Chapter two
"Charity there you are!" shouted a woman as she ran across the street grabbing Charity's arm. "Where have you been all morning?" she shouted in frustration. She stole a glance of Halcyon and frowned. "What did your father tell you about hanging around with this boy?" she growled. She began to drag Charity away from Halcyon. He stepped forth but withdrew when Charity signaled him not to follow.
"Tomorrow at the same spot, all right Hal?" she whispered. Her mother looked down at her and growled.
"Keep your mouth shut Charity or I will ground you, now hurry up, we have chores to do." She said. Halcyon nodded at Charity and turned around with a grim expression. Charity frowned also as she made her way to her grand house.
The wind blew softly making the white sheets. The smell of fresh laundry filled the air with a hint of lemon. Charity sat in the courtyard exhausted. Small beads of sweat found their way down her cheek. She hung up a final white sheet and smiled.
"Done!" she said as she fell back into the grass.
"OOOO, Charity has a boyfriend, Charity has a boyfriend!" said a familiar voice from behind the sheets.
"Shut up Aaron, or I might punch you in the face!" shouted Charity as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her little brother made his way through the sheets finding her lying on the ground.
"And what are you going to do? I saw you and the boy on the outskirts of town cuddling." Said the little boy with fuzzy black hair. On his head was a pair of goggles and on his back was a bookbag. Charity shot up.
"We were not cuddling! I was just dizzy, he was helping me up!" shouted Charity.
"That's not what I saw. You know maybe I should ask dad maybe he will know the difference." Said Aaron with a mischievous grin. Charity's green eyes shot open.
"Aaron don't please!" she shouted.
"I won't for a price." he paused briefly.
"What are your conditions?" sighed Charity.
"Well, you know me and the guys want to go out and play soldier later, but mom says I cant go unless all my chores are done." He said with somewhat of a tune.
"I'll do them, just please don't tell!" Charity yelled desperately.
"Right, also you know today is my day to walk Maxi, but while I'm playing solider he's going to mess up my hiding spots with his barking and panting, so…" Charity interrupted.
"Alright! I walk the stupid dog and do your chores!" shouted Charity with a bit of anger in her voice. Aaron laughed and turned around. He shook his butt at Charity.
"Ok then I'm off, good luck cleaning up after Maxi!" he laughed and ran off. Charity sighed and laid back again. She sighed and fluttered her eyes as she imagined Halcyon lying by her.
"Ah, Hal…I already miss you." She said as memories started to come back to her. She remembered the first day she and Halcyon met a few weeks ago. He had just moved to the city and was so shy. She remembered how when he first came to school and sat by her and smiled at her. Ever since then she and him had both spent the mornings and sometimes evenings together, talking about everything they could.
Halcyon mumbled as he entered his run down apartment. People cursed at him as he passed by.
Everyday it's the same thing, I never even met any of these people, I swear if it wasn't for Charity, I'd probably had run away by now. He said to himself.
"Halcyon! Your home, oh how good." Said Halcyon's aunt as she ran over and kissed his forehead. Her breath smelled and her hair was a mess. She was very messy, but her heart was as big as the sun.
"Hi Aunt Ingrid." Responded Halcyon with somewhat of a depressed voice. She smiled and backed away, "Where have you been all morning? We had to eat breakfast without ya!"
Halcyon brushed pass her, and spoke without looking back at her.
"It's alright Aunt Ingrid, I'm not hungry."
Ingrid stared at him bringing her fingers to her lips. "Poor boy…the move must have really brought him down." she whispered to herself and entered the kitchen again. As Halcyon passed the living room, he saw his uncle sleeping on the sofa. That was all the old man ever did. The smell of rotten vegetables filled the apartment. It was utterly disgusting.
Halcyon entered his room, which was all the way upstairs. It had nothing in it but a small bed, a nightstand, a shelf, and a wooden crate with a picture and a notebook on it. He jumped onto the bed and stared out the small window, which was covered with grime. He sighed sadly and hid his face in the pillow.
"Maybe one day we'll finally be together Charity…" he said as he wandered into sleep.
It was the dead of the night, when Charity was awakened abruptly.
"What is it?" she asked in a sleepy tune. Her eyes opened slightly, to see Aaron's hazel eyes staring into hers.
"Come quick Charity, they're fighting on TV!" shouted Aaron with a smile on his face. Charity made her way downstairs slowly. Her father, mother, and Aaron sat on the couch watching the news.
"What's going on?" asked Charity kindly.
"Look for yourself." Said her father sternly.
"It's total madness down her in Stopple City, as the Blitz army moves in on the capitol!" shouted the reporter on the TV. Charity sighed.
"But we're not in the war right?" she asked as she went back to the stairs.
"No, but if the country does go to war, we're leaving the city." Said her father with a stern voice. She stopped at the top of the steps, pushing the thought away from her mind.
I'm not going anywhere without Halcyon dad…