The Captured Bird

Chapter 5-Forgiveness

I thought an image of her crying would match some emotions in this chapter.

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That night everyone settled in, happy and content, believing they were safe. But you couldn't sleep, no, not now. Your father was still out there. All you did was cause a little destruction, you hadn't killed anyone. In hindsight that might've been a better plan.

Mr Barron knows where Alma's loop is, he could find her again. And if he does, it won't end well for anyone in the house at the time. It was only a matter of time before he figured out the loop never closed. No, you had to come up with a proper plan. You walked into the parlor where a few ymbrynes and some of the older kids sat. "Miss Peregrine, can I talk to you?" She ignored you and continued her conversation with Miss Swallow. This confused the kids, she never acted like that, unless she was really pissed off. But why be mad at the person who saved her life? "Alma, this is important."

She sighed and stood up walking over to you. "I have nothing to say to you, Y/n."  Your name fell out of her mouth like a rotten piece of fruit.

"On the contrary, I think you do. Listen I know, you hate me. But I-"

She cut you off, yelling. "You tried to kill me!" You looked around the room, not wanting to meet her eyes. The other two ymbrynes in the room just avoided eye contact, having already heard the story. The children on the other hand, well it depended on the kid. Emma just looked sad and confused. Enoch looked pissed. And you really couldn't read Olive's face.

"I know, I know... I feel horrible for what I've done Alma.. But you know why I did what I did! If I didn't he would've- A-and it wouldn't have been as painless! It's not like I wanted to kill you! Not like I wanted to hurt you every day! I- I'm just sorry.. Okay? I'll leave you be." You turned the fuck around and almost ran out of the room, you didn't want anyone to see when the tears started to fall.

Alma sighed and excused herself to go and follow you. She lost sight of you after you'd run outside. She began looking around to no avail. Panic set in as she kept looking. What if you'd left the loop? You had nowhere else to go. And if you went back to your father it certainly wouldn't do you any good. He never cared about your life. He could torture you for information, or continue with the experiment! As upset with you as she was, she understood you hadn't meant to hurt her. She knew you'd never wanted to hurt her and that you were most definitely going easy on her, as Barron or his troops wouldn't have shown any mercy.

Her search became more frantic the longer she couldn't find you. She ran around the yard, yelling your name, and biting back tears. And as she did, you watched from overhead. You knew it was cruel to leave her like that, when just letting her know where you were would make her feel better, but you didn't want her to see you, crying over such a stupid thing. She had every right to be upset, and you were stupid for thinking otherwise.

Ten minutes went by and for a while you thought she gave up. Well until a bird landed on a large branch next to you. You'd thought she was still too injured to change. She switched back so she could talk to you, grabbing onto the tree with one hand, her nails digging into the bark, and her other covering her stomach as she tried not to show the clear pain on her face.

"Why in birds name would you change if it hurts you?!" You scolded her, forgetting what had just happened for a moment.

"Don't you do that to me again!" She removed her hand from her stomach and placed it on your knee. You gave her a confused look and she continued to speak. "You scared me, I thought you left!"

"I thought you would've wanted me to.. You're right I shouldn't have done that. I royally fucked up. And I'm so, so sorry, Alma." You put your hand on here and squeezed it, trying to stop crying.

"No, no, it's alright Y/n. I forgive you damnit, was that not clear?" She gestured to her tears with a  small laugh. "I couldn't hate you. I- I..." She didn't quite know what to say next. How did she feel about you? She wasn't sure.

"It's alright. Thank you. And now might not be the best time, but we really need to talk." She nodded, and looked down, you were fifteen or so feet up. She couldn't really climb in her skirt so she'd just have to turn into a bird to get back down. She scrunched her nose at the thought of hurting herself again just to get back down. You, noticing this, got a not so bright idea. "Alma, do you trust me?" She looked confused but nodded. "Good, then if I were you, I'd hold on for dear life."

You grabbed her and proceeded to let yourself fall back off the branch. She clung to your shirt, screaming as the two of you fell. You made sure your arms were wrapped right around her and that your back was facing the ground. You hit the ground with a grunt, her on top of you. She sat up yelling. "Y/n, what in the ever loving hell was that?! Are you alright?!"

You just chuckled. "I'm great! I can't be hurt, remember?" She let out a sigh of relief and playfully hit your shoulder.

"You scared me you jerk!"

"Alright, I'm sorry. So, you gonna get off me, or?" Her eyes widened and she was quick to stand up, crossing her arms over her stomach and trying to control the blush creeping up her neck. "Not that I minded." You smiled, completely oblivious to what you'd just done as you stood up and brushed yourself off.

You were curious as to why the woman was so quiet as you walked back inside. Apparently no one really wanted to help Alma find the jerk that tried to kill her so everyone else had already gone to bed. "Tea?" Miss Peregrine asked, walking into the kitchen to put a kettle on.

"Coffee?" You said as more of a question.

She shook her head. "Not at this hour. Tea or water are your only options."

You sighed. "Okay then, tea it is." She gave you a small smile before turning to pour the now boiling water into two cups. She handed you a cup before sitting down at the table with you.

"Now, what is it you wanted to speak with me about?"

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Honestly, I laughed a lot writing this. And everyone, say congratulations to Amber_Sweets for reaching 100 followers! She's a great person and amazing friend! <3