time in the car like that and I find that we are headed somewhere in Australia – I didn’t know they had a forest but apparently that is where their – our – home resides.