Burnt Lies

A Thousand Tomorrows

Cameron

There was a mass of papers in front of me, strewn across every inch of my office table. Being a gang leader wasn't all action, there was a considerable amount of paper work that went with the job too.

I leaned back in my chair, running a hand through my hair and resisting the urge to pull it out. I needed a break from all of this, so I picked myself up off my chair and went to find out what Alara was doing. 

The moment I stepped out of my office I felt her crash into me, I steadied her as she teetered on the tips of her toes from the force of running into me. I grasped her shoulders until she was fully balanced once more, "Where are you off to in such a hurry, sweetheart?"

She looked up at me with those ever so wide deep brown eyes, that swam with an innocence that I never wanted to see quelled. 

"Nowhere," the smile on her face said otherwise. 

"Oh really," I leaned forward a little so our faces were just inches apart and whispered, "What have I told you about liars?"

"That you hate them," she whispered back ever so softly. A gleam in her eyes as though she knew the affect she had on me. 

I wrapped my hand around her waist pulling her ever so closer, "And you're not a liar are you?"

I heard her breath still at the close proximity, I could feel the thrum of her pulse where her hand touched mine and I revelled in the fact that it was me who had caused that, "No, I'm not."

"So where were you going, darling?"

She bit her lip softly pulling it between her teeth, before she finally caved and told me what she had been planning, "I was trying to sneak out," she admitted her face brightening with a blush that told me she was slightly embarrassed. 

She looked down guiltily, "I know I've basically been on house arrest since everything that happened. And I get it I really do, but I need to get out of this house,"

I studied her carefully, "I know you want to go out but you can't not on your own anyways,"

She gave a heavy sigh her eyes drifting over to the window, "I hate being stuck inside."

I smiled softly at her, brushing a curl of hair that had fallen in front of her face out of the way so I could see her properly, "I never said you can't go out at all," her face brightened at the statement but even more so when I added, "We can go somewhere together wherever you want,"

"Really," the childlike glee in her eyes would never become boring to me, I would never get sick of seeing that excitement bubble and brew to the surface as she tugged my arm so that we could get out of the house. She practically pulled me all the way out of the house, until we were at the car, but she tugged me away from it. 

"It's not too far where we're going we don't need the car, lets just enjoy the sunshine," she beamed. 

I laughed a little at how giddy she was, it was refreshing to see such unadulterated joy, even after everything she had been through.

"Sure thing, darling," she still hadn't let go of my hand, her nimble fingers wrapped firmly around my hand. The coolness of her palm being pressed against my own made me feel grounded for the first time in the a while. 

She began to speed up, running down the street without a care in the world, her laughter floating behind her in a sweet melody that I couldn't get enough of. Soon we were both running down the road, not worrying about the looks that we got, just lost in our own enjoyment of life. 

She spun around so that she could take a hold of both my hands this time, a shine in her eyes as she spoke, "You're going to love this,"

"Love what, darling?" she let go of my hand just for a moment to tap her nose, as though she was guarding the best kept secret in the world.

Once again she clasped my hand and pulled me further down the road we were coming up to the Cul-de- sac,  she turned pulling me with her and then abruptly stopped. 

"What," a broken whisper fell from her mouth and confusion made itself apparent on my face before I turned to see what had elicited that reaction from her. 

I turned to see what had been a bookshop, but the glass windows were broken, smashed to pieces with books torn up inside the banners outside the small shop half burnt and the sign coming down. 

"Alara-"

"No, no, no," she began to cry rushing forward towards her shop her hands reaching out to the broken glass but I soon stopped her pulling her back. 

"My shop," her voice was so fragile and small so different from the vehement excitement she had shown just moments before. 

I held her back, wrapping my arms tightly around her as she almost collapsed in tears, "They ruined it, why? Why did they do this?"

"Alara, Alara," I called out her name trying to reach her through the melancholy, "It's ok, I'll help you fix it and I'll make whoever did this pay."

"It was him," her eyes blazed with fury, "It was Dane Laurier."

I had thought the same it couldn't be anyone else but what really solidified it for me was the same dark red spray paint on the inside of the shop, "Get me my Blood Diamond," she read out as she entered the destroyed shop. 

"Fucking Laurier," I hissed under my breath, feeling a rage that could not be contained. He couldn't just leave Alara alone.

I entered the shop after Alara and watched as tears spilled from her eyes as she tried to salvage what was left of her shop. She picked up ripped pages of books and tried to flatten out the creases but there was too much and not one book seemed to be left standing. Her hands shook as she thumbed the tattered sheets, her eyes glossing over as she fell to her knees among the entangled mess. 

I knelt down beside her, "I'll fix this Alara, I swear it,"

She didn't respond with words only nodding mutely her eyes transfixed on the utter chaos around her. 

"This was my safe space," she began wiping tears from her eyes with the base of her palm, "And he ruined it."

Utter anguish on her face as she shouted, "I hate him, I hate what he's done to me."

It was at this cry of agony that made my fingers itch to plant a bullet in Laurier's head. 

I lifted her to her feet and manoeuvred her around the shards of glass until we were back outside the shop. My eyes lifted to the torn down banner that was the name of the shop though I couldn't make out what it had originally said. 

Alara seeing my eyes lift to the sign replied, "It was called 'A Thousand Tomorrows'"

There was something subdued about her voice when she continued to explain, "I called it that because I feel like books give you another chance at a different future at something you wouldn't expect. It gives you the tomorrow you might want but can't have or the tomorrow you aspire to have. It's all about escapism reading, that is to me, and now my tomorrows have been stolen."

Turning to her with a new found resolve in my heart, "I'll get you back your tomorrows, I promise."