The Five [COMPLETED]

Part Eighteen

Three sunrises had passed since we left the Castle. We'd covered our injuries in bandages as best we could; to try and let them heal. But I knew that some of them wouldn't heal as easily. They were the ones that would need surgery. 

We were walking along the dirt path, carrying our belongings on our backs as we traveled. The sun beat down on us, sending waves of heat onto our already-damaged skin. I could feel my pulse resonating through my entire body, my head light and fuzzy. I took in a breath and managed to croak, "We should stop for a while." The others murmured agreement, and we set ourselves down underneath the shady bamboo. I sat down, leaning against my backpack and closing my eyes. My throat was dry. I knew I needed water, but I also knew I couldn't afford to waste it. I swallowed, staring at the bottle in my hand. Just a sip. Just one sip for today. I feverishly unscrewed the lid and slowly tipped the bottle back, allowing one drop of water to fall onto my waiting tongue and slide down my throat. It felt cool against my dry, heated throat, and I exhaled before putting the lid back on and shoving it back into my bag. As I was doing so, I heard someone settle beside me. I looked up and saw Lawrence. His gaze was filled with warmth as he looked at me, and he gave a small smile. 

"Hey," he said, placing his hand on mine and squeezing gently. I tensed, avoiding his gaze and carefully pulling my hand away from his. "You okay?" he asked, sounding concerned.

"Uh, I-I'm good," I stammered, staring at my hand.

Lawrence recaptured my hand in his, and he whispered, "I know you're not. Look . . ." He shifted closer, wrapping his left arm around me. His head rested on mine, and his breath tickled my ear. "I'm always here if you need to talk," he told me. "About . . . the whole Matthew thing." He tilted my head so I was staring straight into his eyes. "You're over him, right?" he asked. He blinked, waiting for an answer. I pursed my lips, looking at the ground. "What do you mean by that?" I asked carefully. 

Lawrence gave me a look. "I mean, do you still like him in that way?"

I swallowed. "I don't really know what I feel towards him anymore," I confessed to him. You make it even more confusing.

"That's okay," Lawrence whispered. His gaze flickered to my mouth, only for a moment, before they came back to my eyes. "We can figure it out together." I was feeling more and more paranoid by the minute, but I was afraid to shift in case he asked more questions. 

"I -" I began, but was interrupted by another voice. "Hello." I looked up, and I saw Matthew standing above us. He didn't look too happy to see Lawrence there, and his voice was cold. "I need to talk to Skylar, if you can get away from her for five seconds." Lawrence glared at Matthew. "You guys did a lot of talking three days ago," he retorted. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with Violet?"

"She's got Mark." Matthew's voice held a tinge of anger. "No need to get all possessive."

Lawrence's gaze darkened. I was almost afraid he was going to refuse Matthew's request. "I'm not being possessive," Lawrence began carefully. "I'm simply trying to establish to you that Skylar doesn't want you anymore." My head snapped up in surprise. My eyes widened as he continued, "She just told me so herself. Didn't you?" he asked, looking to me. His gaze burned as I looked from him to Matthew. I never said anything of the sort!  I wanted to scream. But I said nothing.

After a few tense moments of silence, I choked out, "I can't do this." I quickly began wriggling away from Lawrence and getting to my feet. "We'll talk later," I promised him. Lawrence's gaze was filled with longing as he said, "Don't be too long."

I avoided his gaze and didn't respond. Looking to Matthew, he said, "Let's go." Taking me by the hand, he led me away from Lawrence. I felt more and more relieved with every step that I took away from him. Looking back for a moment, I saw Mark and Violet had sat down with him. Finally Matthew stopped. "Hey," he said, smiling.