Relentless

21- Ky

Earlier that day...

I leaned against my truck, breaking the seal on a water bottle and sipping it casually. She was frantic, constantly running her hands through her hair trying to memorize the information. I felt bad knowing she reads slower and takes longer to comprehend what she's reading, but she's smart. I didn't have any doubt that she would pull through, she's proven that much. Three minutes in and Silas waltzed to the table placing the file down, whistling a cheery tune. He took note of everyone no doubt calculating he had a few minutes to kill when his golden eyes fell on me he immediately came my way. I questionably raised an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

He smirked, knowing exactly what I was referring too, "Photographic memory."

"Really," I shook my head, "Doesn't exist."

"Says who?"

"It's impossible for the mind to recall an event in a perfect picture, however, there is something called eidetic memory that resembles a picture and lasts a few minutes before fading away. It's rare and it more common with kids-," the ginger's chuckle cut me off.

"Do you always sound like a book report?"

I rolled my eyes catching the sound of Justin's laughter off to my left, "That would be a yes."

"Shut up," I told him, though I knew it was feeble.

Silas suddenly went rigid, gaze trained on Jackson's figure coming towards our group from the opposite side, "What was that little spat about earlier?"

I exchanged a glance with my best friend noticing his usual goofy streak was gone, replaced with that calm, steely attitude his family is known for, "Nothing that concerns you."

He scoffed, "I know I haven't been involved as long as y'all, but like it or not, the incident with Braxton automatically made me apart of this."

"We're not denying that," Justin egged on. "And don't think we're not grateful for what you did for Saige, you saved her life after all. But when it comes to personal or private conversations, we're not at liberty to spill our inner thoughts."

He nodded somewhat ignoring him, shifting his crafty orbs between Jackson and something else, his focus drawing my own attention towards where he was looking. He stood there, all slumped over, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jeans; the shadows under his eyes made his dark gaze appear that much more inky, hollow. He stared longingly ahead at the girl who's turned my life upside down, and he tilted his head slightly, shedding light upon his face. "You should watch him," Silas warned quietly. Jackson shamelessly kept a fixed gaze on her, never teetering, hardly blinking; while she fiddled with the file unaware.

"You can't fix everything, Ky, not this time."

"I know," I replied matching his tone. Thoughts and mixed emotions swirled inside me back and forth in a never-ending tug of war, "Believe me, I know."

...

"Sector one is clear," a voice crackled through the comm unit in my ear.

"Good work, keep at it," my father's authoritative tone came back, though it was a double whammy considering he was standing right next to me. Phase two just kicked into gear, the participants scattered about starting their missions. I popped a piece of caramel corn into my mouth offering the bag to him, he shot me a pointed look, "You're supposed to be on duty," he glimpsed around watching people around us carry on.

"We're supposed to be acting normal, eating is just part of the cover," I sent him a grin, shaking the bag practically under his nose. "You know you want some."