Unique

Three

"I'm slightly worried that you have a knife in your boot" I uttered randomly. "What's in the other boot, a gun?" I said sarcastically.

"Actually, yes" he said, dead serious as he reached into his other boot, an my breath caught. After a second he looked up at me and burst out into laughter. "I'm kidding, Kettle"

"Stupid" I muttered angrily. Usually, this was my cue to angrily stomp away, but that wasn't happening with my sore ankle. He looked down at me and chuckled.

"I keep a knife there so I'm prepared for danger. I'm trained in self-defence, so I know how to use it." he mused, glancing across at me. I looked up at him furrowed my brows, trying not to smile. "Ladies first" he gestured, opening the door to his van. Using his shoulder as a balance, I climbed up, into the passengers seat. Once I was seated comfortably, the belt latched in, he revved the engine up.

"So, how do you like Mr Hadley? Is he a little... Icy towards you?" He asked curiously. I turned my head to look at him, shocked as to how he figured that out.

"How'd you know that?" I questioned, my grip on the knife unintentionally tightening.

"Let's just say I've run in to him on more than just a few occasion" his voice had had turned tight and his blue eyes concentrated on the road ahead. "Anyways, how long have you been here?" He quickly change his trail of thought, obviously not keen on dwelling on the Hadley's.

"Two weeks, I think? I'm starting school at the end of Summer" I sighed. School, not something I was looking forward to at all. And I never thought I'd be saying this, but I'm actually going to miss wearing my uniform every morning. I mean, that way, nobody was better than anyone else. Mum said that I'd have to 'dress like a Hadley to school'. I looked out the window, my heart feeling heavy again. Judging by Tracy's fashion sense, I think wearing less fabric than a handkerchief is what I'm supposed aim for.

Great.

"That's next week," he muttered. "Looking forward to school?"

"Nope, not the tiniest bit" I answered without a thought.

~~~~

Age: 5

"Look at you in your uniform, darling!" Dad exclaimed as I scampered down the stairs and into his open arms. He caught me and flung me around in the air. "My princess is all grown up!"

"I don't want to go to school, I want to stay home" I mumbled, hiding my face in his shirt. I felt the tears pooling in my eyes, and before I knew it, I was bawling.

"Oh honey, don't cry" My dad cooed, running his hands through my hair. I slowly calmed down. "School is awesome, honey. Yes, there might be some bad parts, but at the end of the day, everyday is a gift. Take advantage of that" he mumbled, puling back to look me in the eyes.

"And remember, if anything goes wrong, Daddy's here for you, okay?" I pouted, but still nodded.

"Let's go Sienna" I heard Mum's voice coming down the stairs. Dad leaned over and kissed her before bending down and kissing my cheek.

"Have fun SeaFrog"

~~~~

I didn't even know I was crying until the car came to a halt and I felt a warm hand on my shoulder, tugging me back to reality.

I wish he was here for me.

"Sienna, I'm sorry" Max whispered, his voice filled with worry and awkwardness, obviously confused as to what was wrong. He was rubbing soothing circles on my back as I sniffled. He obviously was confused, but nonetheless, he comforted me.