BORROWED [Watty Awards Finalist/NEWLY EDITED!]

Chapter Ten

"Remember," he says, "If I catch you again –"

"You will make me crawl back," I say. "I heard you the first time, slick."

He shakes his head. "Hart warned me about that mouth of yours."

"Kyler mentioned me to you?"

"Enough small-talk," he says. "Go." His finger points back into the sleeping quarters.

I slip back into the unoccupied room. Lying down on the bottom bunk, I'm left to stare up at the metal springs of the mattress above. The emptiness of the room leaves me in my own thoughts. Constantly going back and forth between the voices I heard. The man was obviously Julian Fox, but the woman, Evelyn? Their voices were somewhat muffled, so I couldn't tell if she sounded familiar or not.

My mom's name...she has a daughter.

"It's just coincidence," I say into the darkness.

The tiny slits of windows that line the edge of the ceiling and walls no longer are illuminated from the sun. It grows darker outside, and the silence makes my eyelids feel heavy. If I just let myself fall asleep, tomorrow will come and I will see Bianca.

Maybe she saw Finn again...

Dreaming of them might make this room not feel so empty.



The cafeteria line seems longer than yesterday, since I'm on time today. I look over my shoulder, and I recognize the pretty girl I sat next to the last time. She ushers around a couple of people, cutting in front of them. The girls whisper to one another, debating if they should let her. They have no choice as she stands behind me, smiling. Doesn't look like she's going anywhere...

"I'm Anna, remember?" she says with vigor. "Wait one second. Let me think...your name is on the tip of my tongue...oh, it's Irissa!"

She reminds me of Bianca, I think hopelessly.

I nod. "Yeah, that's me." My eyes scan the bold black numbers on her gown, number eighty-six.

"Nice crutches," she says, pointing at my support. "At least you don't have to limp everywhere now."

The old woman from behind the food counter yells, "Scrambled eggs! Get um' while it's hot!" Liver spots covering her forearms make me cringe.

Eggs, again? Gross.

I shake my head. "That lady gives me the creeps."

Anna laughs loudly, causing everyone around us to look our way. "Her name is Fern. Trust me, you'll get used to her." She raises her tray. Fern sets a plate of runny scrambled eggs with two slices of bacon onto it.

"I'll pass on that, thanks," I say to Fern.

Her eye twitches. "No eggs? No breakfast!" she says, ready to move onto the next person.

Anna nudges my arm. "Take the food," she whispers.

"Fine..." I say through my teeth.

After giving in and taking the food we continue down the line. I try to fill my tray with healthy foods. Breakfast isn't good, I'm sure lunch won't be far off. They could at least supply us with decent food. We're going to be carrying around their precious Seraphim.

"Got a boyfriend back home?" Anna sets down her tray on the table, the clatter of her tray pulls me from my daze.

I shake my head, setting my tray down. "I don't date. It's pointless."

Anna looks over at me as she settles in her seat. "Pointless?"

"Exactly what I said," I say.

"Oh, you're one of those people," she says with a smile, ignoring my sour mood.