Those blue eyes

Chapter 14

Olivia

I set Hayley down on the floor, where she stood obediently sucking her thumb.

'Hayley, do you want to run and get a toy and some of your clothes? We're going on holiday!' I tried to sound bright but my face was smeared with blood, my hands unintentionally shaking. I smiled at her, as she ran off into the cupboard next door where we kept all our stuff. The bedroom I was standing in was too small - just a mattress and a blanket.

I picked up the blanket, now immune to the smell of sweat, and wrapped it up into as tight a ball as possible.

'Have you got what you need, Hay?'

'Yep!' She replied, giggling. She was holding a little teddy bear mum got her as a baby and a coat. It was a bit too small for her, but quite cosy.

'Good girl.' I smiled.

I took the blanket down the stairs to Will, with Hayley trailing behind me carrying her things.

Will was holding a rucksack and Toby had tied up the man with duct tape.

'Good.' I said, emotionlessly, as I grabbed the bag from Will and stuffed both mine and Hayley's things in.

'Olivia...' Toby seemed embarrassed. 'You should probably changed out of your school uniform. I looked down, to see my dirty, blood covered uniform.

'Yeah.' I muttered. For some reason I really didn't want him to be right - but he was. I turned, and trod heavily up the stairs.

Toby

'We should pack so food.' Will mumbled, turning away from me. I looked around. This was the only room, except from upstairs. There was no fridge, nothing. Where was the food?

'We can't store meat.' Will said, seemingly ashamed. 'So we're vegetarians. We keep the food in here.' He gestured at the boxes he was pulling out from beneath the sofa.

'What shall we take?' I ask, repelled by the stench of rotting food.

'Sorry.' He muttered. 'We take anything we can get.'

I thought my home situation was bad enough, but at least I have the money to buy food, to buy decent clothes.

'Don't worry.' I said, sympathetically.

Ten minutes later, we had cans of soup packed, soggy lettuce and nuts. We also had plastic bags filled with water - there were no bottles.

As I turned around I saw Olivia coming down the stairs. She was wearing a tight brown jacket, looking as if it had been made for a boy but she suited it well, especially as it matched her baggy beige trousers. She was still wearing her scuffed school shoes and her blonde hair hung around her hips. The plain outfit made her features stand out even more - green eyes shone brightly and her red lips stuck out against her pale skin. She was stunning.

I cleared my throat, and suddenly Will let out a yelp.

'You're ear!' He cried. 'Wait here, I'll get bandages.'

He ran up the stairs, leaving us alone, with Hayley.

I took in a sharp breath, wondering what to say.

'Why does he have bandages?' I settled on.

'Left over, from when he did medical training. He had to give up halfway through when...' She trailed off.

'When what?'

She looked at me, her eyes boring into me.

'I don't know if I trust you.'

It hit me hard, like a knife in the chest, but I understood what she meant. I was unpredictable.

'Yeah. I understand.' I stuttered.

'No, Toby.' She reached out and put a hand on my arm. 'I don't mean - I don't want to hurt you by saying that I just...'

'No, I do understand.' I said, and looked her in the eyes. 'But I will get better. I will.'

For a moment, I thought Olivia would take my hand, but then she let go of my arm and turned towards Hayley again. The touch of her skin left a tingling sensation, something I couldn't really describe, but as I watched her playing with her sister, I smiled.