They Walk

Chapter Forty Nine

An hour later, when everyone was done eating, Noah decided that the four of us should get together to go over the plan for us leaving tomorrow. So we ended up in an unused office down the hall from the rec area. It’s a small sort of room, but it has a desk and a sofa in it, so it worked out for us. Well, it worked out for the guys, since I’ve been pacing the length of the room for a while and just listening to them discussing things. The room is a little too dim for reading, since we just had a couple small candles to use.

And as I made my laps, the light flickered off the walls and cast a creepy glow over the guys.

“So what you’re saying is that they could be in any one of the dozen building out there?” Gabe asks.

The three of them are standing around the desk, where a map of campus lies. There are so many out buildings that it’s difficult to guess where anyone would go, which is why I’ve been pacing. The map is terrifying me.

“No, what I’m saying is that they were all at the Pettengill Hall building first. If we go there, we should find something to where they went to next.” Noah says, while pointing at the map.

“Why would you think that?” Hunter says, from where he’s been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Noah looks up at Hunter for a moment before glancing back at the map. Hunter has been acting normal since we walked into the room, thank goodness. I don’t know if I could handle his weird looks being thrown my way.

“It’s just something some of the soldiers having been talking about. In case of an emergency, they have plans for evacuating to another location.” Noah says.

“So it would be safe to assume the same could be said for Bates.” Gabe interrupts while glancing at me making my fifth lap in pacing, before turning back to Noah.

“Exactly, I’m just hoping they left something behind for us to use. We’ll have a lot of ground to cover though.”

I block out the rest of what they say as I continue my pacing, and now I’ve upgraded to ringing my hands together in knots. I can feel the throbbing of my head behind my eyes like a distant echo, turns out pain pills work wonders. I discreetly took a couple of them after dinner and am so glad that I did. I’m just turning back to the front of the room to restart my lap when I look up and find that Gabe is leaning in the open doorway watching me. Abruptly I come to a stop and realize that the others are gone.

Dropping my hands to my side, I feel my cheeks go scarlet.

“Hey you...” He says softly, while giving me a whisper of a smile.

Standing in the middle of the room, for some reason I feel nervous being alone with him.

I know it doesn’t make sense, but the way he stands there watching me it’s like a heat wave is pouring into the room and is directed at me. I shift back and forth on my feet, and am not sure what I should be doing. Which is ridiculous, this is Gabe not some guy I’m alone with. He smirks at me suddenly, and pushes away from the wall. Before I even can guess what he’s doing, he’s closing the door behind him and walking over to me.

He stops right in front of me, and is so close that I have to look up to see his face. He’s not smirking now, and looks more serious as he watches me intently. I have the urge to back up, but at the same time I want to throw myself across the small distance and into his arms.

“I’ve notice that you haven’t been acting like yourself since we got here. And I know you didn’t just go off to explore this morning.” He says softly.

He leans in closer to me and I can feel his warm breath on my cheeks and all I want is for him to kiss me.

Oh wait, hold up.

What did he just say?

I didn’t expect him to be on to me, but then it was stupid to think he wouldn’t notice. Taking a deep breath, I step away from him so that he’s not looming above me.

“I’ve been acting fine, and I really was just walking around this morning.” I say none to convincingly even to my own ears.

He crosses his arms over his chest and narrows his eyes at me. I have to remember to be aloof and not give myself away, but it’s hard when his muscles bulk up under his shirt from crossing his arms like that.

“Maggie, come one, I’m not an idiot. Just tell me what’s going on, and please don’t say your planning on taking off by yourself.”

My eyes go wide in alarm, is that what he thinks?

That I’m just going to take off after my parents and leave him behind. Shaking my head I close my eyes, and I think to myself that I should just be honest with him. It’s not fair to let him think that I’m thinking about to leaving him, when it’s the exact opposite. Opening my eyes I stare at him guiltily and back up so that my legs hit the back of the sofa that is against the back wall. I sit down in a heap, and gesture for him to sit down too. When he slow walks over to me and sits down all the way on the other end, I feel so bad about sneaking around that I want to cry.

“I wasn’t planning on just taking off alright you really have to believe that. I would never just leave without asking you to come with me.”

He gives me these sad little puppy eyes, and I just want to throw myself at him to take the look away. But then what I said registers, and he gives me his charming smile.

“Well that’s good, because I would hate for the girl that I’ve fallen for would just leave without saying goodbye.”

Now it takes me a moment to register what he just said, and am I crazy or did he just say fallen for? Fallen as in love? A smile forms on my face and I just stare at him in wonder, before remembering I have to tell him what I was really up to. He might not feel the same way if he knows he’s falling for a damaged girl.

“Gabe, you were right when you said I wasn’t acting like myself, because I wasn’t. I’ve still been having really bad headaches and it’s making me slow to react in a fight. So I went to get a second opinion.”

He narrows his eyes at me in confusion, so I continue before he can interrupt.

“My concussion hasn’t gotten any better, and if anything it’s getting worse. So I saw a doctor about it upstairs this morning.”

His eyes go wide, and he leans closer to me and places a hand lightly on my arm. Goosebumps travel up and down my arms and I don’t want to tell him the rest.

“There is a chance that I might not ever be fully healed, and if I’m not careful it could get worse. I know what you’re thinking, that we shouldn’t leave tomorrow, but we have to.”

I am almost shouting the last part, but he stops me by placing his other hand on my lips.

“Maggie, you could have just told me the truth and I wouldn’t have made you not go after your parents. I promised you before that I’ll make sure you see them again, no matter what. I fully intend to keep that promise.”

His hand on my lips slides so that he is cupping my cheek gently, and I sigh and lean into him.

“I think I’ve pretty much fallen for you too Gabriel.”

The hand cupping my cheek slides onto the back of my neck and into my hair. He pulls me into him for a kiss I sigh in delight. As our lips meet lightly at first, I place my own hands around his neck and pull out closer together. We both open our mouths wider and deepen the kiss at the same time, and I swear I’m in heaven. My entire body tingles as if I’m on fire and I push myself closer into him, still feeling like it’s not close enough. Gabe groans into me, and gently he moves us so that we are lying on the couch with him on top, all the while never once taking his lips from mine. We mold into each other until I not sure where the other begins or ends, and at some point all of our close disappear.

When our bodies finally connect and we become one, I finally feel completely and utterly free.