The Waitress

8 - Remembrance

When they got to the Melbourne airport after dropping the van off at a safe-house, Kaely wasn't feeling much better. When she told the boys her arm didn't hurt, she had obviously been lying, but it was starting to feel like she was getting shot all over again. Every time they saw her grimacing, they would ask what was wrong and she'd tell them that she had a migraine, or that she was still feeling weird after the morning, but there was only so much she could tell them before they stopped believing her. The only reason she hadn't told them was because she didn't want to be left behind. She was the odd one out here, and if it came down to it, she felt like they would let her go if they needed to. But she didn't want to be left alone; she wanted to stay with them, because they could protect her and teach her how to hide. She didn't want them to see her as a burden, and if they were slowed down, it would only be because of her. She didn't tell them any of this, however. Why would she? It would only give them another reason to leave.

And that was the one thing she couldn't let happen.

"Kaely," someone snapped, and Kaely lifted her head up, looking at Eliot with confusion spreading through her gaze.

"What?" she asked, looking around.

"Our flight," he replied, then cocked his head sideways. "You sure you're okay?"

Kaely nodded.

"Yeah, let's go," she replied, getting up from the couch in the gateway before grabbing her bag to follow Jared and Dex towards their plane. They'd made it through security without so much of an issue; they looked unsuspicious enough when they spread out slightly, to make it look like they weren't in a group. When they got past the flight attendants and into their seats without hassle, Kaely settled down with the bandage wrapped around her shoulder standing in the open beneath her singlet. She was just praying that it wouldn't start bleeding again; the sooner it healed, the quicker she could take her stitches out.

The flight itself was short and uneventful, landing them at the Sydney airport where they got off and slid right past security. The sooner they got out of public, the less likely they were to be recognised.

They got outside and the wind was cold against Kaely's skin, making her shiver and chatter her teeth, rubbing her arms with her hands.

"It's 2:30," Leo announced, "and it's only Wednesday. Let's get somewhere to stay the night; we're going to need somewhere to retreat to should we need it."

"There's a hotel about twenty minutes from here," Jared continued. "The 'Y Hotel' at Hyde Park. Kaely, you and Eliot should go get a room. We'll meet you there. Take a bus, taxi, whatever. Do what you can."

"Where will you be?" Kaely chattered, shivering some more.

"We should map out the area," Jared replied. "Leo, Dex, let's go. We'll rent a car out, meet you there later. Don't get up to too much trouble while we're gone."

Kaely and Eliot both nodded before they split from the others, walking outside to hail a taxi for the hotel. They got there in silence, got the hotel room and went up to it as Eliot texted Jared the room number.

"They're going to be another hour, tops," Eliot sighed, throwing his phone on the bed by the window before he dropped his bag and the others on the floor, sighing deeply before turning around to look at Kaely. "You're confused," he announced, and she scowled.

"Yes," she muttered.

"You want to know why we're here."

"Yes!"

"I shouldn't tell you."

"Then that's just cruel of you to bring it up."

"I didn't say I wouldn't tell you."