Hypersonic Missiles

Ada

When Sam and Rob left together Bondy stood up too, hands on his thighs as he let out a sigh.
Josh who had come in looking nothing but exhausted and smudgy from the dirt of the forest stood up too, when he sighed he rolled his eyes back in his head and made John chuckle pre-emptively.

"Fuckin hell am knackered," grinned Josh, his smirk self concious as he pushed his hair from his face leaving a dirty smudge across his forehead, wiping a little of the dust from beneath his eyes so that his skin was patchy.

"You're bloody filthy mate how'd you manage that?" asked Van, his eyes trailing ovee Josh's figure. He was right. It wasn't just his hands and face it was everything. His clothes were covered in mud and earth, his hair had dust in it too. His fingernails were black around the cuticles. He looked more than a little worse for wear but when he'd first stepped through the door he had been insistent that nothing had happened.

"I tripped alright," he grinned, a little blush on his cheeks. I watched him raise his hands in surrender as he explained how he'd caught his foot under a branch and sent himself rolling down the side of the cliff face. He'd gone the earthy way round and lived to regret it.
I felt myself biting down on a smile, embarassed and uncomfortable not wanting to show my amusement though none of the others seemed hesitant to laugh at their friends misfortune.

"Fuck sake you dozy bastard," grinned Ryan shaking his head as he too stood up, pushing his hair from his eyes and yawning, "well its nowt the sea won't wash," he said stepping blind to his left almost stumbling into the door apparently just as clumsy as his friend.

"Aye," nodded Johnny, "the sea will sort yas," he said, each of them stepping outside before I could cry out or snatch at Johnny's sleeve to stop them.
Each of them stepping down from the stairs to the dirt outside, until it was only me and Eli left inside the little caravan.

The door swung shut behind them and I felt a lump of nerves tight and sore in my throat. At first I could hear them joking and laughing outside the caravans thin plastic frame, but once they'd walked away their voices faded and the caravan lingered in a thick silence. The tense kind thst smothers you, hand over your mouth so that even if you want to, you can't speak.

I didn't want to speak, I didn't want to do anything at all or draw attention to myself in anyway. So I didn't, I just sat there, knees hugged to my chest, hands gripping my knees, eyes fixed on my knees in Sam's too big jeans. I blinked extra heavy wishing every time that I could close my eyes and shake my head and wake up somewhere else, some other time.
But every time I opened my eyes I was still there and so was he, Eli sitting across the table from me, his head turned away from my, until it wasn't.

"Ada," he said not looking back from the window as he spoke. His voice was low and warm and yet demanding in a way that made me jump, "Ada lass come here..."he said again his eyes fixing on me for a moment before he turned his attention back to the window. Still, he opened his arm for me, waiting for me to come to him and I knew that if I didn't he'd only ask again. For a moment longer I hesitated feeling awfully alone without Sam, without any of the others who had spoken up for me when Eli had raised his voice or lost his patience with me. But they were all away now and it was just him and me and he sounded impatient and I knew he wouldn't leave his arm open for me for very long. 

When I didn't move he spoke once more, his voice that familiar dark tone, impatient for sure. 

"Ada I'm not gonna ask you again, yas can either sit here with me and go to sleep again or sit on your own over there uncomfortable and cold... makes no difference to me," with any warmth gone from his voice completely, his tone short and sharp, I knew that this really was his final offer... not that it sounded like much of an offer... and therefore my only option.