Broken Seams ✓

CHAPTER 12 - BURNING CHANGES

CHAPTER 12 - BURNING CHANGES

A Few Seconds later
5 seconds later

"It's about time." I muttered before looking at Georgie.

Her chubby cheeks were covered in bruises, even so, I wondered what she would look like if she wasn't living like this. My heart clenched at the idea of all the children who lived like her and how many more of them there could be. Just how will they cope? 

Adam looked at me before a thought popped up in my mind, why isn't anyone helping? There has got to be someone who can help them, right?

"Adam-" I said.

He looked at me for a while before deciding to turn towards Georgie.

"Where the hell is Grant? Do you know where my phone is, Georgie?"

"Yeah, I do- it's just- I kinda broke it…" She muttered, looking away as she stood still.

Georgie was like an open book, we could all sense her shame while she pulled it out of her pocket. 

That alone made me feel slightly nostalgic, it reminded me of a few fragmented memories. Even when I tried to reach out to them, they faded away. I could only remember the feelings they gave me, not the memory itself.

Adams face turned red as he was about to say something.

"You what-" He said in a sharp tone.

I looked at Adam, reminding him that he was associating with a child as I knelt down to the floor to face her. 

Everyone stared at Adam, this is when I noticed why a few people feared him. His anger is undeniably awful, it's a phone for crying out loud. How much is a phone worth anyway? 

Sighing, I made sure to not seen like I was annoyed or angry with Georgie. After all, she's a kid who's done nothing wrong.

"Hey- it's alright. As long as it still works, it's fine, okay?" I said, interrupting Adam before rubbing her hair.

Georgie lifted her head up to glance at me before meeting my eyes.

"You don't hate me?" She asked, her eyes glistening slightly.

Smiling, I nodded.

"I could never hate someone as adorable as you." I muttered before lightly squeezing her hand.

Adam raised his eyebrows in confusion as he looked at me. I noticed how he clenched his fist as while breathing in for a moment, trying not to change his expression at all. Instead, our eyes met while we remained in silence for a moment.

Getting up, I walked towards him. Everyone else seemed to relax after I had dealt with the situation which was a relief.

"Here." I said before handing him the phone, "It works so cool your beans, there's no need to get annoyed at a kid." 

He glared at me before heading off.

"Adam!" I said as I tried to chase after him before somebody grabbed my arm.

"Don't bother. He's always like that, I don't even understand why he comes here anymore." One of the men, who seemed to be about my age said.

He didn't seem as bad as Georgie, he had shoes on and was wearing an ancient looking white (or should I say dirty white) tracksuit with streaks of red on the jacket. 

"You are?" I asked as he gazed at me.

"Eh, I'm Max. Everyone here calls me Eagle." He said while tucking a strand of his black hair behind his ear. 

"I'm Danielle." I replied.

He studied me before taking off his shades to reveal the yellow contact lenses he was wearing before his eyes sparked up.

"It's a pleasure meeting you." He said before kissing my hand.

I tilted my head slightly before laughing.

"I'm no princess, you know that right?" I said before saving him off.

"You are. At least, everyone here thinks you are one." He answered, before patting his dog.

"Why?" I asked.

"You tried to help us- reunite our families." He muttered, "You saved my brother." 

"Help us! It's burning!" The video footage continued to play as I sat down, lighting my cigarette.

I paused it and looked at the burning building as I sat down on my ripped couch, thinking about the struggles people are going through.

"My child is in there!" One of them said, except I heard a voice from outside and not the video.

Rushing towards the door, I dropped my cigarette as I pulled one of the blinds down to peek outside before unlocking my door.

The things I get into these days.

A massive puff of smoke could be seen outside as I realised how the fire was spreading, it'll be my house next. Looking around, I saw two people standing outside a building sobbing. One was a mother and the other was a teenager who seemed to be about my age, eighteen.

"I'll get them." I said to them before crouching on the floor to get into the burning house.

Instantly, I choked on the black smoke. I wondered how the child would still be alive, looking around frantically, I held my breath as I approached one of the rooms closest to the door. I felt my skin burn, it was excruciating. We ask know what it's like to burn your hand, this was worse. My whole body was burning.

I was determined to make it out of that house alive with the kid. Luckily, I saw him lying on the floor with a dog running around him. I raised my eyebrow slightly as I scooped up the child in one arm and the dog in the other.

Now, the hard bit. Creeping towards the exit, I continuously coughed as my vision blurred. Soon the front door was in sight, carefully putting the dog and the child onto the pavement, everything turned black.

After what seemed like forever, I felt oxygen enter my lungs. The sky was black and I could tell it was night as the stars came out and there were lights here and there. 

Turning around, everything ached as I saw a thank you letter next to me.

Tearing it open, I skimmed over what it said.

Dear Danielle Lorenez,

Thank you for saving them, I hope we meet again in the future. My younger brother and my dog are alive. My mother gave you these rationings to say thank you for saving their lives. They'll last you a year.

From, 
Eagle.

"I- I see. You're eagle?" I asked before patting his shoulder.

He chuckled before nodding.

"Yep." He replied while rubbing his neck.

Everything became silent as a woman approached us. My vision dulled over slightly while I watched her stride towards us.

"Are you done with this insignificant reunion, Max? We've got work to do." She said before placing her hand on her waist while staring me down for a while.