Lost Hope

SEVENTEEN

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

Athena left the house the next afternoon.

She needed to get her mind off everything and what was better than breaking a few windows, shoplifting and spraying walls?

Sebastian wasn't there so she felt free with only Sawyer and Jynx.

The sky was dark and she was back working on her unfinished painting.

Sawyer called her stupid because she was actually kneeling in front of the wall with paint brushes and a palette. 

She finally finished the drawing and threw the art supplies in the barrel Sawyer was burning on the side. Then she put her leather gloves on, grabbed the red spray can and started to write in a handwriting that wasn't hers.

She wrote the words that Chris must've felt when he went away. The same words that had haunted her for the past few weeks and the red spray was the blood flowing out of her wounded heart.

Jynx and Sawyer turned to her when she stepped away to stare at her work and their jaws fell slack.

The drawing was so detailed that it it was a shame to be left on a wall. But Athena wanted it to stay there. She wanted everyone to pass that building to stop and read. She wanted change.

And then they abandoned the place, leaving the burning barrel to ignite the red blood on the wall.

The next place they stopped at was an abandoned company building in a semi deserted street. They went there often.

She let Sawyer light up the joint between her lips as she worked on the walls, splattering them with drawings. And her friends thought it was a waste of art to be spending on walls.

Sawyer was spraying swear words while Jynx threw rocks at the window, effectively shattering them.

Sawyer was admiring their work, his spray can thrown away and Athena was next to him.

She laughed, enjoying the chaos as the police sirens sounded.

Jynx made a run for it. Sawyer had his headphones on and quickly made a dash when he saw the red and blue lights reflected on the walls but an officer grabbed the back of his hoodie and slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.

He started blurting out excuses and lies for why they were there as Athena watched with cold amusement, being led to a different car than him.

It was always pointless to talk to them because, at the end of the day, even if the cops did find anything on them, Small was too good to do anything for something as petty as vandalism. He would pretend he didn't notice anything, that there was no proof and send them home in police cars.

She remembered one of the times she was actually dragged to the station.

Sixteen-year-old Athena sat on the desk, swinging her legs as she looked around the office. 

Small strolled in, rolling his eyes at her.

She gave an amused grin. "Hi, Officer."

"This's, what, the sixth time you've been caught?" he grumbled, sitting across her on the leather couch.

"I think it's the eighth, if I recall correctly. But, yeah, keep my reputation cool." She shrugged at him.

He glared at her. "Do you seriously not care about your future, kid?"

"What's the future got to do with anything?" she asked, blinking.

"You reputation," he pointed out. "You could get thrown behind bars one day."