Learning to be Strong Alone // Jeraphina Fanfiction

Chapter XXXII: Stupid

"Some only know....
Only the doubts.....
Not another person
Yearns to know.......
Anything about......"

...............

3rd POV

As they passed the doors through the carpeted halls, none of the three who walked said a word to one another. The silence dragged over them like a wet blanket, coating their thoughts—their lonely words coming out a rather empty whisper.

One was free, though—out in the open, her mind unsheathed.

One of the three thought and thought as much as she could, but even in the clarity of her fog-free state—words flowing through her like autumn leaves in a stream—she couldn't seem to see the answer for the question she pondered over.

The trio stopped in the middle of the path, the awkward atmosphere sewn into the air by previous conversations no longer being covered by the sound of their steps.

Isen gaped his lips and watched as the other two beside him refused to move.

"Should we walk you to—"

Remi made a sound—a quiet sound—one of irritation and doubt; although it was almost soundless, it still overpowered anything he had to say.

He stopped.

A sigh dropped heavily from her gaping lips—another sound of doubt and irritation.

She spoke.

"I always knew Arlo was a lying bastard." She huffed. "Didn't know he thought I was stupid enough to believe his lies, though."

The two boys who stood beside her simultaneously blinked. Confused at her sudden expression of annoyance towards Arlo.

No matter how much she disliked him on occasion, she never verbally dissed him.

Not until now.

Blyke stood forward and rested a hand on the girl's shoulder as a gesture of comfort.

"What do you . . . mean?"

With an emotion he had never seen on her face, Remi turned to him, a cloudy grey striking through her eyes, indicating a thunderstorm was about to arise, lips in a contrasting smile to the anger in her irises.

"He was lying to us—me, rather," she spoke too soft for her words, gently picking the red-headed boy's hand off of her shoulder and using the key she took out of his pocket to open the door. "Arlo may not tell us why he does things, but he certainly isn't reckless, and certainly doesn't want us being reckless on his account."

She continued, "What reason would he have to break the walkie-talkie and make us worry?" She pushed open the door. "Answer: he found something important—something that he wasn't looking for—something that needed more research."

The other two gaped at her statement—confused once again.

Remi was never stupid; that was something she often took pride in. Ignorant—like others whispered behind her back? Naïve—like her friends often teased her for? Maybe.

But not stupid.

Never stupid.

"And we're going to find out what that is. No matter what it takes."

...

Ok. Maybe sometimes stupid.

Isen shook his arms in the air, head following in a disapproving shake. "A-aren't you saying that this was something Arlo was trying to prevent?" he spoke, looking over to his friend for reassurance. "How do you even know he's lying?"