~ Quick author's note ~ a big thank you to everyone reading this because without you I'd be nothing. I'm dedicating this chapter to TheWattys as today I made the longlist! It's a huge honour and I'm so thrilled I was even considered.
Thank you so so much to all my readers! You guys are so helpful and honest with your feedback, it's helped me get where I am right now.
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Thunder rumbled overhead like a threat, drawing a pair of young hazel eyes to the dark wall of clouds above. The few rays of sunlight that slipped through bounced off the city river and scattered the light as though it was made of diamonds. Kyra sat down on the edge of the footpath and slipped her legs through the bars separating her from the water below; it was oddly peaceful staring at her rippling reflection, so familiar and yet so different all at once.
"Have you ever tried to describe the water?" a voice near her shoulder asked.
Glasses, hazel eyes, close cropped hair and a smile that could make all the monsters under her bed disappear. Though the man's reflection was distorted, the voice alone gave away his identity. Hunter, her father.
Kyra shook her head. "Not yet dad. It's too hard, with all the ripples and colours and lines..." Kyra babbled until her voice faded into nothing.
"Don't doubt yourself, you have to have courage in yourself and what you want to do. If you don't you won't go after what you want. You can do anything you put your mind to." Hunter took a seat next to her on the concrete, sitting as close as he could to the fence. "You and I, we're the same."
Kyra frowned. "No we're not dad. I'm eight, you're twenty eight. I'm tiny, you're tall. I'm a bookworm, you're an artist." She giggled and looked him up and down. "Not to mention we're different genders. That's quite a big difference."
Her father laughed. "That's true. I did notice that." He nudged her gently in the ribs. She grinned and nudged him back.
Smiling, he said, "What I meant was that we both doubt ourselves. You're more talented than you'll ever know Kyra. Don't hide your talents for anyone, and don't put yourself down for not being who you want to be. You're beautiful just the way you are - just like the river. I know you'll do it justice."
A warm feeling spread through her. She shuffled over and wrapped her arms around her father's waist, nuzzling her head into him. "Thanks dad."
"Anytime kiddo."
A metallic click rang through the air. Kyra looked up with furrowed brows; she'd never heard thunder like that before - part of her, the part that enjoyed scary stories, guessed it was something else entirely. The noise was different, more like a sharp knock on metal than a clap of thunder. Her father stiffened against her. She frowned, staring into his icy eyes, taking in his clenched jaw.
"Dad, what's wrong?"
He didn't reply. All of a sudden she was on her feet, being led away from the river. Her father's grip on her arm was so tight it was almost painful. She didn't dare try to break it.
"What's wrong with the thunder?"
It took him a while to reply. His eyes were wide and darting, and when they rested on Kyra they only looked wilder. He set his jaw and stared forward.
"Nothing, I promise. Just keep moving, okay? We have to keep moving..."
Questions died on her pursed lips as Kyra nodded. A burning need to understand settled in her chest, a thirst for knowledge stronger than anything she'd ever felt before, but the rest of her told her to continue forward and listen to her father. For once, her irrational side won. Though every fibre of her being screamed at her to do what she was told, to get out of that place, she couldn't.
Kyra looked over her shoulder.
A woman lay on the street. Crimson soaked her pale shirt and seeped into the gutter, leading away from her body in rivers of blood. Enforcers surrounded the woman, guns trained on her doll like figure as she twitched, the life not yet gone from her weak body. Her limbs were splayed and awkward, her terrified face falling slack as the spark drained from her eyes.
All Kyra could do was scream...
Her eyes flew open. She banged her head against the wall in her haste to scramble backwards. The thumping in her chest was a constant drumming, drowning out all other noises. Each blink left the imprint of a gun against her eyelids. Everything is fine, she thought, it was just a dream. And yet as she looked around her room, she couldn't help but disagree with herself. She remembered sitting by the water with her father and having that conversation; it had inspired one of her favourite short stories. But the sky had been a cloudless pale blue, there hadn't been an Enforcer in sight, and there definitely wasn't a body...
It took her a few seconds to realise that the pounding wasn't coming from her chest. She slipped out of bed to search for the sound. Eyebrows furrowed, she crossed to the door and peered around the corner; the hallway was dark and empty, the only light coming from the window of the floor above. She closed the door with a frown and turned to face her bedroom. It was then that she saw it. In an instant her blood turned to ice and her face fell slack.
A dark shape was perched on the windowsill, swaying as though it could fall at any second. As she watched, the figure raised its fist to the glass again and tapped. Kyra's breath caught in her throat as she crept backwards. She looked around the room, searching for something to protect herself; it was then that she saw the mirror, and realised how little safety her pyjamas brought. What good would a singlet and sweatpants be against the creature lurking just past the glass?
"Kyra..." Though it was muffled by the window, she knew that voice better than anyone else's.
"James?" She rushed forward and shoved the window up, ignoring the creaking of the glass. The sky was dimly lit, but up close she could easily tell it was him. His hair was dishevelled, his eyes unfocused, and he looked as though he was about to be sick. She jumped out of the way as he tumbled inside, landing on his hands and knees, and vomited bile across the floor.
He rolled over with a grimace. In the moonlight she could see the purple tinges to his skin and the blood dripping down his chin. Gasping, she slid to her knees and gripped his hand, staring down at him in horror.
"James what happened? Where did you get the bruises? Why are you bleeding?"
"I-it doesn't matter," he mumbled, opening his eyes. "I-I need your mother. I think I'm going to be sick."
Kyra leapt to her feet and grabbed the rubbish bin before returning to his side. James gagged but all that came out was saliva. The sight of it made her chest tighten and twist in nervous knots. "I promise I will get her in a minute, but you have to tell me what happened first."
James shook his head quickly, his face turning a pale green colour. It was then she noticed the blood trickling out of his hairline. "Kyra, I can't. Not now."
She flinched at the harsh edge to his voice. Gulping, she pulled herself up and ran to the door. As it swung open her mother appeared, eyes wide and alert.
"What's going on?" Faye asked, tying the string of her night gown. "I heard voices."
"I-it's James, he's injured but he won't say how it happened, I think he has a head wound and possibly-"
In seconds Faye was by James' side.
"-a concussion," Kyra finished.
Faye whispered something in his ear, to which he nodded. Ashen faced and grimacing, James clung to Kyra's bin like it was a life raft, and spat whatever was left in his stomach into it.
A lump the size of an egg was rising on his forehead. Faye lifted his head and tousled his hair gently, as though searching for something. "No other lumps or scrapes on the head other than what is visible... that's good, very good - treatable at the very least. Go get the medical kit and some towels," Faye commanded, keeping her eyes on the pale boy.
How did he get the lump? she wondered. Shaking her head to clear it, Kyra nodded. "Alright."
"And some ice!" Faye added.
Kyra returned a few moments later with the supplies. Faye grabbed the box and got to work cleaning the blood away from James' face. Kyra wrapped the ice pack in a towel and pressed it against the lump on his head, grimacing as he flinched away from it.
"What's wrong with him?" Kyra whispered, reaching down and twining her fingers through James'. As her mother dabbed a bruise on his cheek he squeezed Kyra's hand so hard she almost yelped.
"He has a concussion, maybe a broken knuckle or two. Some bruises and cuts as well." Though she smiled, her taut jaw gave away her true emotions. "But it's nothing I can't fix. We've got drugs for everything these days."
"How could he get a concussion?"
Faye placed a pillow under James' head. She dug around in the first aid box before pulling out a tube of ointment. In soothing circular motions, she began to glide it over his bruises. "Concussions can be caused by many things. A blow to the head or body, a fall, or another injury that could shake the brain. The possibilities are endless."
Kyra held her hand out for the ointment and started on James' arms. "What do you think caused it?"
"As far as I can tell he must have fallen somewhere."
This made her stop. Frowning, she turned to her mother and said, "Fallen on his face? And his elbow? And his legs?" She flipped his arm over and ran a hand through her hair. There was a perfect circle of inflamed flesh on his wrist the size of a watch face. "He has a burn mark as well. Why the hell does he have a burn mark?"
Faye sighed and turned to her daughter. "It was just a guess Kyra."
She looked through the box and applied some ointment to the burn, smoothing back his hair as he groaned. "He looks like he was in a fight."
Faye pursed her lips. "What time did this happen James?"
"About an hour ago, I think." As he raised his head to address Faye his eyes darted in Kyra's direction, so quickly she thought she'd imagined it - maybe she had. He lay back down and clenched his eyes shut.
Kyra focused on their conversation, trying to catch something, anything, that would tell her what they were talking about. Her mother seemed to know exactly what had happened to James, and yet Kyra had only left them alone for a minute. A rush of anger ran through Kyra; she knew it was irrational to be mad that James trusted her mother more than her, especially when he was this hurt, but she couldn't help it.
"Concussions can easily lead to serious brain injuries if left untreated. If you ever get in a similar situation again come straight to me. Just use the front door next time."
James let out a soft laugh.
"What 'situation'? What happened?" Kyra couldn't stop the words from escaping, but she didn't regret them once they had.
James closed his eyes and sighed. "Kyra, I already told you-"
"That you can't tell me why, yes, I got that the first time. Unfortunately, that excuse isn't good enough. I don't know what you've been keeping from me but it has to stop. No more secrets, not now that we're-"
"What, so just because we're partnered I have to tell you everything?"
"Well, yes. The basic concept of a relationship is trust."
"Don't you know I would tell you if I could? If I had control over any of this you would be the first person I told, but I don't! I wish I did. Sometimes life isn't fair."
Who was he to tell her what was fair and what wasn't? She opened her mouth to retort, fuelled by a boiling heat in her chest.
"Stop it, both of you." Faye looked between the pair, before settling her gaze on Kyra. "Sweetheart, I love you, but you're stressing out my patient. That isn't good for either of you, most especially him. You have to leave the room."
Kyra looked between the pair of them. Her mother's face was crumpled up in worry, James' hands clenched in anger. Two of the people she loved most in the world were right in front of her. But something was off. All of a sudden she felt out of place, as though this wasn't her bedroom, her house, or her life.
"Fine. I'll leave." Kyra got to her feet, grabbing a jacket as she slipped on shoes. She could hear James calling her name as she pounded down the stairs, but all she could feel was anger. She didn't know why, but it consumed her more than it ever had before. Everything seemed so unjust.
— another author's note —
This chapter is super duper long so it's split into two parts. Please vote and comment if you're enjoying it so far! x