Quinn
Memories of earlier today circle my head as I scrub the remains of lunch off the dishes. The way he was looking at me was as if he already knew me. But I know I haven't met him before because I would remember him. He's an unforgettable person, not because he is handsome, I mean yes he is but that is beside the point.
It's the way he carries himself, as if he has no fear. As if he's already experienced the worst thing that could possibly happen. You could see the pain he was trying to mask in his eyes. There's a mysterious look to him as if he is keeping all the secrets in the world. I'll find out those secrets, because I think they might have something to do with me. I don't know how I know, I just have a gut feeling that we are connected somehow.
I finally get done with the dishes and I'm done for the day. I have been scrubbing for hours, my fingers wrinkled from the water. The first thing I decide to do is head straight for the barn. I quickly speed walk there, while trying to make myself look as presentable as possible along the way. I reach the barn, and run my fingers through my hair and dust off my clothes one last time. I clear my throat and enter the barn and to my disappointment the barn is empty.
I wasn't expecting him to stay, I mean he barely even knows me. I'll probably never see him again. I shake my head and go to my favorite spot in the barn, which is this secret area in the ceiling, the ladder hidden behind bales of hay. I climb up the shaky ladder slowly. I always expect myself to fall to my death, but it never happens luckily.
It's a small space with openings in the floorboards. They creak and moan under feet, threatening to give way at any moment. There's a small opening in one of the walls, meant to be a window, but the glass had come out years ago, that at the right time of day the sun is perfectly centered in it.
I cross the room, ducking, so I don't hit my head on the low hanging rafters, and find the small gap in the wall just large enough to hide something in. Reaching my hand inside I feel around for the familiar soft cover of my book, but all I touch is rough decaying wood.
My chest constricts suddenly, panic winding its way through my body. I feel my heart quicken and I reach for my book again, hoping all I did was miss it, but the space is empty.
My breath speeds up, coming out in short, shallow huffs, tears start to well up in my eyes, that book is all I had left of my parents. I feel like a part of me has been ripped out of my body and now it's just hollow, a heavy emptiness inside me. That book was what I held onto, it's what got me through when I felt like giving up, when I had worked my hands so much my fingertips were bloody. I have kept it safe and a secret for sixteen years and now it's suddenly vanished into thin air. Just like that.
I have to find it, but it could be literally anywhere. Literally anyone could have found it and taken it. I kick the floor in frustration. The floor cracks and my leg falls straight through. I yelp in pain, I pull my leg out, nothing too bad, only a few scraps that I should take care of. I climb down the latter, my leg aching. I can't find the next rung and I misstep. I land hard on the ground and groan in pain, I have the worst luck.
I slowly get up and go to the servant's area. I grab the last of the bandages out of the medical cabinet and wrap the worst cuts on my leg. That should do it. Only now I have to go out and buy some more without Mrs. Evanoch finding out I used them all.
I grab Jade's old rusty bike and ride it into the city. She's had this bike for ages, it's the only thing her parents left for her. It's a dainty little thing, with chipped off light blue paint and a worn down leather seat. Its barely holding together with some hot glue and duct tape.
I always like taking bike rides into the city, the feel of the wind against my face is refreshing. I get lost in my thoughts as I peddle all the way to the city. My leg throbs as I finally get to the pharmacy. I chain my bike up to the bike rack and head to the doors, it chimes as I walk in. I've been here too many times to count. Mrs. Evanoch's children were very wreckless and got hurt often. I can't remember the last time I saw any of them.
The familiar smell of medicinal herbs, meets my nose as I walk in. It's not what you would expect a pharmacy to look like, with bright yellow brick walls on the outside. The store owner is the most cheery person I know, so she would of course have a cheery store. There are sky blue walls with rainbow colored shelves holding the medicines. You would expect this place to be a daycare center, but it's just a pharmacy. The shelves are lined with medicines of all kinds practically all made from plants.
Debbie waves enthusiastically at me, with a bright smile on her face and it lights up the whole room. She's a petite old woman, with grey streaks running through her dark hair. Her crow's feet stands out whenever she smiles, but it looks good on her. They bring out her chocolate brown eyes. She's wearing a pink blouse with flowers printed all over it and her favorite pair of glasses, the ones with polka dots on them.
"Hey Debbie."
"Quinn, my favorite customer."
"You say that to all of your customers," I roll my eyes because I know she told Jade that too.
"True, but you're secretly my favorite."
"Okay, whatever you say. I'm here for some bandages."
"Coming right up," she rummages through the cabinets behind her, humming a song just under her breath, and takes up a package of bandages. I grab the money out of my pocket and start to pay her when she says, "It's on the house, you seem like you've had a rough day." I look down at myself and realize I never even cleaned myself up. My clothes are covered in dirt and my hair is a mess.
"Thanks Debbie, you just basically saved my life. If Mrs. Evanoch found out that I used all of the bandages she would kill me and I can barely afford these."
"To repay me could you possibly run an errand for me?"
I hesitate, I have to find my book. "Sure, what do you need?"
"I need you to run down to the garden and drop off Allan's allergy pills. He's forgot to take them this morning and he's too busy working to come himself." Allan is Debbie's husband, he works in the garden. They are the cutest couple except polar opposites. Allan is a grumpy man who used to hate all things cheery until he met Debbie and everything changed. It's practically a story right out of a romance novel.
"Okay, I'll be right on it." She hands me the pills, and I head out the door waving goodbye over my shoulder. I head in the direction of the garden. I pass familiar places as I walk along the sidewalk, the bakery where they have the best croissants and this little restaurant that I've never had a chance to go to. This is why I like the city, it's like a fresh breath of air compared to the estate. Although there are many people who I would prefer not to be around.
The smell of plants surrounds the air as I near the garden. I arrive and head straight to where Allan works. I've been here a million times, it's always been my favorite place to go. I arrive to the area where they sell the plants to customers, and find Allan. He's a tall bulky man with greyed hair and deep blue eyes. He has a very intimidating look to him, but he's nicer than you think he would be.
"Hi Allan, I came here to drop off your allergy pills. Debbie said you forgot to take them this morning, and she was busy manning the pharmacy to come."
"Oh thanks, just set them on the counter."
I do as he says and head off without bugging him anymore, he is a busy man after all. I can't go here without visiting my favorite spot and besides it would be good to rest for a while and gather my thoughts about my book. When I get there, I find something I least expect. Wyatt. Some boy is with her, a really tall guy with dark hair and tanned skin. They must have heard me coming because they both look my way.
"Quinn," she says with a shocked look on her face. I bet she wasn't expecting to see me either. I don't really want to talk to her, not after she suddenly reappeared only to disappear again. But she could help me find my book, she has seen it before and she could possibly have an idea of where it has gone. Her and the boy start approaching me. I take a step away from the boy. I want to be mad at Wyatt, she left with no warning, but she's the one person I told about my book. She knows how important it is to me and even though she did leave, I know Wyatt, and know she'll help me find it.
"I'm just going to ignore the fact that you totally disappeared the other day because I need your help." I say, eyeing the boy beside her.
"Yeah, sorry about that. I had some uh...stuff to do. What do you need help with?" She notices my nervousness and takes a step back.
"I lost my book, well not necessarily lost it. I think someone might have taken it, because I remember leaving it in the place I always do."
"Who would even know about your book? Has anyone come by there recently?"
"Well there was this one guy, I helped heal him and when I came back to see him he was gone."
"Well it could have been him, he was the last one there besides you. Do you know where to find him?"
"No, not really. I just met him." I think about it for a minute, then it hits me. Ashton is a fighter and there's only one place in the city where the fights take place.
"You thought of something, didn't you?" She asks.
I look at her, biting my cheek, "I think I have an idea of where he might be."
"Well let's go, I'll help you get the book back."
Her words make me smile, ever since we were kids Wyatt's always been there to help me and to push me for what I need to do.
"Um, Wyatt aren't you forgetting to introduce me?" The boy, who I almost forgot about, asks.
"Oh yeah," She looks at the boy, "James this is Quinn. She's the girl I was telling you about. Quinn this is James, he's a friend from school."
"Nice to meet you," I mumble while looking down at the very interesting ground.
"Yeah, you too. Let's get going, I'll help you guys find whatever this book is." Who is this boy? How does Wyatt even know him, I haven't even seen Wyatt go to school before, she usually stayed with me all day. Come to think of it, I don't really know anything about her life outside of our friendship. I haven't met her family or even been to her house. I guess I don't know her after all.
I shake the thoughts from my head, now is not the time to think about that. We start heading towards the underground fight ring. This wasn't how I was expecting my day to go. I swore to myself to never step foot in that building. Not after what people I know have been through. I'm breaking a simple promise to myself, but I shouldn't feel this bad.
We arrive at the building, on the outside it's a gym. It has a beat down sign on the outside and brick walls. No one has actually gone to this gym to work out because they know that is where the fighters train. A new one opened after the whole illegal fighting thing started. The king doesn't care about the law much so he just brushes it off. I pull open the doors and they squeak loudly which basically announces our presence. I can hear the bass of music thumping from somewhere inside.
Only a few people are here and they turn and look our way. A big burly man walks up to us, "Are you guys lost or something?"
"No, we're looking for someone. Do you know a Ashton who works here?" I ask, trying to look over his tall shoulder.
"Oh, you must mean Taurus. I haven't heard his real name in ages. Anyways, he's downstairs getting ready for his next fight."
"Okay thanks." We start heading towards the door, but he puts a hand in front of it.
"Not so fast you need a pass."
"Is that your guys' motto, cause it rhymed and it works." James says stepping in front of Wyatt and me. "But you should have a different motto for the fighters, something like 'we'll wave you by, as long as you don't die'," he shrugs like it was just a thought.
"You sayin' you're a fighter?" the guy gives him a once over and shakes his head. "Nah, you're too small, nobody would sponsor you."
"I use Muay Thai," he says deadpan.
"What's your name?"
"They call me The Rash."
Beside me Wyatt coughs like she's holding in a laugh. I hit her with my elbow and she corrects herself, clearing her throat. Right now James is our best hope of getting in here, and I have to admit, he's quick on his feet. Luckily, the guy didn't hear us and keeps interrogating James.
"Never heard of you."
"I'm new. Just brought in, kind of like a guinea pig for my sponsors."
"Who's your sponsor?"
James sighs a little too dramatically, "You and I both know I can't tell you that. Listen I'm gonna be late for my fight, so if you excuse us."
To my surprise he steps aside and we step through the doorway, I don't know how James was able to do it, but he did. We walk down the old wooden stairs, James and Wyatt behind me.
"The Rash?" Wyatt says, and from her tone I can tell she's grinning.
"Alright, it got us in, okay. Not my best, but it worked."
"Sure."
"You're not going to drop this, are you?"
"Not for a long time."
I laugh, knowing James has many harsh jokes coming his way. When we finally reach the bottom of the stairs, the music we heard from outside gets even louder and the roar of people shocks me, a huge crowd awaits. The announcer has a worried look on his face as the crowd grows impatient, "Looks like one of the fighters didn't show up, but we have a replacement. Where is The Rash?"
We all freeze in place. No one replies and the announcer looks around trying to find "The Rash". The man who let us in points straight over to James and announcer looks straight at him.