Glass

We Need Eachother

I spend the next few hours staring at my reflection in one of the water buckets.

Lu is in the forest zone, burying Toby's body. I feel bad that I'm not helping him, but...

My hands haven't stopped shaking.

I push my hair back behind my ears, trying to ignore the tapping of vibrating fingers against my skull. I don't know what to do.

I really don't.

Whoosh.

Click.

Lu walks in the door, breathing heavily. Dirt is smudged on his face, and his hands are caked with dried blood. "It's done," he says quietly.

I nod and wipe a tear from my cheek.

We sit in silence for a while. The only sounds are Lu's heavy breaths. I look up at him for a moment, then back at the floor.

"What now?" Lu whispers.

I can't bear to speak, so I just shrug and shake my head.

Lu nods and slides down next to me. "Okay." He wraps his arm around me, pulling my head down so that I'm leaning against his shoulder.

I let out a soft sigh. I hate this place. I hate the zones, I hate the crunchers, I hate the healing tablets, I hate the corn...

"Me too."

I look up in surprise. "Did I say all that out loud?"

Lu nods. "Yep."

"Oh."

Lu looks down at me, then back at the wall across from us. "I've been stuck in this hell for three years, Kanna. I've had to bury more people than I can count. And even so, I've never been able to get that damn key..." Lu is speaking softly, but there's a heaviness in his voice. An anger that I've never felt before. I watch his face as it goes hard. Determined. "But we can't give up. We're getting out of here, okay? No one else is dying. Nobody."

I nod, giving his green eyes a small smile. "Okay."

More silence follows as we each stare at each other.

It's nice that it's quiet. For once, there are no sounds echoing in my head. No flashbacks. No shaking. Everything is still, everything is quiet.

The harsh lights above us reflect in Lu's eyes. Dark purple circles sit under them, but they still look alive. They still look fierce. His messily cut blond hair sits just out of his eyesight, stuck to his forehead with sweat.

And then, suddenly, his eyes are closed.

And they're closer to me than they've ever been.

And his lips are touching mine.

Everything inside me feels warm as I close my eyes too, focusing on the feeling of melting into him. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me. Something wet slips down my cheek.

I'm crying.

I don't know why, but I am. And I don't stop. I keep kissing him, and he keeps kissing me, and it's slow and soft and warm.

When we finally stop, I open my eyes to see that Lu is crying too. His eyes are wide and bright.

"I've... I haven't done anything like that in... in... ever." He whispers.

I nod and pull him close, hugging him. "Me either."

I don't know if it's the fact that Toby's dead. Or that I've almost died hundreds of times in the past two weeks. Or that I feel like I can never get out of this hell.

But,

I needed that. I need him. I need Lu. Because with him, I know things are gonna be okay. I know I can trust him.

I know we're going to survive this, together.

Lu pulls away from the hug and smiles at me. He looks happier than he ever has. "Thank you," he says.

I smile back. "Thank you, too."

Author's Note:

I am FINALLY kinda sorta close to catching up. I've written way too many chapters ahead and it's killing me a little bit that you guys aren't caught up! Anyway, you get two chapters today. 

I'm dedicating this chapter to my new kitten, Galileo, who is so needy for my attention he is literally trying to crawl across my keyboard right now. He's so cute! XD

Thanks so much for reading! Don't forget to vote and comment!