Cold Ashes

Chapter 10 - Empty

For her attention was entirely on the abuse of Ryan's stupid actions. "I said get out."

"I'm sorry-"

"What for?" She asked. "You don't even know why you're sorry."

"Yeah I do." He came a little closer. "I was... I was too fast, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that. I was just... relieved. Scared."

"Scared?" She sat up and turned to him, tears in her eyes. "You don't know the meaning."

"Leah?"

The girl looked down, then her body slowly followed as she curled herself up into a ball. Shivering a little in the night wind. "Just go."

Ryan felt that shame take him again, and from that moment he truly was sorry. For trying to take advantage of her pain as a way for him to... to try something that he really didn't know what to do. At least that's what he thought he did wrong. But he didn't mean it. He would never, ever do anything like that to her; not by force. He turned to leave, taking Heather's advice.

But before he did he gave Leah a blanket over her small body. Draping it over her shaking bones before heading out again, without another word. 

****

"Get up."

Leah's voice sliced through any comfort Ryan was in. Even though it felt brief, bright sunshine was frying his sockets moments after she kicked him, sharp and hard in the stomach. The thud made him fall onto the floor off of the old couch; sparking laughter from the other kids. But the pain was nothing compared to the viciousness that Leah treated him that morning.

Her wake-up call consisted of that cold greeting and violent kick off of his sleeping pattern and basically shoving him at the breakfast table. Then by ignoring him entirely and moving as far as possible from him on the other side of the table.

The rest of the kids and Heather could feel her aggressive frustration. Little was spoken in fear of what it might have led to for the unlucky person to agitate her enough in the wrong direction.

It was only halfway through the thick awkwardness of this breakfast that Leah actually spoke to Ryan properly for the first time.

"Lower market today."

"Okay," He replied cautiously. "Where's that?"

"In the lower city, where'd you think?" She lowered her voice. "Fucking retard."

"What the hell's your problem?"

"You're my problem, arsehole."

"But I apologised!"

"Yeah. Well done, Sherlock, you officially said two words in the right fucking order! Shame you didn't mean either of them."

"I did mean it. And I don't know what's wrong with you today, but I am sorry."

"Why?"

"You know why. Because I..." his voice drifted off.

Everyone was staring at him; waiting for him to go on. But he didn't want to. He was utterly silent, with Leah boring her eyes into him; it was only her that he looked at. She was who he was talking to.

"I tried to give you a necklace."

She sighed.

"What? That's all I fucking did!"

Heather then interrupted. "Hey! Mind your language. Both of you. Worse than a pair of cats and dogs, I tell ya. Leah stop looking to far through the goddamn lines, he was only playing nice, even if he was retarded about it. And Ryan, get your shit straight before I straighten it out for you. Now get the hell out of here before you tear the goddamn place down."

****

Leah was a few steps ahead of Ryan, not slowing down or even acknowledging him for anything. She was fuming in front of him, her hair flying up in his face. "I don't even know what your problem is."

"What my problem is? You can talk!"

"Oh, yeah? Says the arsehole trying to... urgh!" Her arms flew up in frustration.

"What? I was just trying to give you a present."

"Hah! Just a present, yeah? Do you think I'm that stupid to not see what you're trying to do?"

"I'm not doing anything!"

"You were... I know what you were doing. I know, so stop trying to act innocent."

"Leah, you're overreacting."

"No I'm not! It was fucking obvious that you were going to... going to... It was just obvious, okay?"

He stepped in front of her, making her face him. Standing so she caught each word and wouldn't be able to ignore him for it.

"I swear that I wasn't trying anything like that. I was literally just trying to give you that necklace because I thought you'd like it."

"Well don't! Don't give me anything, alright? I don't deserve it."

"Yeah you do, there's a load of kids that you look after daily. I mean, you never sleep, barely eat. I... I thought you wanted it."

"You thought wrong, didn't you? Because I hate that kind of thing."

"Why? You're a girl, don't you like that kind of thing?"

She didn't answer. She was too angry to answer, so just stepped away from him, shoved him back a few steps before walking faster. Back down the path they were following, now more than ten steps ahead, down into the lower market.