Safe Haven

Chapter Twenty-Two - Cameron

Collectively, the three of us gasped as not only a hand emerged from the overgrown grass-maze of itchiness, but also the rest of the body emerged with it. And it took a whole of two seconds for our brains to register just who the hand belonged to. And once the shock of being fearful that it might be the group of killer guards coming to pick off another of our weakest members, an entirely new shock come in its wake.

And Oliver stood there, looking rough and shaken and... annoyingly adorable.

And despite my facade, I found myself flying forwards, meeting him halfway in the field of hive-inducing, thigh-high grass.

My arms grabbed him so tightly, I wondered if they'd ever even be able to let go once the realization set in that I was supposed to strongly dislike Oliver. Though, I supposed at this point I had to admit to myself that everyone knew otherwise. He made a strangled noise that was a mix between a laugh and a gasp for air. I worried that I hurt him with my overzealous joy.

"Ollie..." I whispered, the two of us sinking into the grass, entangled in each other's arms. I had to abandon my dignity there, as a new emotion I didn't remember feeling in a long time gathered tears into my eyes. Then, I was the one gasping. I pushed my face into his chest which was caked in dried blood that brought me straight back to the terribly tragic feeling I had when he was laid on the forest floor and I was crying over him like a baby. He cradled me like the baby I was, as I pathetically sobbed into him.

"Hey," he interjected when my crying got overly dramatic (even for me and even for a baby). "Just take a deep breath. I'm with you now. Calm down," he said in the voice I'd heard him use on animals, specifically a certain bunny, which by now I'd realized I really shouldn't have cursed earlier. I would have been offended by his tone if it weren't for how grateful I was that he was alive.

"Calm down?" I asked, pulling away with a pinched look. "I can't calm down. I thought I lost you. You were dead." I couldn't help the weird feeling that bubbled up in me when I said that, like the words barreled up my throat and pulled with them a sickening pain that I couldn't for the life of me understand.

It was funny how quickly I switched up from hating Oliver to... the opposite. I was sure now, that the sadness I'd felt for Oliver's death wasn't only due to my lack of ability to save him. I really truly was sad to see him die. Feelings were so hard to identify, I wasn't even sure what this meant for me.

Matilda and Ben joined us, obviously also happy to see Oliver okay. Matilda's smile shone like the sun, replacing the one in the sky which was having trouble making an appearance on its own. Ben stood next to her, eyes wide with amazement. He'd been wrong for once, too. His vision. Or at least, sort of wrong. Sure, Oliver had died, but he wasn't dead now.

"You're not dead," Ben stated, sounding breathless as he said exactly what we were all thinking.

"Really?" Oliver asked, sarcastic. "I hadn't even noticed." I wanted to grin at the learned sarcasm — obviously he got it from me — but my whole body was starting to itch again from the grass. I wasn't so sure I would be able to heal the hives again so soon after the last time. Ben and Matilda were staring at the two of us, and I didn't have to be a mind reader to understand what they were thinking. Embarrassed, I pushed off of Oliver's chest and stood up, brushing myself off.

"Uhm... I mean... It's a real shame you made it," I mustered up, trying my best to sound like I meant it. But based on the grins of the rest of the group, they knew exactly what I was really thinking. They didn't have to be mind readers either.

"Yeah, sure, Cameron," he teased, standing up himself. Ben reached out a hand to help him and cleared his throat.

"But, uh, how... did you make it?" He asked. "Because, no offense, but you looked pretty dead the last time we saw you."