Norah woke to an empty bed and knew Rylan must have left for work. Her body still thrummed from the activities of the night before. Rylan had attempted to be a gentleman for as long as he could, but when she crawled into bed in her summer pyjamas, apparently that was the straw that broke the camel's back and she hadn't had them on for five minutes before he was taking them off again.
She stretched and rolled over, reaching up to pull the curtain across. Her bruises ached slightly, but they weren't painful. She knew Rylan had been angry when he'd seen them, but he'd been careful to avoid them and touch them gently if he couldn't avoid it.
Looking at the bedside table, she squinted in the light and saw a note lying on its surface. Picking it up, she grinned as she read it.
Norah. You. Me. Date. After work. Dress casual. Rylan. Ps. Stay safe.
"Is he trying to speak in Morse code or something?" she laughed. She would have to teach him the finer points of writing a letter.
Grabbing her journal, she slipped the note between its pages and rolled out of bed. Picking out some new clothes, she slipped across the hall to the bathroom, saying good morning to Logan as he rushed past, obviously late for work.
"Morning Norah," he ran past her.
"Run Forest, run!" She heard him chuckle as he ran down the stairs. The Montoya's bathroom was two times larger than her own and she was slightly envious of the larger shower head. It was like a waterfall. She showered quickly, trying to keep her mind occupied and failing.
Adam's email continued to enter her mind and try to tempt her to read it. Last night during dinner she had struggled to keep her mind in the moment, it continued to drift to the email and because she wasn't eating, Luke and Rylan were arguing over who got her leftovers because they thought she was finished. In the end she had halved her plate and though they both weren't satisfied, it shut them up.
She could have stayed in the shower forever, but she was conscious that this wasn't her home and she didn't want to waste water. Drying her hair, she slipped on a white and blue striped shirt and blue denim shorts. Norah enjoyed the warm weather but she was beginning to miss the rain. It was one of her favourite smells; rain on a cold morning. Leaving her hair out to dry some more, she made her way down to the kitchen for breakfast.
She heard quiet voices talking and one stopped just before she walked in. Cassie and Annie were standing near the sink, faces visibly distressed.
"Good morning," Norah said awkwardly.
Cassie muttered a reply before slipping out, eyes red with tears. Norah looked at Annie. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt -"
"No dear, it's all right." Annie wiped her eyes which were red as well.
"Is everyone all right?"
Annie hesitated. "Last night, Liam confronted Holden at the Mill. They were arguing about the leadership and Liam refused to leave. They got into a fight."
"Is Holden all right?" Norah stepped forward, anxious.
"He'll be fine, it will take more than a cocky youth to bring him down, as he would say," Annie gave her a watery smile. "He's got a few injuries but they'll be healed by tonight. Being a bit older, his ability to heal isn't as good as it used to be."
Norah had a feeling Annie was playing his injuries down but she didn't say anything. "What about Liam? Was he okay? Is that why Cassie -?"
"No, Liam was fine, a couple of minor injuries I believe Aston said -"
"Aston was there?"
She nodded, biting her lip. "He was stopping his own son, Nick from joining in with Liam. Nick's a strong boy, but he would never attack his father."
"Poor Aston," Norah said quietly.
"It's a difficult situation for everyone," Annie turned to busy herself at the sink so Norah wouldn't see her tears. "Family fighting against each other, it's painful on the heart, especially on Cassie's. She's a gentle soul and having everyone she loves at each other's throats is slowly eating away at her. Holden refuses to let everyone speak of Liam in the house which Cassie finds difficult to do. She has already denounced him as our future leader, which was a difficult choice for her to make. To never be allowed to speak of him, or see him - it's breaking her heart."
Norah reached over, touching Annie's shoulder. "What about you? They're your family as well."
Annie turned, attempting to smile. "They are, and it does pain my heart, but someone needs to be strong and during these hard times, that role has fallen on me. Luke will follow what his grandfather orders at this stage. I know this separation from his brother has been equally hard on him, but he won't say it. The boys all tend to clam up and believe they are doing what is right. Olivia smiles and puts on a brave face, but she loves her brothers dearly and this is affecting her more than she lets on. Everyone is hiding or drowning in their emotions, they need someone to help keep the family together, and when Cassie has days like these, that responsibility falls to me."
Annie turned back to the dishes. "I don't mind, I like to help where I can, and if this is all I can do for them, then I will work my hardest to give them what happiness I can."
Not thinking, Norah gave Annie a quick hug. "They're lucky to have you and Cassie looking out for them. So much testosterone needs a couple of clear headed women to put them in order."
Annie patted her hand. "We're lucky to have them, and Rylan is lucky to have you. He was good friends with the boys growing up and I know he's been keeping his feelings on the matter well guarded."
Norah stepped back, looking around the kitchen, suddenly wanting to do something for all of them. "Can I do anything to help you this morning?"
"No dear, I'll just be doing some tidying up and talking with Cassie. When she gets this emotional she can be quite difficult to handle. I'd recommend you get out of the house and get some fresh air, let everything calm down. I hope you don't feel like I'm pushing you out -"
"No, not at all. I've been meaning to catch up on some reading and writing. I might head down to the cafe and see Olivia." If Cassie was feeling like this, then Olivia would need someone too.
"Oh that's perfect. Olivia did a run to town this morning and I think she'll need her car to get home. It's meant to rain early this evening. Would you mind driving it in for her? I can come and pick you up later -"
"No that's fine. I'll be back early this afternoon, I don't mind the walk."
"All right then." Norah left her in the kitchen and grabbed Olivia's keys from the rack out front. Her car was more modern than her own, and she marvelled at such a comfortable drive. She loved her own car, she'd had it for so long now, but it was nearing its last days and she knew it was probably time to start looking for a new one. She was living in the past with that vehicle. It was time to step forward.
She knew Olivia liked to park her car around the back in the parking lot for the grocery store and she pulled in there before heading for the cafe. It was full of tourists, who had come down to enjoy the last few warm days of summer. Their children ran around the cafe, screaming and shouting for their parents to pay them attention. The noise of yelling and chatter was deafening, and Norah managed to find an available table near the back where it was a bit quieter.
Juliet hurried past, hair frazzled from working her first busy period. Gail could be heard shouting from the kitchen and Olivia snapping back, unafraid of her boss. It was too busy to try and talk to Olivia, so she decided to wait, thinking at least Olivia was being kept distracted from any unhappy thoughts.
Norah pulled out the book she had grabbed before she had left, Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. She'd read it a few times in her life, and with everything that had been happening in the last few weeks, she needed something old and familiar to lose herself in. Something that would bring comfort.
Juliet came over, a coffee already in hand and placed it down with a rushed smile. "Olivia said to give this to you. Do you need anything else?"
"No I'm fine. Are you all right Juliet?"
She nodded frantically, appearing on the edge of a mental break down. "I'm fine." She rushed off.
Poor girl, Norah opened her book. The sounds of the cafe slowly dimmed as she became immersed in the story of the Dashwood girls. She had always loved the comparisons between Elinor and Marianne. They were so different in their personalities and their approaches to life and love, but it was still so painful to see the hardships they went through. Elinor with the awful Miss Steele and her affection towards Edward, and Marianne's affection for Willoughby while Norah had always wanted her to be with Colonel Brandon, regardless of his age.
It made Norah wonder which Dashwood she would be. Sometimes she felt she was both. She would try to be like Elinor, hiding her emotions so the world didn't know she was suffering, then there were days she felt like Marianne, wanting to be free to express her feelings without caring what others thought.
Every now and then, Adam's email slipped through the cracks in her mind and distracted her from the book. It continued to plague her, demanding attention and she wondered what he would want. To sell the diamonds and give him the money one he got out? Reason with Daniel? Had he met a new BFF in jail and wanted her to help him out with something?
She had read the same page three times before putting it down in defeat. Why couldn't Adam just leave her in peace? She loved him, but just the thought of him made her so frustrated -
"Norah?"
She jumped. Madison sat opposite her, a wry smile on her face. She hadn't even noticed her sit down. "You nearly look as frustrated as Wendy when I left her just now."
"Sorry, is she all right?"
Madison frowned. "No, she's on the phone to Dante, arguing over the shop again."
"Dante needs to just let her, and the shop go. He's the one who walked away from that relationship, right? He has no one to blame but himself."
Madison nodded. "I think Wendy was trying to explain that to him, though not in such pleasant words."
Norah laughed lightly. "How are you, Madison? Have you talked to Wendy yet?"
"No," she said quietly. "Dante is still a big problem for her, I should wait until she has it resolved."
"I have a feeling you're going to be waiting a long time for that ship to sail."
"True. Are you all right, Norah? You've seemed a bit stressed the last few days?"
"Just family problems coming back to bite me in the arse," Norah muttered.
Madison looked at her for a moment, seeming to come to a decision. "Why don't we go for a walk? The cafe isn't the best place to relieve stress at the moment."
Norah agreed and got up to pay for her coffee. Olivia was busy and Norah managed to pass her the money and keys for her car before she was swamped by other customers. She didn't look upset though her eyes had a hint of stress about them, Norah couldn't determine if it was from work or family problems.
"See you tonight!" Olivia called out and Norah gave her a wave as she stepped out with Madison. She would try and talk to her later, and make her sure she was okay after everything the night before.
Madison turned left, heading up the next block before turning left again and heading down a side street. Norah still hadn't explored Bellvale properly so she didn't know all the side streets. It just looked like any other suburban street. The houses were all creams and whites, made of sandstone and brick. Many had their windows open, curtains playing in the breeze.
They passed a few young kids playing a ball game in the middle of the road but other than that it was quiet. Everyone stuck to the main streets and the beach on a day as nice as this. They walked in silence, neither having much to say, when Madison spoke first.
"How are things with you and Rylan?"
"Going well, I think. It's all still pretty new so I don't want to oversell it."
Madison smiled. "He's obviously very smitten with you."
"I don't think he'd like the word smitten used to describe himself." Norah grinned.
"I suppose not, he's quite a card though."
"Card?" Norah teased. "What century are you from again?"
"It's from Gail," Madison laughed. "I often wonder what century she is from myself, sometimes she uses the most unique words. She's very new age, I think."
Norah remembered Gail's concern for Madison. "Are the two of your close?"
"Yes, my mother died when I was a young teenager and my step dad pretty much left town the day after her funeral. Gail took me in and helped me finish school. She was there for me after Parker died too. She's basically been a second mother to me."
"I'm glad you had someone like her around for everything." They reached the end of the street and Norah looked at their destination in surprise. "The old High school?"
Madison stood next to her. "It's all locked off," Madison explained, "but what I want to show you is around the back."
They slipped through a hole in the gate, meant to keep trespassers out and Norah chastised her. "I never would have pinned you for a law breaker."
"I have my wild streak, it's just not so wild as everyone else's," she protested.
The building was quite dilapidated after years of neglect. Norah wondered why they hadn't torn it down or done something else with it. The town was small but surely they could use the land for something? The lawns were still maintained, but the garden ran wild. Weeds and tree trunks poking through cracks in the bitumen were telltale signs of how long it had been since the school had been closed.
They walked around the back of the school and Norah stared in amazement. The back wall was made of red brick, and stretched the length of the tennis court adjacent. The red brick was faded, and difficult to be seen with the coloured writing covering every available space.
"We called it the Hope Wall," Madison explained. "I don't know who started it, the janitor used to try and clean them off, but the student's hopes just kept coming back and in the end he gave up."
"It's amazing," Norah whispered. Walking along, she read a few different coloured words. Peace, love, success - so many dreams covered the wall, Norah felt stunned into silence.
Madison stopped about halfway down, fingers touching a small space. Her eyes were glazed with longing and Norah read the words - To be happy.
No words could define that moment. Norah stood silently beside Madison, reading the hopes of hundreds of students and wondering if their hopes had come true. The word power, stood out near Madison's written in bold black paint and it unnerved her, that someone would write something so vain.
"Here." Madison pulled out a permanent marker and handed it to Norah. "You should add yours."
"No, I wasn't a student here -"
"You don't have to be," Madison smiled. "It's become more than that. I know many people who never attended this school who have written their hopes on the wall. You're a part of this town, Norah. Your hopes deserve to be up there with ours."
Norah looked at the marker in her hand. "Why did you have a marker in your pocket?"
"I grabbed it at the cafe on the way out. I'm not weird and just carry around a marker all the time."
"Sure sure," Norah teased.
She walked away, looking for a space to add her own hopes, and found a small space near the bottom of the wall. She crouched down, thinking of what she wanted to write. Many thoughts filtered through her mind, many of the words she thought of were already spread across the wall, she wanted to add something different. One word stood out above the rest and after looking across the wall and not seeing it, she added it to the wall. She wrote the one word, tracing the lines repeatedly so it wouldn't get washed away by any future rain. It wasn't just a hope for herself; but a hope for everyone she had come to care about in Bellvale.
Safe.