Chapter Ten

It was on a strangely serene morning that Gwen stood outside, ready to leave the boarding house. The sky was blue, but no wind whistled over their heads. It was eerily silent.

Gwen felt as if that word had been her biography for so long. Silent. Gwen had been silent for as long as she could remember. She would never say anything, never make a noise. She never showed emotion until she had gone to the boarding house.

She had packed her bags late the night before, with Mel, Clara, Andrew and Tom watching her solemnly. When she had finally zipped her suitcase closed, she looked up to see Clara regarding her sadly.

“Will you ever come back?” the girl asked seriously.

“Of course,” Gwen had said, her voice catching a little.

“Promise,” Tom insisted.

“I promise.” She had looked up to catch Mel’s eye, and her friend had smiled at her reassuringly.

Gwen had thought fiercely to herself, that’s she never wanted to forget these people.

The sound of the taxi crunching up the drive brought her back to the present. With a sigh, Gwen turned to regard the eight faces that watched her. Andrew was solemn, and Tom and Clara both looked to be on the verge of tears. Mel’s visage was sad, which struck Gwen, as she had never seen her friend unhappy before. Dee and Cook both looked as if they were trying to seem cheerful, but the slight trembling of the matron’s lips told a different story. Dan watched her with a slight smile about his eyes, and Gwen looked away, before she was persuaded to stay here forever. She couldn’t believe how much she loved these people, who she hadn’t even known for two months.

Taking a deep breath, she walked over to them and smiled tentatively. “Well, I guess this is goodbye,” she mumbled.

Dee stepped forwards and hugged her quickly, whispering “Good luck,” into her ear. She nodded and blinked back tears. Cook’s embrace was just as hasty, and Tom and Clara clung to her as if they would never let go.

“I’ll visit, I promise,” she whispered to them as they stepped back. She looked up to see Andrew, and he hugged her briefly, and nodded at her. Gwen smiled, knowing that this was a huge gesture from the solemn boy.

Mel had her arms crossed, as if trying to protect herself. It was then that Gwen couldn’t stop the tears, and when they embraced, a whole world flashed before her eyes. A world where she stayed in this beautiful place that had taught her the meaning of the word hope. But she knew that that world couldn’t exist, and so she let her friend go, shaking her head.

Mel turned away, unable to stand this parting. She had said enough goodbyes in her time, and it hurt her more than anything.

Gwen stepped towards Dan. He smiled at her, but his brown eyes were sad, and Gwen felt as if her heart was breaking. Why was she doing this to herself? He reached out a hand and brushed a tear off her cheek.

“You’ll come back,” he said. She nodded, and stumbled forward into his arms.

“I won’t forget you,” she whispered. “I won’t forget any of you.”

She felt Dan’s head nodding, and she pulled away from him. The taxi-driver was waiting, and her bags were already in the boot. She almost collapsed into the backseat, drained of all energy. She hated saying goodbye. She hated leaving, and yet the pain was sweet.

As the car drove away from the boarding house, Gwen looked back desperately at the eight faces watching her leave. She never needed to fear falling again; there would always be so many people ready to catch her.

And as she sat back, ready to journey back to her life, Gwen smiled through her tears.

Because the voices were gone. And everything would be fine.

A/N: I actually really hate the ending of this ) kind of lame. Anyway, let me know if you liked it, and where I can improve it.

Thanks for reading.

JB