Raela

Chapter 15: I Kind of Want to Beat Something Up

A/N: This is the real chapter 15. Enjoy!

I'm not sure how long I stayed holed up in my room crying for. The room was small and made me feel like I was trapped in a box, which was exactly how I was feeling. The tears rolled down my face like a waterfall, my pillow soaked with salty water. 

There are no words to describe how betrayed I felt in that moment. Not only was the guy I loved stuck in my memories like a bad dream on repeat, but he joined a rebellion to destroy the person he was working for. 

The fact that he never tried to come find me, or that he forgot about me, or that he gave up on me, or the fact that he worked with the man who had hunted me down for most of my life. 

After everything we had shared, and after everything we had given each other, and after everything he did to me, he had the audacity to come up to me and try to talk to my face as though I would just forgive him on the spot.

The fact that he tried to get me to say that I would actually listen to him!

Thoughts burned inside of my mind for what felt like forever. I didn't know how long it took for someone to come find me, but long after the tears had stopped dripping, and I curled up in the fetal position, there was a knock at the door. 

I said nothing and closed my eyes as I heard the door open. Footsteps entered the room, and I felt a weight on the bed. 

"Hey," Leni's voice said. "Clarke told me about what happened..." After a few moments of silence, he continued. "Kiros, are you alright?" 

I opened my eyes and turned to face him. "What do you think?" I snapped.

His lips pursed. "Sorry. I'm not good with comforting people." 

"Well, that's evident."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I know. I... I just want you to know that you can talk to me. I know we haven't known each other for very long, but you were there for me, so I want to be here for you."

I gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Leni. That... That means a lot to me."

Leni nodded. "So... Do you want to tell me what happened exactly?"

I shrugged. "There's not much to tell you about. I saw the one person that I trusted with my life, and they went and turned me over to the one who wanted to kill me. It's pretty simple, and I don't really like to talk about it."

"Well, no kidding. Can I go punch him?"

I let out a pathetic laugh. "As fantastic as that would be, I don't think antagonizing the rebels is a great idea at this point, especially since we need their expertise and knowledge if we want to get to Kiyl."

He huffed. "I guess. Still, he deserves something. What he did to you was terrible. He should never have betrayed your trust like that, and look at what happened. You could have died."

"I would have." I hugged my legs close to my body. "If it wasn't for my best friend, Marilio, then I would have bled out. He heard me screaming -- he was my neighbour, you see -- so he came over to check on me and saw that I was lying in a pool of my own blood with a dagger in my gut." I lifted up my shirt to show him the long, jagged scar on my stomach. This is what's left. I owe my life to Marilio and he..." 

The memory of my best friend dying flashed in my mind, and I closed my eyes. I failed him. He saved my life, and I failed to do the same.

Leni tentatively wrapped his arms around my shoulders, almost like he thought I would bite him for touching me. 

I let him hug me. 

"Sometimes," I said quietly, "I wonder if I should just... Let it go. The past, I mean. I wonder if I should just let bygones be bygones and be done with it. But then I feel the skin on my stomach, and I wonder if that's ever possible. I wonder if I could ever forgive someone who did this to me."

He sighed. "Well, as much as I hate to admit it, Daren never did it to you. That was Kodi. Daren told Kodi where you were."

I glared at him. "Whose side are you on?"

Leni shot me a look. "Whose side do you think I'm on?"

Sighing, I relented. "Mine."

"Yours. Now, let's get you out of this... State. I'm not used to seeing you look this pathetic, and to be honest, it's throwing me off. Let's go... I don't know. Let's go find a gun or something."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Excuse me? A gun? Do you really want to give me a gun at this moment in time? When I'm feeling murderous urges?"

He wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, maybe not. What do you want to do?"

I pursed my lips. "I kind of want to beat something up."

"Then let's go beat something up. I think I saw some sandbags somewhere. You can go and... punch some of those, I guess." Leni shrugged and bounced off of the bed. "Come on. You need to get out of this funk."

I sighed. "Fine. Whatever."

"That's slightly better."

I smirked dryly in his direction. "Ha-ha. Very funny."

He pretended to examine his nails. "I know." Bumping my shoulder, he moved past me to the door. "Let's go."

Even though I pretended I was reluctant to go, I was glad he came to cheer me up.

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Dear readers,

Hey! Sorry I've been gone for so long. The end of the summer got really busy with the end of summer and everything, and then school started, and school got REALLY busy REALLY fast.

I apologize.

Also, I was going through some writer's block.

Anyway, sorry again.

-flygirl1

P.S. Don't forget to vote, comment, and share!