Prisoner Thirty-One

Kimba: Liars were the worst, they belonged somewhere between panthers and arrows

I hated everything. And really besides like five people, I hated everyone too.

I understood that maybe I was pushing my friends away, but I still loved them. They were basically my family, but Oak was something different. I was as much a mystery to him as he was to me and there was something really appealing about that.

Ninety-five percent of the time he was brooding and emotionless, which I could so get on board with, but it was the other five percent I lived for. Those times his eyes brightened to a deep brown, his mouth performed a heart stopping wonky smile and out came this deep throaty laugh. A sound I had made my lifes mission to hear over and over again.

I didn't love him. I didn't even really like him. I was drawn into him, every cell in me craved his touch. I wanted the pressure of him on me and I wanted that smile to only belong to me.

I wasn't blind, I could tell that he wasn't a fan of my friends just like they weren't a fan of him, and that killed me. Keeping them separate meant that I could have both of them but with Fe's and, well Alec's, recent stunts that was becoming near impossible. And now I owed her.

It was very obvious that Fe was only taking the punishment as it meant I could stay here with Oak and that killed me too. I didn't like the idea that this connection I couldn't face breaking was going to get everyone in trouble.

All of this filled my thoughts as, once again, I was in the kitchen at stupid o'clock in the morning. Oak chopped vegetables next to me silently so I was almost certain that he knew something was up. His lip was still slightly swollen from where Alec had punched him, and I found myself slightly resenting Alec. But that just made me resent myself even more.

It wasn't just my friends that were causing his silence; however, I could tell there was something else under the surface. He had spent most of the previous night in silence, only talking when my rant landed on what Fe would be up to today. This had only led me to asking questions about Malum, which he had ignored.

"Are you gonna tell me what is clearly annoying you?" I snapped when the silence had extended too far.

"No." I rolled my eyes partially not expecting him to say anything else. I shifted myself so I could sit on the work top, something I knew annoyed him. "Are you going to get off?"

"No." I knew I was being extremely petty, but this was definitely an occasion that called for pettiness. "How about you and I make a deal. You'll tell me what you know, and I'll get off." He slammed his knife down before walking over so his face was practically touching mine. When he placed his hand on my waist, my body tensed homing in on his touch. He pulled me closer towards him before picking me up and placing me standing next to him.

"Ass." I yelled towards his back just before throwing half a carrot at it.

"Kimba!" His voice was raised, and his eyes were blazing. I was taken back by the clear anger there, towards, what I had thought, was a harmless joke.

"What? It was just a carrot?" Instinctively my hands had balled into fists at my side preparing for a fight. He swiped a hand over his face before sighing and leaning on the counter.

"It's not the carrot. I just think that what you don't know won't hurt you." Words as hard as stone, Oak's eyes barely met mine. This cryptic-ness was getting old. Was it really too much to ask that someone answered a simple question?

"Whats that supposed to mean?" I was getting beyond frustrated now and found myself storming over to him, crossing my arms over my chest.

"We have been lying to you." Oak's words came out just below a whisper. I heard them but there meaning hadn't quite registered.