The Hidden | ✅

Chapter Twenty-One

I awoke with a start at the distant sound of footsteps receding. Was it Dorian's men? A wild animal that thought we were dead? A bounty hunter? I found myself looking towards the tree that Alex had been leaning on when we'd drifted off to find him nowhere in sight.

A sigh escaped my lips. Of course it was him. I glanced over to See Victor and Evanora fast asleep, and it didn't look like they were waking up anytime soon.

"So much for light sleeping." I muttered with a smile. I stretched and heaved myself up, pulling off my hood and walking off into the night where Alex had most likely stalked off into.

I brushed away branches, glancing left and right, calling out his name occasionally, yet I received no answer. Maybe he'd climbed up some tree and couldn't hear me. But then again, Alex didn't like to climb very high. I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair. "Alex!" I called out again. Still no response.

I sighed and turned to go and leave Alex to his own devices when I suddenly smelled smoke. I turned around and squinted my eyes a little when I saw it. A slight glow in the distance.

Alex.

He was sitting on an old rotting log when I arrived, staring at his hands as a flame danced along his fingers. He was just...sitting there and staring. Without a word I sat down beside him. I could tell he knew that I was there because he stopped playing around with his powers.

"Hey." I muttered.

He softly jerked his chin up at me I acknowledgement. We said nothing for a few minutes and I was fine with that. But I could tell he was hurting. And silence was the last thing that he needed.

"So...um... are you okay?"

"Yeah." He said simply. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I chuckled lightly. "That's bullshit, Alex and everyone knows it." He stayed silent as I continued. "You're hurting, okay. I see it, Victor sees it and Evie sees it too. You're trying to stay strong and tough because you think that we need a sturdy leader to carry all of our sorrows, but we don't. We need a friend to help us through our pain. THAT'S why you're here. And that's why we're here too."

I didn't see when it had started but suddenly Alex was crying. And it wasn't silent tears type crying. It was full out sobbing. His shoulders shook as he tried to contain himself but he couldn't. I wordlessly wrapped my arms around him and he clutched onto me like I was going to float away and cried into my shoulder.

And I let him. Because I knew he needed this.

"They're gone." He sniffled. "I...I can't--" He was cut off as another violent sob racked his body and I began to run my fingers through his raven black hair as I tried to calm him down.

"I wasn't...I wasn't s-strong enough..." He murmured. "I couldn't save them. I couldn't save Grace, I couldn't save Ms. Duboise, I couldn't..." He took a shaky breath."I couldn't save Hira."

He almost choked on another sob and I held him tighter. "It's okay, Alex. I know." We separated from our embrace and Alex just leaned his head on my shoulder, interlocking our fingers with a sniffle.

"I'm sorry."

I turned to look at him in confusion. "Sorry for what?"

"For this. All this that's happening right now. You on the run for your life with little food and water without money." He sighed. "And for being stuck with me and my whiny ass."

"Alex," I began softly, "I'm glad you waltzed into my life. If you hadn't, I wouldn't have known how truly corrupt my best friend was." I began to play with his hair again. I suddenly realized that I liked playing with his hair. It was surprisingly soft to the touch. "And I wouldn't have met Evie, or Victor," I paused and looked down into his eyes with a smile, "Or you."