Dawn Of Rebellion Collection

20. Drew

What was I going to say to Dawn? I have no idea. I couldn"t think of it then and I"m damn glad for that. I could"ve ruined everything if I went on acting like some daft git. Of course I don"t have feelings for Dawn. I barely know the girl. I can"t believe I kissed her. I can"t believe she pushed me away! That"s never happened to me before.

But damn did it feel right.

I"ve never told anyone about my brother, but I wanted her to know. I want her to see me. To know the real guy, not the district commander"s son.

By the time I rise in the morning, the place is teeming with people going about their daily tasks. There are men hauling water, children washing berries, women cooking breakfast, and a whole lot of other things that make this place a normal home. I guess it is normal to these people since they"ve never known anything different. It makes me wonder if this is how my brother is living now. I have no idea where he might have gone after escaping from the slave camps. I asked a few people around here about him, but no one knew who I was talking about. If he"s living in a community like this, it"s probably better than London for him. He was living in the east end, pretty close to where I found Dawn.

When James was a kid, my dad would send money to his mom. I wasn"t supposed to know, but my mom let it slip in one of her d**g-induced rants. The money stopped when James got a mind of his own. Dad was under the impression that children exist to do the bidding of their parents. He saw James" independence as a rebellion against him as if everything is about the great commander Crawford. The whole religion thing was the final straw. Along with all the other leaders of England, father saw religious people as the only people they can"t control. Well, James found God and then he helped me find him as well. So here we are.

I get to my feet and walk through the middle of the camp. People wave and say hello as I pass, but I keep moving without saying a word. I really don"t have it in me for pleasantries this morning. I want to be alone. This doesn"t work out too well because, as I"m putting some distance between me and the others, a girl runs up beside me and matches my stride.

“Where you going? S"almost breakfast,” she says. When I don"t say anything, she should get the hint, but she doesn"t. “Okay, we don"t have to talk. Let"s just walk.” And we do. The silence that stretches between us is comfortable until she breaks it.

“I"m Shay, by the way,” she says.

“And I thought you weren"t going to talk,” I grunt. She is quiet once again as I stop and take a seat on the ground.

“I thought you wanted to walk?” she says.

I sigh. “Just sit down, will you?”

“So, where"s your girlfriend?” she asks as she sits next to me.

“She"s not my girlfriend.” This girl is giving me a headache.

“Oh, well, okay then.” I don"t know why, but I end up spilling my guts to this unknown girl about last night"s unfortunate events. She listens quietly until I"ve finished. She gets to her feet and turns towards me before walking away. “I would never push you away if you kissed me.” And then she is gone.

Over the next few days, I steer clear of most everyone but Shay. She has a crush on me, I know she does. I"ve seen it a thousand times before. I don"t feel the same way, but after Dawn"s rejection, it sure feels good. I wish she wouldn"t follow me around so much, but we should be leaving this place pretty soon so I can deal. I laugh every time I see the death stares Shay sends Dawn"s way, but I don"t think Dawn even notices. She is too wrapped up in the rest of these people to even give me the time of day. Hopefully, we can return to normal once we"re back on the road; just the two of us.