Ten Days Til I Die

•Chapter Eleven

'I tried to never let anyone know how much I hurt. How much it hurt. Losing someone so close to me just stole a piece of my heart. Ripped it right off, like it didn't even matter at all. But, that's the thing. Death doesn't care. Death doesn't care at all. He doesn't care how bad it hurts you.'

Walking away from the group, Devyn walked into a different room, leaning against the wall, crying. She cried quietly, though. That way no one would hear her. She didn't know Jake that well anymore, but from the moment they met again, she knew it would hurt to lose him. And it did. It broke her. Tore into her like her skin was nothing but a layer in its way to her heart.

"You know it's ok to cry sometimes." Devyn turned her head to see Mark, leaning against the doorframe. The light behind him shadowed his features; his blonde hair glowed brightly against the light, his toned arms, his strong figure. Mark walked over to Devyn, leaning against the wall, before sitting down. Devyn sighed, wiping her tears from her eyes, lowering herself against the wall to sit beside him.

"I lost my Mom when I was young," Devyn spoke, breaking the tense, cold air with her voice. "How?" Mark asked, leaning closer to her like he was trying to get to know every detail about the girl. "I was five when she was in a car accident. Her breaks were cut and the car had exploded. I was so stuck up with whatever I had done that I couldn't answer her call. I never got to say goodbye." Devyn looked away from Mark, ashamed of her past.

"We had a fight that morning, about me not wanting to go to school. I threw a fit and told her I wished she was dead. That's the last thing I said to her and when she actually died, I-I couldn't forgive myself."

Mark grabbed Devyn's hand, holding it. "I've lost people, too." Mark shared. "But, what I've learned is that you should never bottle up all pain and emotions. It will change who you are and what you become." Devyn looked over at Mark, her puffy eyes full of tears. He smiled softly, leaning over and wiping her tears away. "Gah, I never cry in front of people." Devyn expressed, allowing Mark to laugh slightly.

"I don't think you're as stubborn and selfish as you claim to be." Mark admired, smiling once more. Devyn's heart warmed at the sight of the smile. "What are you talking about? Hello, it's me. I'm the girl who cried over a different ice cream in mine. I got mad at anyone who told me I was selfish. I'm the girl who no one wants to be friends with because of how I act." Devyn argued.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you have to be that Devyn anymore." Mark said, his eyes looking into hers. "Dev..." Mark stopped himself from continuing. Devyn looked at him, watching as his face inched closer to hers.

"This is going to sound crazy, but every time I look at you, I can't help but look into your eyes. Your eyes are so bright, but hold so much darkness in them. Yet, you still have this light in your eyes that overcomes the darkness even though there is no end to it." Devyn felt her heart flutter. Had he really meant what he said? "Light? In my eyes? Please, I'm the most stubborn and selfish person you'll ever meet. I didn't even care for you all when I first saw you and you rather have sacrificed yourself for me to be safe and alive. How can there be any light in me?" Devyn seethed, wondering how  anyone could think of her as having any light. "Even the darkest places have light in them, Dev." Mark consoled, watching as Devyn fidgeted with her fingers.

"You knew Baylee, didn't you? And you knew Jake, that's why their deaths were so hard for you." Mark spoke up. "They were somebody to you." Ryan stated, walking in the room with Debby. "I mean, we are supposed to know nobody here, but you do." Ryan added.

"Who were they to you?" Kyle asked, sitting down against the wall.

"Baylee was my cousin. She was the closest thing I had since my Mother's death." Devyn mourned, hearing the sound of everyone's gasps. "As much as I didn't want to admit I knew her, nor say she was my family, she was still the only other person I had. We had a strong bond growing up, even before I lost my Mom. It only grew stronger after I lost her. But once we hit our teenage years, she broke it off, saying it was too weird to be close with family like that. At first, she just distanced herself from me, not ever wanting to hang out. When she told me, I wanted to hurt her. I wanted her to feel my pain. But I couldn't bring myself to post that video of her. So, I pushed her away, along with everyone else. Sometimes, I blame her for who I became."

Mark rubbed Devyn's shoulder in reassurance, before she continued on. "But Jake, oh God. That boy and I grew up with each other. We had done everything with each other, even with Baylee there."  A smile grew on Devyn's face as she remembered all her days. "I had only just realized it was Jake right before he died. I thought," Devyn paused, choking on her words. "I thought Jake just randomly gave me the nickname 'Devy', but I was wrong." Mark pulled her close to him, hugging her. "Devy the Slow Poke. Is that how you knew?" Mark asked.

Devyn chuckled at the nickname. "Yeah, he would call me that when I lost a race against him." She beamed, her smile only growing bigger. But it faded when she continued her story. "I pushed him away as well. But not because of Baylee, it was the feelings. I started to like Jake when we became older. I didn't want him to think of me as just the girl who liked him, so I broke our friendship off, leaving him to think he was in the wrong. That he had done wrong."

Devyn pulled away from Mark, wiping her tears, and standing up. "So I'm going to find the Heart of the Building and I'm going to destroy It. Even if I lose my life, or I'll only have ten days til I die, I will get you all out of here. No matter what it takes."

Devyn felt proud of herself at that moment. It was like a whole new person took over her body, her soul. "And we will be behind you every step of the way." Mark's eyes gleamed as she looked down at him. She gave him a small smile. "So Kid," Ty said, leaning himself against the door railing. "What's your plan?" Devyn looked at him and smirked.