Madison v.s The Travelling Exchange Students

Chapter Twenty-One: My Word Against Yours

"Was it bad?"

Sarah is referring to watching Cobra be put down. I swallow dryly. It is all so fresh in my mind-the needle, Katy's cries, the sickness boiling up inside all of us. Even the tear Antonio shed. It mixes in my mind like a cold, old soup.

"Very," I finally reply. "Katy still is... not coping very well."

As Sarah answers through the phone with a sigh, I turn my head and peer down the chip aisle. Standing with a bag of Twisties clutched to her chest, Katy sniffles. Her face is concealed under the hood of her dark blue jumper but I can see the tears dripping onto the yellow packaging.

Beside her, Mia and Lily stand, trying their best to comfort her. What makes this sadder is that we are standing in a run-down servo in the middle of nowhere just twenty minutes outside, Where-The-Hell-Are-We.

"She's being strong though, she is crying less," I lie into the phone.

"Well, that's good," Sarah says.

I stand on my toes and try and see if it's time for us to go. I look at the sliding doors. 

"Look I better go, Antonio just told us we have to head back to the bus," I whisper, turning back around. "Love you, Sarah."

I hear the start of Sarah's reply but my finger is already on the End Call button. I don't want to talk about it anymore. I feel bad for lying to her; Antonio hasn't even been in the servo this whole time. Not only do I not have the energy to confront the memories from the day Cobra died, Virgo went missing, and my whole confrontation with Elias, I'm afraid I might let something slip.

Screw up and tell Sarah what exactly has been going on.

"Lost in thought?" 

Alex suddenly being by my side catches me off guard. He smirks as he looks down at me.

"Oh, yeah," I chuckle. "Kind of sad that I'm deep in my thoughts in front of the milk."

Alex laughs and taps the glass of the milk fridges in front of us. "Not really... Okay, maybe a little."

Thanks for your support.

He then slings an arm around my shoulders to pull me closer to him.

"You all good?" Alex asks as he presses his head into my neck.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because you haven't stopped thinking since we first got on the road," he murmurs. "You don't think I've noticed how distant you've been. You always seem lost in your thoughts."

I look down at my feet. Have I really been that far away? Why am I hiding so much from him? Damn it.

"Sorry," I reply with a sigh. "I've been stuck in my head."

Alex smiles at me. "You need to get out of your head then. Please just come back to me, even for a second."

I lean further into him. "I'm gonna try."

Alex taps the fridge again as he places his forehead against mine. I smile up at him and that's when I know I have to tell him. Everything.

"Ale-"

"Oh, before I forget, Madison," Alex jolts, cutting me off.

I watch, slightly annoyed that he isn't listening to me as he reaches into his jacket pocket. Slowly he pulls out a bar and holds it out to me. I chuckle and take the bar wrapped in shiny blue and silver packaging.

"For you, love," Alex smiles. "I got it for you."

I hold the Bounty tight in my hands. "Wait, you remembered?"