Not All Fun and Games

Chapter 21

I'm alone in the dropship, aside from Bellamy. Noon is slowly approaching, and if I'm being completely honest, I'm kind of bored. Octavia left a while ago to help Jasper and Raven make more bullets for our guns. I can tell she just wants to busy herself so that she can stop thinking about Adam.
I am currently changing Bellamy's bandage. We had to tear off the legs of his pants in order to properly treat his wound, leaving his leg bare. I giggle quietly. Poor guy's gonna be going around camp in mini shorts, I think to myself.
The image of Bellamy walking through camp with ripped shorts, embarrassed as people stare at him appears in my mind, and I begin to laugh harder. It feels good to do it. Everything has felt so serious, so sad since we went on our expedition and got ambushed by the grounders. I find myself cracking up, the giggles tumbling from my mouth. My shoulders relax as I do this and an enormous weight seems to lift off my shoulders.
"What's so funny?"
The low, weak voice makes me jump in surprise. I look down, my eyes wide, to see Bellamy looking up at me with a grin on his face.
"Bellamy! You're awake?" I ask happily.
"Do I really need to answer that?" He says sarcastically.
I laugh. "You've been up for what, 30 seconds, and you're already being a smart-ass?"
He attempts at what I think is a shrug, but winces in pain. The poor boy lifts his head and sees the bandage over his stomach.
"Right," he mutters. "Forgot I had two spears thrown at me."
"Actually, one was an arrow," I correct him. "So stop being such a baby."
He rolls his eyes but he smiles. "So," he says, "when will I be able to walk again?"
My expression turns serious. "In all honesty, Bellamy," I reply, giving him an apologetic look, "I'm not quite sure."
Although the truth sucks, I know he'd rather I be honest with him than lie.
I could tell him I'm sure he'll walk again. Soon, even. But that could give him false hope, something far worse than the true facts.
In actuality, it's possible he may never walk again. There's no way for me to tell.
On the other hand, he could be up and walking tomorrow. But without taking an exray or measuring exactly how deep the spear had gone and what veins it had punctured, which I could have done only with the tools on the ark, the truth remains unknown.
A new voice fills the room.
"Hey Clarke! How are things- Bell! You're awake!" The voice is Octavia's.
She runs to her brother, hitting him with a big, loving kiss on the cheek. Her embrace practically knocks the wind out of him.
"Careful, Octavia. You want to keep him breathing, right?" I laugh as she squeezes him tightly in her arms.
"Oh," she chuckles, letting go of her brother.
"I didn't really mind," pipes up Bellamy, grinning childishly. He looks at Octavia now, his face suddenly grave.
"Adam?" He asks simply. He doesn't know if his sister's boyfriend is still alive or not.
With that one word, a heavy sorrow settles over us, extinguishing the happy moment we were just having.
Octavia's smile turns into a mournful frown.
Bellamy doesn't need an answer to know that Adam's gone.
"I'm sorry, O," he says sadly.
"It's not your fault, Bell."
She brings the orange blanket up to his neck and plants a last kiss on his forehead. "I can tell you're tired. You should sleep more," she tells him. With that, she walks out of the dropship.

She must have just wanted to leave. Maybe she didn't want her brother to see her cry, I think to myself. It didn't seem to me like Bellamy was tired, so it must have just been an excuse.
I turn to Bellamy. My jaw drops as I look at him, amazed. I silently make a note to myself to never doubt Octavia's judgment on her brother again.
He's sound asleep.