Anything For Rachel

Chapter Thirty Five.

Calvin got Lexton a room, and then he and I went to get Octavia from her room. Calvin and I wanted to see for ourselves that what Lexton had told us was true before we went to talk to Pedro. After Octavia accessed the video feeds, we were left with nothing more to question or do other than going to break my best friend's heart. With no time to waste, the second the sun fell again, Lexton went on her way, and we had to go wake Pedro.

The video was awful, and Calvin and I both agreed he didn't need to see it. The shocked look on Patrick's face as the rebels busted in the doors to my little cabin, and the cruel way they beat him on the ground before repositioning the camera and ripping his arms, legs, and head away were not things that Pedro should look at right now. The sight turned my stomach and I cried hard for him even though we hadn't had a chance to get very close. I wish I'd taken him up on his wine nights. Octavia took it hard too, and I was thankful that you couldn't see his face as the killed him. Just imagining the defeat in his eyes as he realized his life that should have been eternal was ending was bad enough.

I could hardly speak as Calvin and I sat down with Pedro.

When we knocked on his door and he answered it sleepily, you could see the fear in his eyes already when he looked down at me and saw my red eyes. His first reaction was to ask about Rose, and that only made telling him that much harder. To say he was crushed would be a major understatement. I held him as we cried together and Calvin told him everything while trying to keep it together himself.

"I will kill them all." Pedro spat through tears, accentuating each individual word.

I rubbed his back and nodded with him. "Lexton is here." I told him and he sniffled and turned to me. "She's the one who told us, but also, she knows one of the rebels and she agreed to help us get to them. She's gone to scope out the old settlement where they are keeping Rose. " I said. "We're going to get our revenge, Pedro. We are."

Pedro dried his face and pursed his lips. "Can I have some time, please?" He asked weakly. "I love you, but I need to process."

"Of course." I agreed. "Please come get me if you need me though, ok?" I asked. "I'm here for you, whatever you need."

Pedro nodded slowly, trying to slow the steady stream of tears from his heavily swollen eyes. Calvin looked lost as we both turned away from our friend and left him to his alone time. Closing the door behind me was difficult knowing the heartbreak he was suffering on the other side, but I wanted to respect his wishes. I remember how I felt when Calvin went off to fight the rebels and I didn't know if he was alive or dead, or if I was ever going to see him again. I'd needed alone time then too.

On our way back to our room I couldn't stop the urge to turn my body and hold onto Calvin, letting him wrap his arms around my waist as I rested my head in the center of his strong chest. "Don't ever leave me." I whispered, feeling low.

He grabbed my chin and tilted my face up to his and kissed me gently. "Never." He whispered. "You never leave me either."

"Never." I whispered, although in the back of my mind I couldn't help thinking that eventually...one day, hopefully in the very distant future, my time will come when I do have to leave him. Humans are only...well, human.

Calvin squeezed me tightly and kissed the top of my head again before we walked into our room, everyone else already waiting there with us. While Pedro needed to be alone, we needed to be together. Logan comforted Octavia, and Cromley and Renard kept their minds busy by playing card game after card game and constantly running down new scenarios on how to kill someone. Staying prepared they said. I was content to just sit back, Calvin's steady hand keeping me grounded and little Prince playing in the floor reminding me why I was here and what I still have to fight for.