Fangirl : There is Always Hope {A for KING & COUNTRY fanfiction}

Chapter 17

I woke up back in the tent with a bandage wrapped around my wounds. My lungs found the strength to breathe again.
Luke was the first one to spot that I was awake.
"Joel!" he yelled "She's up!"
Joel quickly went over and looked at me.
"Glad you're not dead," he said with a smile.
"Glad I'm not dead, too," I responded.
They both gave me a hug. I smiled. I feel loved.
"What happened out there?" he asked "At the beginning, you weren't fighting at all."
I stared at him. I can't tell him the truth.
"Is it about the prayer thing you told us?" Luke said.
I stayed silent, but I guess he took my silence as a yes.
"Look, I'm sorry you still believe that, but it's not true. There's an explanation for all of this."
"Where did you find the bandage?" I said.
"In your bag," he said "But you're changing the subject."
"You went through my bag?" I said.
"We were desperate," Luke said "Look, I know why you're changing the subject. Something else is going on. It worries me. I care too much about you to just let you suffer with whatever you're suffering with."
"You care about me?" I said in a doubting voice. I looked up at him.
"Yes! It's just... I hate to see you hurting... And..." he was choking up a lot. I didn't wanna see him cry. Then I would cry. Luckily Joel cut in.
"It's okay, little brother," he said "Celeste, I know someone that's 'fine' would not let a bear kill them. Something's going on, and I want you to know that no matter what, we're here for you. Just like Luke said, we do care about you."
"Everything's okay, alright!?" I yelled "I didn't let that bear kill me. Now please leave me alone about it!"
In a fit of rage, I ran off. I don't know where I'm going or how I'm getting back. I really don't care. I don't like people anyways.
I feel so bad for them, because they are doing everything they can to help. I actually want them to help! But if I tell them, they'll tell the police as soon as we get out of this mess.
I eventually tripped on a huge rock. I couldn't find the strength to get up because of my stomach. So I just sat there and cried. I feel like my struggling is becoming my fault. What am I going to do now? I'm stuck here. And it's all my fault.
I started to yell for someone to come and help. Anyone. That's when I saw my cat trotting up towards me.
"Luke!" I said "Hey, can you help me up? I know you're a tiny cat, but..." he walked away, not even turning back.
"Oh, come on, Luke!" I begged "Please don't go! I need help!" I huffed. Guess I have to find a way outta here myself.
About what felt like an hour later(but was probably a couple of minutes), I saw something in the distance. As it got closer it turned into two people. Joel and Luke! Guided by my cat! Luke and Joel ran to where I was as soon as they saw me and quickly picked me up. They carried me to the tent.
"What were you thinking running away like that? You had me worried!" Luke said.
"You can't just go running off like that! What if we never found you?"
"Guys, if you'd just let me explain-"
"Explain what? That you're lost? We get it! We're trying to get you back to your family."
I still don't want to tell them that I have no family. So there was nothing for me to explain.
"I'm sorry guys," I said "There's just something going on that you guys don't understand yet." I gave each of them a hug. They both hugged back.
"You... Just had me worried," Luke said.
"Please don't EVER do that again," Joel said.
"I won't. I love you guys too much." and I didn't regret using the word "love." Because for once I really felt the love.
After Joel and Luke prayed, and I politely refused, we went to sleep.
We slept in shifts again. My shift was the first shift. Once again, Luke was snuggling with Joel. They love each other so much. It makes me feel warm inside.
I pelted two rabbits with rocks today. I was taking NO chances. I woke up Joel, and he got up faster than usual to start his shift. Once again, Luke started snuggling with me. This time it wasn't as uncomfortable.
In the middle of the shift, though, something happened. Luke started holding me tighter and tighter, mumbling "No! Don't take her away! I love her!" over and over again. He was practically strangling me.
I was shouting, "LUKE WAKE UP I CAN'T BREATHE!"
Then, he woke up with a scream. He still seemed dazed off. He looked at me and started touching my hair and face.
"Celeste? You still there?" he seemed scared.
"Yeah, Luke, I didn't run away again."
"No, it's not that."
"What's wrong?" I felt his forehead to see if he was sick, but he was perfectly fine. Except for the large amounts of sweat.
"I... The dream I just had..."
"What was it?"
"We were back home, and I was in bed with Courtney and everything was good. Then, there was a knock on the door, and you came in in your pajamas. You were carrying a tray of breakfast, and you set it in front of me. You told me 'Happy father's Day!' and gave me a kiss on the cheek."
"Did you adopt me in your dream or something?"
"Most likely."
"But how's that scary?"
"Because after that, three people came into the room in uniform. They were wearing name tags, one said D the other said ST and the other said N. They were trying to take you away. You were fighting with all your might, squeezing my hands as tightly as you could. You looked up at me in fear. 'Dont let them take me away!' You shouted, and I kept saying 'I won't! I love you! I won't let them take you away! I promise!' Then I woke up." he mumbled every word he said. It was kind of hard to distinguish, but I got it.
"What was Courtney doing in all of this?"
"It was like she was frozen, with no expression on her face."
I didn't know what to say about the dream. I wasn't Joseph or anything. But was God trying to tell us something? The thought of Luke adopting me made me warm inside. The thought of being a part of a caring and loving family made me smile.
"The last thing I wanna do right now is lose you." he said "I love you like you're my daughter."

Strange dream you had there.
And aw, so sweet, you love her.
I feel like this should be the part when I just stop updating for a while and leave y'all hanging 😂
Is the story good so far guys? What's your favorite part so far?