10 feet Under

Chapter 14

We had been traveling on the fancy bread bus for weeks now, getting off only to meet people, form pacts, and further formulate a plan to bring the tratta to an end. The only problem was, they completely left me out of it.

I would spend my days laying in my bunk and staring at the ceiling, bored out of my mind. Whether we were still in Cannes , or managed to drive all the way to Spain, I had no idea. Whenever I would ask to be included in their daily activities, they told me they were keeping me out of things to keep me safe. There they go with that whole "keeping me safe" mentality again. Once it was said, I would glare at Marino; I blamed him for talking everyone into committing themselves to a suicide mission in return for my safety.

My days consisted of this: waking up, eating, playing video games (CPU), eating again, and then laying in my bunk and staring at the ceiling.For an overweight 16 year old boy, it would be considered bliss, but it was a miserable life in my opinion.

I wasn't even allowed small talk with anyone on the bus (except Pio and Marino) because I had tricked one of the guys into telling me a bit of the plan. All I really got from the conversation was two words: Australia, and Crystal. I would spend my days trying to make the most of them, hoping to draw more from the conversation than the obvious: The Sacred Crystal was a gift from the Aborigines of Australia. But, what did that have to do with our plan, and where it was now?

I buried my face in my pillow, and let out a scream of frustration. Someone tapped me on my shoulder, and I jumped.

Ugh. Marino.

I glared at him. He frowned.

Marino was wearing nothing but his boxers, and he was soaked from head to toe. It was as if he had just got finished with an underwater photo shoot.

"What?"

"Why, hello to you too, Princess."

I began repeatedly banging my head into the wall behind me, and Marino quickly stopped me.

"Stop acting childish, Nadlynn."

"Or what? What are you gunna do if I don't? Send me to the time out corner? Cuz I mean, you obviously can't kill me. If I die, the world might end."

He rolled his eyes.

"You know what Nadlynn, I'm just trying to help here. I don't regret what I convinced people to do, because I know that without you we can't win this thing. So hate me for it, but I'd rather live with that hatred, than live knowing that I didn't do all I could to save our crews."

I huffed, and turned away from him to face the wall.

"I just came in to tell you that there was a little lake outside...we were all going for a swim. I thought you would like to join us."

I jumped up in excitement, and ended up bumping my head extremely hard on the board above me. Something wet began running down my face, and I concluded from the expression on Marino's face that it was blood.

He rushed into the other room, and came back with tissues, an alcohol pad, and a bandaid.

"My God, you're such a klutz", he said, wiping away the blood from my neck, cheek, and forehead. I shivered every time his hand came in contact with my skin.

"You cold?", he asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"Uh...no."

Our faces were almost touching, as he continued to clean the wound.

"Then why are you shivering?"

His voice was daunting, and a smirk was plastered on his face. I smacked his chest. It was rock hard. I swear, this man was sculpted from marble.