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29

29

I heard a rustling beside me, pulling me out of my sleep. The quiet sound of blankets crinkling behind me caught my focus. Turning over, I saw Finn grumbling to himself in his sleep with a frown on his face. His brow was furrowed and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. His face had gone pale. I hope he's not getting sick. He kept hands taut around the blanket wrapped around him with his knuckles white. Brushing my hair away from my eyes, I rested my head on my arm as I watched him. His cheeks had turned rosy from the chilly night air that surrounded us and I could see shivers repeatedly run over his body. It's my fault that he's so cold. It's my fault that we're stuck staying outside. If I had never stopped taking my tablets, then I would have never realised I have these powers. My friends would still be living comfortably in Law & Protection. Tate, Beth and Hector would still be working on their plan safely. And Marshall and Viola would still be alive. A tremor tingled at my fingertips. A bulge formed in my throat as my eyes began to burn. Trying to take a breath to calm myself, it came out sounding raspy and harsh. Instead of letting me relax, it made it more difficult to breathe. As I sounded more and more harsh, Finn started to stir. He rubbed at his eyes before pushing himself upright to squint at me.

"Sine?" He whispered, "Why are you awake?"

His eyes widened once he noticed my tremors and he slung his arm around me.

"Hey, hey. What's the matter?" He murmured close to my ear while his hand rubbed gently against me.

Speaking through my hiccups, I stuttered out, "I'm really sorry Finn."

His smile pressed against my cheek. "What do you mean? You're just getting yourself all riled up."

A warm wetness rolled down my cheek. I spluttered out all of my inner frustrations. Even to my own ears, I sounded incoherent. But somehow Finn seemed to understand me.

"We've all told you before Sine; everyone made their own decision to join this fight. Alright, we didn't know it was going to end up like this. But that is not your fault."

His thumb glided across my skin, removing any moistness. Taking another breath, I let my body sink into his. I need to start taking his word, as well everyone else's. Despite it being so cold out, Finn's body heat radiated onto me. His free arm joined the other as he wound it around me, pulling me even closer to him.

Ahead of us, Hector sat cross-legged facing the entrance to our den. His head bobbed up and down with him wavering side to side. I had to stifle my laugh as he fought to stay awake. Then all of a sudden, he scrambled to his feet. The little amount of light on his face showed his panicked expression. He stretched out his arm holding Beth's small gun but his arm quivered under its weight.

"Stay back," he ordered. He tried to keep his voice steady. You could tell it was just an attempt. With the change in atmosphere happening so fast, I didn't have time to stand up before someone rounded the corner. My heart halted and my breathing got caught in my chest. This is it.

But the way this figure moved closer gave me the strange impression of a lack of aggression. They didn't look tense and no weapons appeared to be in their hands. As they moved into the light, my eyes went wide. Darting forward, I grabbed onto Hector and held onto the gun, pointing it to the ground.

"What are you doing here Adrian?" I asked in a low voice. Looking behind him, I couldn't see anyone else.

Adrian raised his hands to show his palms. "I haven't got anything with me."

People started to wake up behind me. Glancing back to Finn, his mouth turned into a humongous smile. He called out for Adrian's name as he jumped up and hurried forward. A sickened feeling still lingered in my stomach, so I put my hand out to stop him from going close.

Finn narrowed his eyes at me and, with a frown, said, "You can trust him Sine. We know him."

Even if you know someone that doesn't mean you should trust them. Turning away from me, he landed in front of Adrian. Both of them grew new grins as they extended out their arms and pulled each other in for a hug. Finn's head disappeared as he buried his head close to Adrian's.

"No way! No freaking way!" Sam said loudly. Brushing past me, he launched himself into the embrace. Adrian's hands patted the boys' backs as he murmured some words to them. The sight of this warm meeting made my stern stance droop. My brief friendly memories of Adrian flooded into my thoughts. As much as I wanted to be involved in the welcome, I couldn't bring myself to do it. What do we do? This could all just be some clever rouse. Biting my lip, I looked to the now awake Emily. Her fingers were jammed in her mouth as she nibbled at them nervously. Her rounded eyes flickered to mine. She didn't know what to do either.

"What are you doing here?" I repeated, a bit more hesitant this time.

Adrian pulled himself away from boys. His previous upbeat face was replaced by a serious one.

Staring directly into my eyes, he stated, "I want to help."

/// Double upload night due to me being too sick to upload correctly this week :D ///