𝐈𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Truth

"Nora?"

I whipped my head around to meet the source of the voice behind me. I hadn't left the rooftop since I first came up and even after Dylan left to go sleep downstairs. I had spent the past few hours watching the destroyed city sleep peacefully under the moon and until the sun rose, only twenty minutes ago.

"Hey," I said, turning to face Fed who was wearing a warm smile that almost made me smile too. He sat down next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Didn't sleep?" he asked even though I was fairly certain that he already knew the answer to the question. "You want to come downstairs?" I could feel him tilt his head to watch me, but I kept my gaze focused on the sky as the sun began rising over the crumbing buildings.

"Mhm," I mumbled. Fed removed his hand from my shoulder and stood up beside me. He held out his hand for me to take, which I gratefully accepted because my legs ached. Seeing me wobble, Fed placed a steadying hand on my back to help me stay balanced. He opened the door for me so that I could walk inside first before he followed me, kicking the brick holding the door open and shutting the loud metal door behind him. Finally able to steadily walk by myself, I retreated down the stairs where I could hear voices coming from the floor we occupied.

I pushed open the door and walked inside to find Dylan and Thomas talking together at the crate we were using as a table and Raine hovering over a countertop in the makeshift kitchen. I paused in the doorway, rubbing my shoulder before ducking my head sheepishly and walking to Raine. Upon hearing my footsteps, Raine turned around, her face dropping slightly when she saw me. We stared at each other for a moment. I opened my mouth to say something and then closed it when I couldn't think of what to say. Suddenly, Raine lurched forward and pulled me into a hug. Slightly surprised by the action, I hesitated before holding Raine tightly in our embrace.

"I'm sorry," I whispered into Raine's ear. I wasn't just sorry for losing Connor. I was sorry for neglecting her and running away during a time when Raine probably needed me most. I wasn't there to talk to my sister or even just cry together.

"It's okay," Raine whispered back, giving me one last squeeze before I pulled back. Raine turned back to the pile of packaged food that was lying around the counter and picked out two Honey Nut Cheerio to-go cups before turning back around to me. "Want one?" she offered with a small smile.

I nodded appreciatively as Raine tossed me the cup and a water. We walked over to the counter where Dylan and Thomas were quietly chatting. When I set my stuff down on the crate, Dylan gave me a small 'hey' but I just gave him an awkward smile back before averting my gaze to the cereal in front of me.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked as I fumbled with the plastic lid of the to go up.

"The rest of 'em are still asleep. We decided not to wake them up since we still have a few things to go over," Thomas replied. I nodded, keeping my stare on the Cheerios in front of me that I had finally managed to open.

I could tell Thomas was treating me delicately by the tone of his voice but after our conversation last night, I felt more comfortable around the British boy. The softness in his voice wasn't overlooked by me.

I ate the Cheerios as Dylan and Thomas talked about the plan. They decided that it was best for the group to go to Obsidian where there was refuge from Monarch for kids like us who had been rescued or needed a safe place to hide out. Dylan also promised that Obsidian would help break out Connor since the organization was already trying to take down all Monarch compounds across the country.

Obsidian had managed to take down five Monarch facilities so far and rescue over three hundred kids, most of which were hiding out at the haven that Obsidian provided for them. Raine and I had talked over their decision to go to Obsidian for only a moment before we agreed to go, knowing that we had no other options and it sounded like the best bet for us to get Connor back and to find a safe place to stay. The four of us continued organizing our plan when Jack joined. I let Dylan and Thomas do all the talking and had found my Cheerios very interesting over the past twenty minutes. Finally, Charlie, Bianca, and Sam showed up as Fed came out of the bathroom. They huddled around the crate, Charlie glancing over at me with concern to which I just nodded my head and turned back to examine my water bottle.