Us Against The World

Chapter 40

"Stay quiet." Ren whispers when we heard leaves ruffling on the ground below us. She slowly stands and walks over to the small window, peering down and out of it. She turns back to us with wide eyes and presses her index finger to her lips. Jexton, Halten and I nod. Ren quickly ducks and leans against the wooden wall of the tree house.

"They're down there." she mouths. Fear builds its way up and around each of us as we sit silently and wait for the soldiers to leave. I mentally hope and pray that they don't look up and find the tree house. I have a little faith that they won't, because it is camouflaged pretty well with the leaves surrounding it.

"We should just go back. They got away again." one of the men say. "So you're just gonna give up again?" 

Again? I mentally ask myself. 

"You know how much the reward is for those damn kids now let's get movin'." 

I scrunch my brow at the words shared between the two men. There's a reward for whoever finds me and Jexton? We have a price now? The thought angers me and I wish more than ever that I could shoot every soldier in that damned community dead. 

When leaves crunching rapidly signifies their absence, I sit up dramatically. "We're worth something?" I ask and Ren shushes me. "Don't tighten yourself, they're gone." I say and roll my eyes. 

Jexton looks just about as angry as I am. "What the hell?" he says rubs his face, sighing.

"We need to get out of here." I say and everyone looks at me simultaneously. "Are you crazy?" Halten asks and I become surprised that a six-or-seven-year-old could have such attitude. "Getting you guys up here in the first place saved your asses." he says and Ren slaps his arm. "Halten!" he glares at her and turns back to me. 

"He's right, though. It's dangerous to leave. Especially right now while they're still out looking for you." Ren says and Jexton rolls his eyes. "So what, are we just gonna live in a tree house for the rest of our lives? For Christ's sake." he says and crosses his arms over his abdomen.

"No," Ren says and turns around to face him. "but, we have to wait until the coast is clear. It's the best- and safest- idea right now. Unless, of course, you want to go out there and risk being caught again by all means." Ren raises her arms at the opening of the tree house. Jexton rolls his eyes again and throws his head back. "Whatever." he says through a single breath.

"What about food?" I ask, ignoring Jexton's expression of annoyance. "We're pretty hungry and we haven't eaten since two nights ago." a rub my lower stomach and it growls violently. "I can go get some from our house." Ren says and Halten snaps his head toward his sister. "No." he says and Ren tilts her head at him. "Halten." she says in a warning voice. "No. They are not family. You even said yourself, we don't share unless they are family." Halten says and my heart sinks at his determination and dedication to his sister. It brings me to wonder how much the two have been through together. How did their parents die? Why are they on the run?

"They are now." Ren says and Halten frowns. Her words give me butterflies and send shivers down my spine. Did she really just refer to Jexton and I as family? We just met!

But it feels good to be labeled as something other than "little bitch." It's nice to actually be liked by people other than just Jexton. Especially since this girl is around my age and I have been longing for a sister or a friend of the same gender. Ren is a blessing to me, and I will not take that for granted.

"No, it's okay. Jexton and I have some food back at the house we stayed at last night." I say and Ren shakes her head. "Don't let him get to you like that," she says. "you guys are family now." my heart begins to pound against my chest as she stares into my eyes. "Well, you could go to the house as well and grab the food from there too? I'd hate to see it all go to waste." I say and Ren smiles and nods. "Of course," she says and scoots toward the hole in the floor that is the exit. "stay here."

"You can't just go by yourself." I say and Ren freezes. "I'm fine, really. They're not looking for me or Halten anymore, anyway." she says and slips into the hole. "I'll go with her." Jexton says and Ren snaps her head toward him. "It's fine, really." she says and Jexton shakes his head. He sits up and crawls over to the hole and waits for Ren to slide the rest of the way through. "You can't argue with me," Jexton says, smirking. "I'm too stubborn." 

"Ain't that the truth?" I tease and he playfully rolls his eyes, smiling. "You two stay put," he says and his boyd sticks half way out of the hole. "I mean it."

When Jexton closes the trap door, I listen as him and Ren land on the ground. I wait until the crunching leaves can no longer be heard. I can feel Halten's eyes on me and I slowly turn to him. 

"You're not my sister." he says and my heart sinks. I don't know why his insult hurt me so much, but it did. "I know I'm not." I say, hoping to ease the tension he has built between the two of us. "You'll never be my sister." he says and I nod. "Okay." is all I can manage to say. I don't want to look at him anymore. I feel bad that he sees such threat within me when I have none at all.

I look away, but I can still feel Halten's eyes on me. I turn back to him and build up the courage to say something. "What's the matter?" I ask, tilting my head. "Why do you dislike me so much?" Halten only shakes his head and turns away from me. He sighs after a few moments of silence and a small smile finds its way onto my face. 

"I don't have a mommy or daddy." I say and he slightly turns his head, but turns it back seconds after. "I watched my mom die. I never met my dad." 

"Ever?" Halten asks and slowly turns around. "Ever." I say and he looks down. His jeans are dirty and the jacket he's wearing over a torn plaid shirt is too. He slowly looks up and gives me a sympathetic half smile. "I watched my mommy die, too." he says and my heart breaks. This poor little boy has been through a lot as I can read with his body language. He reminds me so much of myself.

"And my daddy." he finishes. I cannot find the words to say to comfort him. I can tell he is remembering that painful memory and it is not good for him to. He saves me by speaking again. "The soldiers killed them when they found out they had me and Ren." he explains and it takes me back to the last house check I had been through. I shake it off of my mind and continue to focus on Halten's story."Me and Red had to run away or else they would have taken us away." my heart sinks. 

This poor little boy. I crawl over to him and cautiously wrap my arms around him. And he surprises me by doing the same.