War Within Us

chapter 28. cigarettes & full moon

It was safe to say I was annoyed when I stirred awake from my already on edge sleep.

I only wanted to rest for tomorrow so that it was a little bit more bareable for me but it seemed like either my own body thought we didn't need more sleep or the universe had a direct dislike towards me because I was awake and it was not light outside like I expected it to be.

Groaning with frustration as I rubbed my hands across my face, I sat up on my spot.

I looked around the room, probably blinking more times than necessary to get my eyes used to the darkness, the outline of the place started to appear.

I immediately noticed the dryness of my throat, mostly from being in a different enviroment, I got up to my feet to walk to the kitchen to deal with that issue.

I was sipping on my glass of water as my feet subconciously carried me to the window that I grew fond of in my short time here.

It didn't take me long to notice the figure standing a little away from the A7-S.

Lean figure stood a bit hunched over and had one hand stuffed in the pockets of his black joggers as the black tshirt he had on matched the dark brown of his hair.

It also didn't take me long to notice who he was and what he was doing outside. Barely a moment passed as I saw a cloud of smoke disperse through the air around him.

I don't know why I was speechless at seeing Hunter smoke.

It never really crossed my mind that he might indulge in any behaviour that could damage his soldier body but I had to admit it intrigied me, my own interest in the matter surprising me effectively.

The hand that held onto the cigarette fell to his side and he turned his head towards the sky and let out another breath.

A shiver spread through my body, causing goosebumps to show themselves on my arms and I was barely distracted from the scene in front of me.

I draped the blanket Brit gave me over my upper body and snuggled into the soft fabric.

After briefly eyeing the couch and taking a hesitant step towards it, my mind raced to make an irrational decision and turned my body towards the front door.

I wouldn't be able to explain to even myself why I did it. I simply just wanted to go out there.

There is a full moon tonight

The moon hang low in the sky, telling me it was about to hand the skies over to the sun.

Unlike how it was earlier in the night, bright white and blinding, it was now a subtle yellow, easy on the eyes and on the sky.

I closed the door as quietly as possible, be careful to not wake any of the soldiers that were hopefully in sleep in the building.

Either I was very quiet or he was very distracted because he didn't react to the door closing or to the sound of my footsteps.

Once I was close enough to reach him physically, he snapped his head towards me, the hand that was reaching up to take another inhale falling down to his side again.

"Vanessa."

My name remained the only thing that slipped out of his mouth as his eyes wandered on me, just like he did hours before, only this time it was more curious than worried.

"Sleep didn't favor either of us tonight." I commented, a little amused how us two were the only sleepless ones.

He answered with a honesty that took me by surprise.