Nomads

Chapter 15

Mara followed Luca blindly as he tugged her down the trail, grumbling under his breath.

They'd stopped arguing a few minutes ago, and now she was staring at his tense shoulders as he led her to who-knows-where.

"Luca..?" She asked hesitantly, not knowing if she was poking a sleeping beast by speaking to him or not. "Not that I don't love being dragged through an unfamiliar forest by you, um, where is it that you're taking me?"

He slowed down to a halt, looking back at her and letting her wrist go. "Sorry," he mumbled, wrapping his arms around her for a hug. "I'm just really mad. I can't believe they'd be that frustrating."

Mara smiled, lifting her arms up to hug him back. "It's okay. They were pretty intense."

"They were ridiculous." He grumbled, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "Acting like they have to approve of you, and like they didn't even though they don't know you."

"Well, this is pretty sudden for them, especially considering the fact that you didn't tell them anything."

"I told Mason that I met a girl," he protested weakly, knowing she was right.

"And I bet you made it sound like you were being sarcastic."

He was silent for a moment. "Can't lie, I probably did."

Mara giggled, pulling away slightly to look at him. "Wanna tell me why you kept all these secrets from your friends?"

He shrugged, frowning. "I just... I don't like talking about serious stuff with them, especially in a group setting. I would've told Mason after a while, though." He groaned, breaking the hug to run his fingers through his hair. "I'm just not good at talking about myself. With sharing."

"Why not? Do you have a reason for keeping to yourself so much?"

"I never put much thought into it, but... If I had to guess, it's probably because they have always had good stuff to say about their lives and everything, and I rarely ever did. I didn't wanna dampen their spirits with my negativity." He sighed, a bitter smile forming on his face as he stared out at the woods. "Can you imagine telling your friends that you're pretty sure your dad hates you right after one of them talks about how their dad took them camping? Or something..?"

Mara took in the broken boy before her, delicately slipping her hand into his. "Do your friends know about the stuff your dad did...?" she mumbled hesitantly.

He shook his head, his throat tightening up a bit. "Mason kind of knows only because we practically grew up together, and he was around enough to see the way my dad treated me. Dad was always nicer when I had friends over, but Mason was around so much that he slipped up a few times in front of him." He cleared his throat. "But we never talked about it. Mase tried to ask about it once but I shot him down pretty quickly and he never brought it up again."

Mara hummed softly in response. "Did you ever open up with any of them about your parents' disappearance?"

He shook his head again. "I didn't. I don't know how. It's easy with you because your parents are gone too and you understand better than they can. And you know how to poke and prod for details. They walk on eggshells with me when it comes to the topic of my parents, so I don't know how well I could even if I tried."

Upon hearing her yawn, he jokingly mumbled, "Am I putting you to sleep?"

"No! Not at all," she protested, yawning again. "I'm listening. I haven't slept well these past few days. Or much."

"It also doesn't help that you're wearing a sweatshirt and sweatpants in 90 degree weather." He muttered, tugging at the hem of her baggy sweatshirt. "Why are you wearing this?"