Questioning Means Uncertainty

Chapter sixteen

My entire body ached as I got up to answer the door. It felt like everything was on fire. Stacy was sleeping soundly on the bed next to where I just was. She looked peaceful and exhausted. Who wouldn't be? Still, she looked pretty. I opened the door and made a signal to keep quiet while stepping out of the room. It was James.

    "What's up?" I asked while rubbing my cold arms. It was dark out and the breeze was getting chilly. The town still seemed alive.

    "Hey, sorry, were you asleep?"

    "Yeah but it's fine. Do you need anything?"

    "I just wanted to ask about Jason. I read his note about him leaving with you guys but I couldn't find him. I'm worried since I smelled him but couldn't find him. His scent goes to your guys' room."

    "Oh.. Right.." I bit my lip. Fuck. "About that... He's dead."

    He paused in astonishment.

    "Right.." He made a nervous chuckle.

    "James, I'm serious. Eric, Josh's father, blew him up. Turns out he was a high standing hunter."

    I told him what Stacy had told me happened. His face filled with worry and grief.

    "Oh my god.. How's Stacy holding up?"

    "She's a bit shaken up. I don't think she's processed it yet but she's sleeping right now. What time is it?"

    "It's 6 PM." We slept nearly four hours.

    "Fuck.. We didn't do shit today. I'm sorry, we're kind of holding you back."

    "No, you're not. I was asleep until a bit ago to be honest. You guys went out and I slept all day." He chuckled. "How are you holding up? Your posture says you're in pain."

    "Yeah, I'm super sore. The adrenaline and meds wore off."

    "Oh, then don't let me hold you up. You should rest. Sorry for waking you."

    "It's okay, it's actually good you woke me up. I should go and get us something to eat."

"For you and Stacy?"

"Yeah, she's gonna be hungry after waking up. She also needs to eat something with the meds the hospital prescribed to her."

"I see, do you want me to get it instead? So you can get some rest too?"

"No, no. It's okay, I'll go. Stacy's a bit picky when she wakes up."

"Right, I forgot." He looked at me for a moment, as if deciding on something.

"What?"

"Nothing, if you need anything just knock on my door. I'll probably be awake since I slept the whole day."

"Sure, thanks." He nodded and headed back to his room. What is he going to do for several hours there? Clean? Probably, he's a neat freak. I stretched my sore limbs. It felt horrible and amazing at the same time. "Okay, what would she like at this time?"

I remembered the bakery from when we arrived. I hoped it was still open as I made my way over. The residents of Inaem were still out and moving. There were still families at the park and people out buying from stores. I saw I'd actually missed a few buildings. Hotels and jewellery stores mostly. Inaem was actually pretty large. I spotted the bakery and headed inside. I picked out a few baked goods I thought Stacy would like. She had a sweet tooth but still preferred salty foods sometimes. After putting it on Caelan's bill and confirming my identity to the cashier, I headed out. On my way back a child fell and scraped their knee. Their screaming processed in my brain as screams in the war. It was like a flip switched in my brain.