Catching Broken Stars

Chapter 6

A/N: Hi. I'm sorry I  took so long to write this part; lots of things have been occupying my  time lately, plus this was a harder one to write. If there are mistakes,  I'm sorry. I haven't moderated it yet so will do soon :) If you like  this story please comment and vote for it. Thanks!  -Morgan

My eyes flutter open,  the first thing I see being darkness. I slowly regain my senses, and my  eyes adjust to the lack of light. I bang my head on something and yelp  in pain. A muffled groan comes from beside me, a great deal of shuffling  afterwards. I poke the being beside me and back away. Light fills the  enclosed space as I accidently pull something down. The light blinds me  and I squint my eyes. I blink a couple of times and realise I'm in the  truck. I peer over the bundle under the covers and strip them back.

            "Hey! Cut that out Cassie!" Lucas mumbles sleepily.

He pulls the blankets  back over himself and curls into a ball. I look around for Jackie,  spotting a small figure huddled in the front seat. I climb over the  middle and sit in the driver's seat, gently shaking Jackie to wake up.  She quietly groans, and stretches her arms. Her eyes blink open, the  green as vibrant as ever. They land on me and her face breaks into a  smile. She shuffles, trying to sit upright.

            "Good morning. How was your sleep?" I sign.

            "A little cramped 'cause you and Lucas took up all the space," I blush when she signs this, "but it was fine. We found you, which was the main thing."

            "Well, thank you for finding me."

She looks puzzled for a second, frowning.

            "What happened?" she signs, tilting her head.

I sigh, not liking this being brought up now.

            "I have no idea, honestly. Maybe I passed out." I  sign, hiding the guilt. I really should tell her; it's not fair on her.  But it's too soon. Too soon to say anything. She shrugs and opens the  side door, cool air rushing in. I look outside and realise it is still  quite early. 5:00 am most likely, judging by the temperature and the  sky. Jackie jumps outside, stretching her arms and legs. I look back at  Lucas, still fast asleep. I climb back over carefully. Grabbing my  shoes, I slip them on and peer over at Lucas.

            "We'll be back in a bit, okay?" I whisper into his ear.

He mumbles something and I can see his eyes moving under the lids. Easing myself out the back, I walk around to Jackie.        

            "Shall we?" I sign, linking my arm with hers.

She smiles, and together we walk through the desert.
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"Cassie? Cassie?" I hear  shouting off in the distance. I sit up, brushing the dirt off my back.  Far away I can see a figure waving their arms and jumping. I smile and  look back at Jackie, contemplating whether or not to wake her. Deciding  against it, I run towards the figure. Breathing heavily, I stop in front  of Lucas, leaning onto my knees.

            "Jesus, Cassie. I thought I had lost you two." Lucas says, his tone angry.

            "Why do you sound so mad?" I say, laughing.

            "Because I am, Cassie. You didn't even tell me."

Standing up straight, I stretch my arms.

            "Correction. I did tell you; you just were too much of a sloth to acknowledge it."

He clenches his hands into fists and I step back, slightly uneasy.