Divided

:Chapter Nine:

*****

When I walk into the cabin, it looks like everyone's asleep. I step inside quietly and shut the door. The air is cold here, and I can't wait to snuggle into my bed. I kick my shoes off and climb up the ladder though my bed. Before I can reach the top though, someone grabs my foot. It's hard to keep from screaming, but I don't want to wake Clark. I whip my head around at the sound of his voice.

"Where were you?" He asks harshly. I try to pull my foot back but he pulls me down, causing me to lose my balance. I fall and smack my head on the wall roughly and groan. "I asked you a question, stupid." He hisses as I sit up, putting my hand on my head to sooth the pain. The room shakes and turns in my vision. He kicks me hard in the side, causing me to collapse to the ground. Stand up. I think as I pull myself to my feet. It's too dark to see where he is, so I brush myself off and throw my body back towards my bed. I climb all the way to the top and lay down under my covers. My head throbs, and I don't know where Derrick went. I don't get a minute of sleep through the night. I lay wide awake scanning the room for movement. 

I swear he's up and waiting for me to drift off. When the room starts to light up again, I tear my eyes away from my surroundings to check my watch. 5:02. I decide to go outside and walk for a couple hours. I check and see that Derrick is asleep, then change quickly into new clothes. I switch to dark skinny jeans and a light and loose black t-shirt. Solid black, I guess that's fine. The jeans fit extremely well around the thighs, hugging them tightly making it look like I have more curves then I do. A whole new experience. I pull over a black hoodie and head outside. The air is fresh and cold, waking me up immediately. I run down the same trail I did yesterday, to the tree I found. It's tall and peaceful, the soft wind moving leaves carefully to the ground. I smile, and take a deep breath of air before start to climb. When I get to my branch, I lay on my back folding my hands on my stomach. The sky is almost completely clear, there's only a few clouds I can see from here. I grin, it's so calm. My eyelids get heavy with sleep, and I quickly drift off, not even trying to ward it off.

By the time I wake up it's already 8:30. My head aches, but I feel better than before. I rub the sleep from my eyes with the heels of my hands. A couple more clouds have come into view, passing over the sun every once in a while, making it a little darker out. I slide off of the tree and turn, walking down the trail even farther away from camp. The ground is still covered in dew, wetting my shoes and the bottom of my pants. The smell of fresh pine and morning dew fill my nose bringing a wide smile to my face. Smells like home. I watch animals scurry into bushes as I pass, birds chirp and I can't help but be in a good mood. I look down at my watch to find that it's almost 8:50, I better turn back. I jog down the trail, turning down a different road, just in case someone sees me. I don't want to share my spot with anyone.

When I get to the breakfast line, I find Derrick and Theo waiting for me and a weight drops in my stomach.

"Where were you?" Theo spits.

Derrick laughs, "where you talking to your rat friends? Or should I say mouse, they're more helpless like you." Derrick says with a face that could wilt a flower. I ignore them and walk forward in the line, glad when another cabin gets in line behind me, separating me from Derrick and Theo. I'm not in the mood to fight, I just want to eat. When I get to the front of the line, Matthew grabs the top of my arm, firm but gentle.

"I saw you running into the woods earlier, is everything alright? I was worried..." He says, not breaking eye contact.

I bite the inside of my cheek and smile. "I just got up early and decided to go for a walk... Why were you up? And watching me?" I add searching through his deep eyes. I find a little brown hidden in the edges.