Left Alone

Fight

Chapter Seven

"You look better," Kane commented. He watched me closely, making me squirm.

"Stop it," I told him. I didn't want him to stare at me. It was unsettling.

"Stop what?" he breathed. I shook my head.

"Looking at me. Just stop, ok?" I stilled when his hand came up towards my face. I felt him move my hair out of my face. I closed my eyes, waiting. His fingers rested on my skin and I could feel his breath on my face.

"That looks bad," he commented. His fingers brushed over the gash on my forehead gently, but I still flinched.

"That hurts," I complained. He shushed me. I'd hoped that he would have just left it alone, but he didn't. He kept running his thumb over it, making me wince. It made me feel uncomfortable to have someone other than Star this close to me. I could see his afternoon stubble grazing his cheek.

"Stop being such a child," he scolded as I squirmed again. I could hear his deep chuckle and I scowled.

"Don't you dare laugh at me," I warned him, smacking his hand away from my wound. "I can do it myself."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, laughing heartily now. I glared, hoping he'd burst into flames for his comment. He scooted away from me and I got to work on my injuries. I had multiple wounds up my wrist and arm- thank you, Nessie- along with a concussion, fractured rib, and let's not forget the hole in my shoulder. But at least I was alive.

"So.." I said, once I'd fixed myself up the best way I could. Unfortunately, we didn't have a lot of supplies. In fact, we were lucky to have grabbed the forgotten bag of a fallen agent. Thank god that it had some medicine in it. I placed what was left over back into the sack and tossed it over my shoulder, wincing as it jostled my wound. "I was thinking that we set out as soon as possible. We've lost some time and I don't think we can afford to lose much more. We should get going, so be ready in about an hour, ok?" I turned around to make sure that we were in the same spot by the wall that we entered. It wouldn't be too hard to get back over the wall, but with the injuries we sustained, it wouldn't be a picnic either.

"No."

I froze. "What was that?" I asked, sure that I misheard him. He stood from his spot, glaring at me with an unfamiliar anger. I winced. We had our banter, but this... This was different.

"I said no." He paused, breathing heavily. He looked as if he had so much to say, and yet had no idea where to start.

Oh, boy. I dropped my bag, knowing this was going to be the mother load of arguments.

"What is the problem, Princess?" I asked. Okay, not the best way to start, but we had more important things to do. For instance, I needed to find my brother.

"My problem," Kane sneered. "Is you." My eyebrows rose as I heard this, but I stayed silent. I realized how bad the situation was when he started pacing. "Do you even consider me when you make a decision?"

I blanched at this. "What the hell are you talking about?" I exploded. "Of course I do!"

"Really?" Again, he sounded snide. "Then how come you never ask me what I think we should do? How come you just order me around, like I'm you're freaking slave? I want to find Star too, Sky! You are not alone in this, so stop acting like I'm dead weight to you, and treat me like your partner!"

"Partner!" I sputtered. "You are not my partner, Kane! The only reason you're here right now is because of Star. He wanted you to come, not me!"

"So I'm, what?"he exploded. "Am I a liability?" I kept silent at this. Kane growled. His mouth opened and closed for several seconds before he froze. Guilt rose up within me and I sighed.

"Look," I grouched. "It's not your fault. I'm just used to it being Star and me, you know? Just the two of us."

"Are you freaking kidding me?!" Kane yelled. Instinctively, I glanced around, worried that the loud noise was going to alert some agents. To be honest, though, they were all dead. There was no one to be afraid of. At least, for the moment. "Star isn't here! Ok? Do you get that? He's gone! You don't even know for sure where he is! Right now, I'm all you got, so suck it up and start working with me instead of acting like my mom! That crap may work with Star, but it won't with me."

"Well, what do expect me to do?" I shot back. "Someone has to make the decisions, and if I left things up to you, we would both be dead right now!"

"We would have been fine if you'd have just listened to me about going the other way. We could have avoided this whole mess."

"I couldn't go any further," I told him. "I needed to rest."

"See," he spat. "I don't buy that. I was doing just fine, and you have more experience with this sort of thing. So if I could handle it, why couldn't you?" He accompanied this last statement with a firm shove. I bared my teeth at him.

"Don't touch me," I warned, my voice suddenly low and dangerous. I was a firecracker, but I wouldn't describe myself as dangerous. Everything I did was to keep me and my brother safe. I'd be damned if I let this guy push me around, though.

"Don't tell me what to do," he countered. We stared at each other for a long moment before I gave in.

"Fine," I conceded. "What do you want to do?"

I knew I was going to regret that decision.