Sebastian

Chapter Forty-Four

  This chapter has 1250 words in it. To everyone who refused to let me feel bad about myself, I really, really want to just give you a hug and buy you food because it literally made me feel extremely loved. Thank you ALL so much for taking time out of your day to read Sebastian, please enjoy the chapter! ILY <33 

********

I woke up to the sound of snoring. My eyes opened slowly, and I found Isaac sprawled out on the ground with the blankets barely covering him, snoring loudly. He was still shirtless, and he had an arm slung under his head. He was laying on his stomach, and his body moved as he breathed. I sat up, scratching my eyes. It was daytime, and for a moment, I forgot that we were running from something. When the reality of it came crashing down, my heart dropped. Sebastian wasn't anywhere to be found, and I worried that he'd get caught; it looked like it was early in the afternoon, and if anyone saw him, I wasn't sure he'd be able to fight his way out. I stared at the woods in front of the cave, brooding, until a groan made me jump.

Isaac rolled over and looked at me with sleepy eyes, greener than the leaves in the woods we were hiding in. He gave me a drowsy grin and sat up, making several of his joints pop from sleeping on the hard ground all night. He scratched his head and looked around, before his eyes stopped on my hair. They widened and he snickered a little. My hands flew to my hair, prodding at the tufts that were sticking up in different directions. This only made him laugh harder, and I snatched the bag I brought, grabbing the little brush I'd thought to pack and yanking it through the knots. Isaac wore a goofy grin throughout the process, and after my hair was somewhat tame, I dug around in his bag for food. Elmer was sprawled lazily in his carrier, and he gave me a slow blink when I looked at him. I couldn't help but grow nervous about him; I was sure that keeping him in the carrier for the entire trip wouldn't be healthy, and I hoped the next spot we found to sleep had something enclosed so he could run around.

I located a bag of trail mix and a bottle of fruit juice, and I handed the backpack to Isaac so he could find something to eat also. I tore off some more chicken and gave it to Elmer, leaving the curved lid in his carrier because it still had a decent amount of water in it. I watched him eat while nibbling my own food, thinking about how Elmer had been my one constant through everything. Everyone around me, except Isaac, wondered why I insisted on taking Elmer wherever I went; they didn't understand having something that keeps you completely sane, or having something that you love beyond words. Even those who were lucky enough to find their soulmates wouldn't know the kind of companionship of a pet unless they had one.

I noticed, from the corner of my eye, that Isaac was staring at me. I kept my eyes on Elmer, who had his nose poking out of one of the square gaps in the carrier door. I reached out and poked it, causing him to pull his head back and glare at me. Eventually, though, Isaac's steady stare became too hard to ignore, and I turned and looked at him.

He smiled at me and shrugged, as if he knew that I'd noticed him staring all along and he didn't care.

"You're pretty, did you know that?" He asked. I just stared at him, refusing to answer. It didn't deter him, and he chuckled.

"I don't think you know you're pretty," He said. "But you are. If you didn't belong to someone else, I'd be a liar if I said I wouldn't pursue you myself," His voice was light, carefree, as if he didn't just tell me that I belonged to someone like property. I intentionally ignored the last part.

"I don't belong to anyone," I stated. He smiled in response.

"Don't you, though?" He asked.

Sebastian suddenly appeared, his hair wet. I looked at him, confused, and he gave me a small smile.

"It rained." He said simply. I laughed a little at him, and he began picking our bags up.

"I found an abandoned house," He murmured. "If we leave now, we can make it there in a little over an hour."

"But it's daytime," I argued. He nodded.

"Yes. But if we get to the abandoned house, we can stay for as long as we need to. It has a fireplace; we can use it at night."

This, of course, made perfect sense, and I found myself getting excited at the prospect of letting Elmer roam around freely and being able to warm up by a large fireplace instead of a tiny fire that lasted about thirty minutes.

Sebastian quickly repacked some of the things we'd dragged out, and slung the food bag and the backpack I'd brought over his shoulders. Isaac grabbed the bag with our clothes and I picked Elmer's carrier up, after emptying his makeshift water bowl and putting it back over his chicken.

We set off, Sebastian leading the way. I hoped we'd get there as fast as possible, because it never took very long for me to get cold. It was windy, too, which didn't make it any better. If anything, I grew worried about Elmer being too cold, with the wind coming straight at us. I turned the carrier around, so that the back was facing the front, in order to keep some of the cold air from hitting him.

Sebastian stopped us several times, yanking Isaac-who, in turn, yanked me-behind a large tree or a boulder or a bush. He'd take a long moment to check the area, and when he deemed it safe, he'd tap Isaac's shoulder and we'd start walking again.

Eventually, the house came into view. It was small, but it was made out of brick, which kept it from deteriorating as much as any other kind of house. I nearly broke into a sprint when I saw it, eager to let my kitten out and eager to see if it had any mattresses. Thinking about not sleeping on the hard ground made me almost sweat with excitement. The only thing that stopped me from barrelling ahead were my legs, which were freezing.

When we finally got to the house, Sebastian reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. When I looked at him, he shook his head.

Inside, the house was dusty, but otherwise perfect for what we needed it for. It had two bedrooms, a mattress in each of them, and a fireplace in the tiny living room. Isaac and Sebastian placed all of our bags on the ground, and Isaac left to go "do something real quick".

There was a little kitchen, and I looked through the cabinets. There were glasses covered in dust, but nothing usable. When I stepped back inside, Isaac was dragging the two mattresses into the already-small living room. He looked up as I came in.

"We'll be warmer this way," He explained. "The fireplace has a guard over it to keep it from getting out of it, so we're good."

After making sure all of the doors and windows were closed tight, I let Elmer out. Instead of bolting out of the carrier, he sauntered out, stretched, and started looking around. He was calm about the whole ordeal, as if he'd already decided that the house was perfectly safe, and I laughed at him. Isaac chuckled, and Sebastian smiled.

I had no idea where Sebastian intended to take us, but I knew that if I had Elmer and him and Isaac, I'd be fine.