condemned ; kylo ren

twenty five ; again

I'm stunned into silence. I can only stare at him with wide eyes. Did those words seriously come out of his mouth?

Did he seriously say that he loves me?

"Say something." He almost begs.

"Take me." I blurt.

"Take you?" He questions, not truly understanding what I'm asking of him.

"Take me to see her. To see Seeder."

He pauses.

"Alright." He relents, standing. I can sense hurt in his eye at my choice to ignore his revelation.

But the very thought of falling into his arms after he admitted to lying about the death of my beloved sister, the only person I loved wholeheartedly in all of the galaxy, brought the taste of bile into my mouth.

I don't want to forgive him so easily.

He holds the door for me; he's never done so before.

He quickly surpasses me and takes a slight lead in the hall way; despite being a pilot here, I still have no idea where I'm going on this ship.

I can feel him glance at me every few seconds, hoping for empathy, but I keep a straight face.

We enter an elevator, taking it down to the very bottom floor. I stare at my feet during the trip.

I can't believe I'm going to see her again.

I'd spent countless nights awake, crying, mourning the loss of my best friend and only kin.

I never would've guessed that she was living, breathing, on the same base as I.

I should've guessed that Kylo was lying to my face. I feel stupid, dumb. Blind.

Kylo clears his throat, gesturing that I should step off the elevator as we'd already arrived on the right floor. My cheeks flush in embarrassment, but I hope he doesn't get the satisfaction of knowing he'd still managed to turn my face red.

The corridors are small with barely enough space for Kylo's broad shoulders. I follow him single file, watching his curly hair bounce. I'm surprised he'd decided to leave his room without his face covered.

Just as I'm sure the sounds of our footsteps will echo forever and we'll never stop walking, he freezes in front of a door.

He puts his hand on the handle, ready to turn it, then stops, looking right into my eyes. I don't bother turning away but stare back.

I feel anxious.

He sighs, breaking our eye contact, and lets the door slide open.

I suck in a breath, and step in.

She's hunched in the corner of the cell, her thin shirt stuck to her skin and her greasy blonde hair draped over her shoulder. I can count her ribs, even from a distance.

How could he do this, if he truly loves me?

"Seeder?" I call, my lip trembling. She turns around and I see her face. I break into a full run.

"Mali," she gasps as I throw my arms around her, holding her to me with all of my strength.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." I repeat over and over, tears falling out of my eyes.

"You're healthy, you're safe." She responds, pushing me away slightly so she can look at me. She puts her hands on my cheeks and smiles with endless kindness.

"No, you're healthy and safe." I correct, returning her smile. "I thought I lost you forever." I admit.

"Now, who told you that?" She furrows her eyebrows.

I bite my lip and glance to see if he's still there; of course he is. His hand is still stuck on the door handle. Seeder sees him for the first time.

"It was you, wasn't it?" My sister girls, shakily getting up on her two feet.

"You leave my baby sister alone! If I hear anymore about your pathetic, goth, emo ass messing wi-"

"Seeder!" I interrupt her threatening rant.

"What?" She lowers her finger, which she'd been pointing at Kylo accusingly.

"He hasn't hurt me at all, I swear." I glance at him. He's surprised to hear me standing up for him.

He looks so cute.

"He's the only reason I'm alive and well." I finish, my eyes still trained on him and only him.

Seeder offers her hand, helping me up beside her.

"There's something I need to tell you, Seeder." I decide.

"Tell me as soon as I'm done, okay?" She asks. I nod in approval. She looks at Kylo.

"As much as it pains me to say this, Crylo, thank you for keeping my baby sister healthy. I'm indebted to you." She sighs. I take Seeder's hand and lead her over to my boy.

"Ghana," he calls her by her last name, "I'm taking you out of here. For Mali." I feel tears in my eyes again.

Seeder nods profusely in thanks, unable to say the words as she probably doesn't respect him. Yet. If ever.

"Listen, Seeder, the reason Kylo kept me safe is because we, I, uh-" I glance at him for the right words.

"Because he loves me, and.... I love him."

-

I don't think that was much of a cliffhanger, I'm letting you live:))

next update is Thursday as I'm officially starting the Condemned / Covet update schedule this week!

If you didn't see that, I will be updating Condemned on Tuesday's, Thursday's, and maybe a surprise update on the weekend!!

Seeder's finally back, after 25 chapters:))

I wonder what she'll have in store for Mali and Kylo?

Thanks so so much for reading, and don't forget to check out my update for Covet tomorrow!

ily all

kait