US (Formerly The After Effect - Book 2)

14 - R E L A P S E

a/n: there are probably errors in this as I've written most of this a little quick, but i want to thanks you for getting me to 1k followers. also, everyone who has motivated me to update!//

Deep thoughts filter through my mind at night. When—almost—everyone is fast asleep, I remain by the fire and observe each and every person. Travis particularly. He didn't speak to me at all once he returned from his tantrum walk. Instead, I watched him head right into his little shelter and hunker down for the night.

My stomach burns as I sit on the ground where he left me. I haven't moved. The other Five have formed some kind of huddle group over at one corner of the area. None of them bothered to ask me to join them; they all transitioned to a new area in silence.

I suppose they aren't being super exclusive. They are speaking out loud, after all, but in very soft, low voices. I definitely am not able to make out a single word despite my so called "advanced hearing capabilities," and I don't bother reading any minds. Still, I don't feel comfortable walking over there and joining them them like I suddenly fit in, even though technically, I do.

The way Travis is acting is throwing me off big time. I understood when he was angry and defensive toward Brink in the beginning. He wanted nothing to do with him because of what Brink had done back at the Headquarters and then some.

His mood is different now. For some reason he's chosen to put a target on my back and pick little things to be overly controlling toward. When I first met Travis, I discovered he had a bit of an instability issue. He had a pretty short temper at times, but he could also be nurturing and loving. That's what I fell in love with.

Now, he's an entirely new breed of Travis. He's on edge, waiting for a bad moment to happen so he can blow up. His head is constantly brewing frustration and madness and it's only a matter of time before he explodes and releases it. It's not healthy.

A couple hours into the night, I see Travis's shadow fighting beneath the lean to. Not the average toss and turn, but twitching as though he's having a very vivid dream.

Like the nightmares he used to have back at the shelter.

Concerned, I rise to my feet and inch closer to make sure he's okay. The closer I get, the worse his fidgeting becomes. His breathing goes haywire and irregular moans and grunts escape from his mouth.

I check the reactions of the Five, whose eyes I feel on my back, and see them all staring.

"Is he okay?" Stella asks telepathically, but her lip biting screams worry.

"I can't...shh don't..." Travis mumbles, causing my head to spin back around. "Please," he continues, his eyes still shut, his body trembling.

I kneel down to duck into the shelter and crawl over to him. My plan isn't to scare him or wake him up, but to hopefully allow his body to sense that he's not alone. I sit crisscrossed beside him, my arm gently touching his side.

"No...I've...I want...d-don't..."

Unable to watch any more of his torture, I grasp his shoulder and shake him until his eyes open. When they do, he's disoriented and squirms around uncomfortably, as though he doesn't even see me yet. "You can't..." he murmurs, signaling to me he's not fully awake.

"Hey," I say in a loud whisper. "Travis."

Travis's eyes widen and he finally is able to focus on me. Out of breath, he searches for my hand in the dark and clutches it tight. His eyes squeeze shut and he leans into my lap. "Aurora," he stutters as he sighs, and chokes into a sob right there.