The Patriots

CHAPTER 18 (HOME)

It was almost 12 a.m when the others came back from the club. They were laughing loudly while they approached the bus. Then, they all grew silent the second they laid their eyes on Kelvin and Cecilia. Those two were sitting together chatting and there was no blood on the floor. They all started throwing questions at the duo until Kelvin silenced them with the bomb incident.

"Yes. While you were all having fun, we were here saving your asses." Kelvin said proudly, grateful that this was able to silence them. He knew he was still in trouble because Daniel was going to drown him with questions.

They realised it was all part of the test and if Kelvin and Cecilia hadn't stayed back, they would have had no transportation, and they would have missed their plane.

"Let's thank our lucky stars then," Jesse said sarcastically, smirking at both Kelvin and Cecilia.

Vera took Cecilia to one side of the bus where no one could hear them and bombarded her with questions.

"Okay, empieza a hablar. What happened? How come you two were not strangling each other to death?"

"Oh no, not you too?" Cecilia rolled her eyes and lifted her head towards the sky, letting out a sigh.

"As he said, we discovered that there was a timebomb under the bus and we saved you all. And...we spoke about a lot of things. I can tell you, we're friends now, just because you're my closest friend." Cecilia blushed and hesitated while answering Vera's questions.

Vera was soo happy, as if Cecilia had told her she was getting married. Cecilia wanted to avoid all this excitement so she told Vera she was going for a walk.

"Don't take too long. You don't know these areas. None of us do," Vera warned.

"Yes ma'am." Cecilia replied sarcastically, but with a smile. 

Cecilia thought about the night as she walked in the dark, cold streets. She couldn't help but admire the way Kelvin spoke to the others. Lost in her thoughts, she lost track of time and sat on a bench she found during her stroll. She didn't realise the time she fell asleep, but when she opened her eyes, the sun was already up. She had left her phone on the bus and she knew they couldn't wait for her too. She was late.

"Oh no," she cried.

She had her pamphlet with her luckily. She had folded it and kept it in one of the small pockets of the sweater she wore. She knew where to go next, but she had no money, so she couldn't pick a taxi. She had only one way left, that was to run.

By the time she got to the café where they were supposed to have breakfast, they were already gone. Canada was a big place. She begun to see the difference between her country and this country. She was sweating and breathing heavily, so she sat on the table they used, to catch her breath.

She saw a napkin with writings on it. It was from Kelvin and Vera-- that was how it was signed, so she knew. They also left her some orange juice and water, which the waiter brought to Cecilia when he spotted her.

"Cilia, where the hell did you go? We tried to search for you. Guess you went too far, and we had to leave. We're worried sick. We will be at the airport after our last two tours. Don't try to catch up with us, just go straight to the airport. Be safe."

"Gracias," she smiled and finished the orange juice and water. She followed the map on the pamphlet and walked to the airport, trying out shortcuts and asking for directions where she got a bit confused with the map.

She finally got to the airport, thirty minutes before four p.m, and her colleagues were already there.

"There she is!" Vera jumped as she run to hug her friend.

"I told you not to stay away for long," Vera scolded.

"I'm sorry. I got lost," Cecilia apologised.

Everyone was glad she made it early and they all boarded their plane.

On the plane, Cecilia felt a rumble in her tummy. She suddenly felt nauseous and weak. So she stood up, heading towards the bathroom. Kelvin never took his eyes off her, so he noticed something was off with her. He also stood up, and pretended to head for the bathroom when Cecilia left her seat.

Just when he caught up with Cecilia, she lost her balance and Kelvin caught her just in time before she fell. She saw him, but she was too dizzy and too weak to talk. She slowly drifted into the darkness.

Hours later, Cecilia opened her eyes. As usual, she was in her seat next to Vera, but this time, her seat was pulled back so she was lying down.

Vera offered her a bottle of water and she smiled at her friend's kind gesture.

"Kelvin." It hit her when she remembered that he was the one who saved her from falling. She had to thank him. She would have been hurt by now if not for him.

He was looking her way, of course, but when she woke up, he stopped looking. He was glad she was okay now. Daniel noticed and wriggled his eyes knowingly at Kelvin. Kelvin just shook his head and pulled his seat down to get some sleep.

"Kelvin helped you." Vera said grinning. Cecilia answered with a nod.

"Gosh, you're so lucky. He's cute and so are you," Vera teased.

"Whatever." Cecilia thought, ignoring Vera's comment, but she had such a big smile plastered on her face that no amount of fainting could erase.

"Fasten your seat belts, we're about to land," the pilot announced. It was 1 a.m in Colombia when they arrived. There was already a bus waiting for them. It was as if they knew their fate, because they all held their breathes as the plane landed on the runway.

Finally, after two good years, and some months they were back in their country, their home. They were anxious and nervous to meet their families again--those who still had families. Those without families were suddenly reminded of their loss.

They were all filled with some kind of pain and love to finally step foot in their homeland again. Nothing seemed to have changed since they left, but they knew they were the change that was soon going to happen.

A/N: Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter?
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