The Divide (The Divide Series Book 1) (14 page)

The person lowered her hood, and long black hair flung loose. She nodded her head. “Mia, I’ve been looking for you all night.”

“Why did Agathy tell me to meet you?” I asked.

“I’m here to help you. It’s no longer safe for you to be here. Rebels have taken over. We were warned only a few days before. My mother set up as much as she could to get you out, knowing they’d want you.”

“Who?” Gregory and I asked at the same time.

She looked at Gregory, inspecting him. “I’m not sure he should be here, can’t trust him.”

“I could say the same thing about you,” Gregory said.

“I trust him,” I said. “Who's your mother?”

“My mother is Agathy,” she answered. Sadness ripped through her words. “She didn’t make it out alive last night.”

It felt like someone had punched me in the chest. Tears pricked my eyes. Agathy had always treated me with kindness, and I’d always loved her like she was my real mother. I pinched my eyes closed, keeping the tears at bay. “I’m sorry.”

“She was a great woman,” Alithea said. I opened up my eyes. Alithea’s eyes were shining. “She cared for you too, like you were one of her own.” I nodded.

“Why are they after her?” Gregory asked.

“They hate those who have more than the rest, and they want them all to suffer. Yesterday they attacked the rich to get to the Cowan’s’ house. To be able to overturn the system, you need to get rid of the Leader, which, of course, includes their whole family since the Leaders inherit Lorburn. I’m not sure what has happened to your parents, Mia, but there are men looking for you. You’re to rule Lorburn if your parents are dead, so it’s best to get you away from here.”

“Where will I go?” I asked. Dread swam like a shark in my knotted stomach.

Alithea handed over an envelope. “My mother wanted me to give this to you. It has two train tickets. We leave tonight, and we're to head to Inonia. Now, you,” she said, looking at Gregory. “Will you be able to keep her safe until tonight?”

“Yeah,” Gregory said, nodding his head.

“Good, now Mia needs to be there at nine forty-five tonight. I will meet you there. It would be best to get off the street until then.” She was looking around making sure no one was around.

“Shouldn’t you hold on to a ticket?” I asked.

She closed her hand over mine. “No, just in case something happens.” She let go of my hand. “I will see you tonight.” She put her hood back up and walked down the alley. I just stared after her.

“We should get back to my place,” Gregory said. He grabbed my hand and led me away from the alley. I kept my head down and let my hair fall around my face; I couldn’t help but ignore the thoughts that were roaming in my head. One thought, in particular, was that there wasn’t a ticket for Gregory. I really didn’t want to do this without him. We were both silent and in our own heads as we entered back into the safety of his place.

It was nightfall, and I was anxious to get to the train station. After Gregory and I got back to his place, he left to gather any information about what was happening outside. This gave me time to organize my bags a little better. I had unloaded both duffel bags, rolled my clothes as tiny as I could, and placed the contents back in. I was able to fit all of my clothes and bathroom necessities in one bag, which would help me tremendously because I didn’t want to have to lug around two heavy bags, plus a backpack and purse. With the other duffel bag, I went through Gregory’s clothes and started packing, rolling his clothes up the same way. I was going to make him come with me, whether he liked it or not. 

After meeting Alithea, I was skeptic about her and I didn't want to put my trust in a woman who claimed Agathy was her mother. This was the first time I heard about Agathy having any children, she never talked much about her home but I was positive Agathy would have mentioned having children at one time, and she never did. I didn’t know much about Gregory, but I’d known him longer, and so far he had saved my life. Twice.

As I zipped up the last duffel bag, I sighed. At least we would both be clothed this whole trip. I set the bags down on the floor, followed by my backpack and purse, and I sat cross-legged on the bed, waiting.

I had been waiting on the bed for two hours before I got up and started pacing back and forth. Gregory seemed to be taking forever, which made me nervous. What if he’d been caught? What if he’d decided to just leave me here? What if he’d met up with that skank I saw him with the other night? I shook my head. I was just being paranoid. What would it matter if he met up with the skank? It wasn’t any of my business. Why was I even caring whether he was meeting up with her when my life was literally on the line? I could see my small soft hands fitting perfectly into his large calloused hands. I frowned. If he’d spent this whole time with the slut, I would beat him senseless. Didn’t matter if he could snap my body in two. He could be risking my life with that sk—

The door opened, breaking through my thoughts, and Gregory walked in, closing the door behind him; he looked haggard. I felt bad for the thoughts that had just been going through my head, but I quickly set them aside. “Any news?”

Gregory sat down on the bed. “There are rumors that you’ve been seen with a male, but no one knows for certain. Except for…”

“Except for?” I prodded after he’d been quiet for a few seconds.

“I went back to the restaurant to talk to the waitress. She wasn’t there, but the owner told me where I could find her. It wasn’t very easy—he gave shit directions. Anyway, I found her place and could see her talking to some guys in uniform. I got as close as I could without being detected. I could only hear bits and pieces, but they know about us.”

“Crap.” At least with this news, I hopefully wouldn’t have to fight with Gregory or bribe him to come.

“Fortunately, she doesn’t know who I am. Unfortunately, she gave a very detailed description of both of us. They told her if we come back again tomorrow morning to let them know immediately.” Gregory looked down at his watch and then looked back up at me. “We leave in five minutes.”

I picked up the duffel bag that had his clothes in it and threw it at him. “Here.”

He looked at me, his eyebrow cocked. “What?”

“I was able to fit all of my clothes in one bag, so I packed some of your clothes in that bag.” I crossed my arms over my chest, ready for the fight. When we’d come back earlier, we’d never talked about whether or not he was coming. I’d wanted to, but he’d left right away.

“And why are my clothes in the bag?” I could see his hand tightening on the strap.

“Because you’re coming with us.” I stared him down. There was no way he was going to win this.

“Listen, Mia, I’m not coming with you.” With that, he stood up and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. My mouth fell open, but I quickly closed it and went after him. Opening the door, I crossed my arms and stared daggers into his back, hoping he could feel the pointy ends. 

“You
are
coming with me.” I started to tap my foot.

“I’m not,” he said as he splashed water on his face.

“Yes, you are.”

“No, I’m not.

“Oh my God, how old are you?” I was now officially angry. “Why are you being such an ass? You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.” I turned around and walked toward the bed. As I reached it, I turned back in time to see Gregory looming over me. Startled, I jumped and nearly toppled onto the bed. 

“You do not get to boss me around here,” he said, spitting out every word. “I don’t give a shit what family you're from. I make my own choices. I do
not
answer to demands.”

I balled my shaking hands into fists, hoping he wouldn’t notice them. “I need your help.”

“So you think bossing me around makes me want to help you?” He stepped away from me, his body tense. A vein started to pulse on his forehead and he grinded his teeth.

I slowly stood up, keeping my hands in front of me to show I was harmless. “If I’d have asked, you’d still have said no.”

“So?” he bit out.

“I need your help. I don’t know how to protect myself. I don’t even know how to survive on my own. I don’t know this Alithea person. How can I trust that she’s on my side? How can I trust she’s really Agathy’s daughter? For all I know, this could be a setup. I don’t even know anyone but you who would be on my side. I’m all alone in this. Both my parents could be dead, which would mean that I’m the Leader of Lorburn. Which means people are trying to kill me. So, would you please help me? Until I can get on my own two feet. I’ll pay you for your help,” I added in at the last second. Maybe payment would change his mind. 

He kept his angry eyes on me and stepped forward, where I instantly stepped back, putting my arms up in front of me to protect it. My breathing was coming in and out fast. I was waiting for it: The hit. I practically jumped when I felt his hand on my arm, slowly moving it from my face. As Gregory lowered both of my arms, his face no longer showed anger, but I couldn’t quite tell what it showed.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. He let go of my arms, and I nodded my head. Tears formed in my eyes. I tried to hold them back, but one slipped through the gate, followed by thousands more. I put my hands up to my face to try and hide. I sat down on the bed and just cried. I could hear Gregory breathe in and out for a good solid minute before I felt his arms wrapping around me. I didn’t know why I was crying, I had been so strong up until now. I cried until I had no more tears to rain out of my eyes. Gregory held me the entire time, even after the tears were long gone. I didn’t mind. His arms and body were warm and soft. I had never been held like this before; Agathy’s hug definitely had not been like this hug. 

As much as I wanted to stay cocooned in his arms, I knew I couldn’t. We had to leave for the train, so I slowly moved my body away from his and toward the bags on the floor. “We should get going.” I could feel his gaze on my back but ignored it. I slipped the backpack on. “And I would like us to pretend that never happened.” 

“Agreed. I think I might have caught something just from your tears.” I rolled my eyes and ignored him. “Here.” Gregory dropped a large black hoodie on top of my duffel. “Put it on over the backpack. Keep the hood up and put your jacket on over it. I want us to be as inconspicuous as possible.”

I nodded and did what I was told. I slipped on my jacket and put the hood up. I grabbed my duffel bag and slid it up my arm. Next went my purse. As I turned around, Gregory was dressed all in black too and holding the other duffel bag. I raised an eyebrow.

He shrugged his shoulders. “As long as you’re paying for service, I’m your man.”

I shook my head and tamped down the smile threatening to form on my face. “How much?”

“We can figure it out on the train.” He walked toward the door. “But we need to leave now.”

I followed Gregory through the abandoned building, and out into the night. It was dark out, but Gregory had us walk into the deep shadows of the buildings so we wouldn’t be bothered or followed. Gregory moved at a fast pace, while I, on the other hand, had to walk twice as fast just to keep up with his long strides. By the time we arrived at the train station—ten minutes later—I had to catch my breath. My lungs burned in protest and my calves ached. I reluctantly followed him up the stairs and sat down as I noticed the bench next to the building. I sat there wheezing and trying to catch my breath. I hated exercise, and I hated more that I was terribly out of shape. 

There wasn’t much to the building; it was one story, had a door in the back where the workers went in, and a small window in the front to buy tickets. Another small wooden bench sat against the building, right next to the window. Trains were the only way people could travel between regions.

Gregory shifted and started to walk around. I just wanted to sit and rest but knew I had to look for Alithea. I stood up, my legs protesting as they started to cramp up and moved around. Gregory walked toward the stairs that led to the path up the hill to Gildonia. I shuffled in the other direction toward the railway, looking back and forth, trying to see if I could catch sight of Alithea.

“We will be leaving in five minutes,” a man yelled from the train.

I looked over at Gregory. We’d been here for only a few minutes, and Alithea was about ten minutes late. Had she gotten here and not found us? Did she leave to go looking for us? I started walking up and down the train again, looking for her. My pace quickened and my heart started racing as panic bloomed in my chest. She had to be here. The train started making noise as it turned on, and I rushed back to Gregory to see him running toward me.

“She’s not here,” I said. Tension started to crawl up my throat.

“I need to get a ticket,” Gregory said, looking over his shoulder. “Get on the train. I’ll meet you there.” He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me toward the train.

“You can use Alithea’s ticket,” I said.

He looked behind his shoulder again and looked back at me. I tried to see what he kept looking at, but I couldn’t since he towered over me. He raked a hand through his hair, and his eyes darted all over the place. “You looked everywhere for her?”