The Patriots

CHAPTER 21 (LITTLE SECRETS)

The next day, Cecilia used the whole afternoon to clean up her room. She had to dispose off some of her childhood toys and her old clothes. Her bed was a bit smaller now, but she had to manage. If she wanted a bigger bed, she would have to go to Bogotà, but no taxi would like to drive into the war zone, and almost all the stores were closed due to the fear of a rebel attack.

She finished cleaning by dusk and packed her new clothes into her small wardrobe. She smiled with content at the work she managed to do to her room. Cecilia then picked up her phone to scroll through. There was a message from Del and Charles.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Charles' message. She quickly opened it, but she did not reply after reading. Deep down, she was angry that Charles did not tell her this secret-- that he was already working with Del. But she also knew he wanted to tell her something, that day at the park, he looked so worried. And they never really spoke when the rebellion started. She looked out the window and a sad smile crossed her face as she thought of her best friend.

"He's alright, I know..." she thought, "...but I'm going to be a hard nut this time. If he really wants to talk, he knows where to find me," she said to herself and opened Del's message. Unknown to her, Charles had another secret to tell her apart from this.

Del's message read, "There will be training at 4 a.m tomorrow. Don't be late."

Kelvin woke up covered with a blanket. Apparently, he slept off on the hard wood floor, but his dad made sure he was sleeping well. He did not want to go out of his room to confront his dad. He was not ready for that yet. He opened the bag he brought from Canada and took out his phone.

"Hey man." He had received a text from Daniel.

"At least, this guy has not changed," he chuckled.

"Call?" he sent and seconds later, his phone begun to ring.

He did not want to talk about his dad, because he never really opened up about his life to Daniel. Daniel just yapped about how his family cried when he got home, how shocked they were at his new physique and how happy they were that he was finally home. He managed to cheer Kelvin up, and that was what Kelvin liked mostly about Daniel. He had positive energy, even though he could think about extremely impossible things sometimes.

After Daniel yapped mostly about nothing for almost two hours, they ended the call. There was a knock on Kelvin's door. He was startled, but he stood up and opened it anyway.

"Good morning son," his dad smiled.

"Good morning." Kelvin replied, politely this time.

"I hope you're fine? I brought you something to eat," his dad said, holding up a bowl of cereal.

"Thank you," he responded and slowly took the bowl of cereal from his father.

The sadness he felt returned to him once his hand touched the bowl. He knew how hard it was for someone to be a whole new person. Looking at his dad today, he saw that he had a lot in common with his dad too. He smiled in his head when he noticed the relieved look on his dad's face after he took the bowl. He then went out for a walk after finishing the cereal. He still wore a hoodie, but this time around, he didn't hide his face.

He thought of calling Cecilia or sending her a text when he noticed her house at a distance. "Nah," he shook the thought from his head and continued his walk. He did not want to look desperate.

Vera asked for permission from Del to visit her home. Del didn't really know where it was, but he gave her the permission to go. Vera called Cecilia, when she finally arrived at the big burnt house. She was suddenly filled with so much pain, that she almost cried.

Cecilia and this new phone were her only company in that house. She called Cecilia because whenever she was angry or sad, she felt a sense of peace and comfort around her. She wished she could tell Cecilia her secret, but she was waiting for the right moment.

Charles and Steven moved together now. They didn't involve themselves too much in the dealings of the rebels, because they always found an excuse to keep themselves busy. All the same, they cooperated well with them.

Charles' face flashed with disappointment when he  did not get any responds to his text. He stayed with his phone all morning after sending the text. Cilia read it, he knew, but she did not reply. He understood her though. But now he couldn't even see her through her window anymore. He just hoped she would forgive him when they finally met.

It's was 4 a.m the next day when Cecilia's alarm sounded.

"Argghh!!" she groaned and covered her head with the pillow. Before she realised, she was fast asleep again. Her phone rung countless times before she snapped out of her sleep. It was 4:35 a.m now and Kelvin was calling her to ask if he should wait for her. He had sent her texts because she was not answering his calls.

"Please wait!" she texted, and run to brush her teeth and shower quickly.

"Sorry I'm late," she apologised to Kelvin who was pacing around while waiting for her.

"It's okay," he smiled, with amusement dancing in his eyes. He couldn't laugh because he knew if he dared, she would get angry and upset. She over slept, he knew that, and her hair was in a messy ponytail. He tore his eyes away from her before he got any wild thoughts.

"You've got your hoodie on again huh?" Cecilia asked as they jogged towards the camp.

"Ermm...yeah. I live in the danger zone," he chuckled and took it off.

Cecilia cleared her throat, "Del said don't be late, remember?" She asked as she picked up speed. Actually, she did that because she was feeling unusually hot around Kelvin, even though the morning air was cold. She knew it was because of him and she had to get away quickly.

Kelvin picked up speed and caught up with her almost immediately. They arrived at the camp a few minutes later. Most of the team were already there.

"I hope we're not late?" Cecilia asked, in a soft and quiet voice, but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Yes, you are." Del appeared behind them. She immediately regretted asking that question, and had to remind herself not to ask questions again whenever she was anywhere near Del.

A/N: Another chapter I enjoyed writing😍
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