Bad Samaritan | Kylo Ren

Left to Dust

WARNING: this chapter contains graphic dubious consent, violence, and abuse. Please proceed carefully and welcome back to Bad Samaritan ;)

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Heat lightening fractures the evening sky with a luminous, cobwebbed sprawl. Waves froth over the shore, plumes of mist nipping at your ankles, as you tread the spectral sealine.

Cardo had suggested you run, and you'd been wise enough to oblige. He claimed he would explain everything to Kylo, defend your witnessed infidelity, but you already knew there would be no understanding on his behalf.

A permanent void has yawned open in your gut. Pure, undiluted fear coursing through your veins. You cross your tremoring arms to conceal your churning stomach, hobbling across the sand, a salt-tinged breeze tousling your hair.

You spot a brawny figure planted where the waves meet the shore through the dense haze of humidity.

"Ap'lek?" You holler in bewilderment, shielding your eyes from the harsh setting sun.

He angles his head towards you distractedly, recognizing your voice, eyes squinted.

"Did... Cardo send you to retrieve me?" You ask reluctantly, toeing a shell coyly.

He looks you up and down, expression mutely bewildered. "No, why would he?"

You stare at him numbly, shoulders quivering as you fight to physically suppress the tears brimming your eyes.

"Oh, no." He murmurs in quiet horror, your lethal circumstance dawning on him instantly. It was a disaster they've all been predicting. "No."

You nod shamefully. "Yes," you whisper. "He saw us at the canal."

He scooches over, revealing an indent in the damp sand from where he'd been sitting. "Come here," he says, smoothing it over.

You comply, plopping down beside him, hugging your goose-pimpled knees to your chest. "I'm sorry," you admit ruefully, your voice uncharacteristically small under the roar of battering waves. "I'm so sorry. I failed all of you. I never meant for any of this to happen."

Ap'lek contemplates your broken words for a moment, unfazed by the crack in your facade. "Look," he starts hesitantly, scratching his chin. "We... me and the guys, I mean... have always been a team. But you..." he studies you thoughtfully, vaguely concealed admiration glistening in his eyes. "You built a family out of us."

You shake your head in dismay, guilt gnawing at you with razor-sharp teeth. "I-"

"We are a family. And we'll get through this." He interrupts earnestly.

"You don't understand."

"We will," he demands, flinching at the brusqueness of his own tone. He softens it before muttering, "We have to. For Lu. For Kuruk. He would've never let any of this happen. Any of it."

"I know," you agree solemnly, extending a hand and resting it gingerly on his knee. You apply a comforting stroke. "I miss him too."

Ap'lek's eyes swim with a tentative glow as he peers at the horizon, the sun waning across his face. His frame rigid, muscles taut. "I just wonder if she's alright."

Thunder rumbles from distant shores. "Who?" You mutter softly, eyebrows furrowing. "Lu?"

He nods gravely, fidgeting with the tip of his silken tie.

You want to offer him reassurance, but find that you can't. "I'm sorry," you repeat meekly.

"Don't apologize." A weak, wry smirk tugs at his lips. "Cardo has been in love with you since the day he met you. Don't tell anyone this, but a twisted part of me wanted this for him."