Rebel Born [FIRST DRAFT]

Chapter 17: Hidden Intentions

"Cossette, you need to eat." Vanessa repeated as she knocked on Cossette's door again. "Cossette?"

"I'm not hungry." Came the muffled response.

Vanessa sighed before passing the tray of food to me. "Give me a moment." She ran downstairs before climbing back up again, holding a small fan in her hand and with Christopher following behind her. Hugh and Max were out patrolling, while Kyle was at the Syndicate Management building getting updates about the Syndicates and any new plans. Christopher came over often to check on the medical conditions of Cossette after we claimed custody over her.

As they walked towards me, Vanessa stuffed a piece of paper into my hand, motioning for me to read it.

When she opens the door, the two of you stop her from closing it again.

I raised an eyebrow at her. Cossette wasn't that strong and didn't require the two of us to stop her, but I shrugged and crouched down, placing the tray of food onto the floor, in front of the small space between the ground and the door. Vanessa held the fan behind the tray of food and turned it on, intending to direct the smell of the food into the room. We stayed still for a few moments. I pressed my ear onto the door, hoping to be able to hear any sounds of movement from the other side. Christopher stared at me with an amused expression, and I stuck my tongue out at him in return.

A scuffle caught my attention and I shifted position to be able to move faster. The door cracked open and I immediately pushed my weight on it. I heard Cossette yelp and thought that the door was just going to swing open, but instead I was beginning to be pushed back. I frowned, before groaning when I remembered that there was a function on the doors that would make them close no matter what.

Pushing myself up so I was standing, I dug my heels into the ground and pushed harder against the door, trying to at least stop it from closing any further. Christopher finally decided to help out and approached the door. He placed a hand on either side of my head and leaned in close to push on the door. My senses went into overdrive as I felt my face heat up. Too close.

Suddenly the force from the door disappeared and I fell onto my back. Christopher cursed at the sudden disappearance of the force and fell as well. On top of me. If it was possible, the heat on my face just increased.

"Get off me." I said, trying to sound normal. But to my embarrassment and dismay, it came out as a squeak. A whisper of a blush brushed across Christopher's cheeks as he quickly pushed himself up. He ran a hand through his hair and cleared his throat before offering a hand to help me up. I ignored the hand and scooted away from him before standing up myself.

A week has passed since the fire that had burnt down Sector 12. Most of the survivors were critically injured and are split across multiple hospitals around Aestrea for treatment. Those who were slightly injured were allowed to leave the hospital after a few days, and are currently staying in a camp. I had asked Mrs. Miller for permission to have Cossette live with us in our Syndicate house after she was released. She agreed, albeit with hesitation.

I turned to Cossette who was eating and chatting with Vanessa with a massive smile on her face. Something in my mind clicked. I stomped towards them, glaring at them. "You set this up!" I accused the two of them, seething.

The two of them only giggled back at me. "You got no proof." Vanessa sang, seating herself onto Cossette's bed.

I groaned and rubbed my hand over my face in exasperation. "You guys are unbelievable," I muttered. "I'm just going to go."

I turned around and rushed out of the room. As I made my way towards the training area, I passed by Max who had just returned from patrolling. He held a stack of donut boxes in his arms and was walking towards the kitchen. He shot me a toothy grin and I waved back in response. As I continued to my destination, I could hear Max and Christopher talking in the background. The sound of Christopher's voice started to make me feel strange and my heart beat began to thunder in my ears at an unbelievable rate.