Chapter 21

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The body in my arms stops trembling and slowly leans out of my embrace. "Maybe Gamma was right. I shouldn't have come here again.", he looks so endlessly tired and exhausted,like he's been fighting in a war he didn't win. I wasn't sure what to say, nor think, instead I just pulled him back into a hug, running a hand up his back and tangling it into his hair, while massaging his scalp gently. I feel so bad for him and I want nothing more but for him to be freed of what's holding him hostage in his own mind.Reluctantly, I let go off him again, taking a glance at his face and the way his eyes seem so dark and dull. It hurts seeing him like this.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, I will never judge you nor laugh at the things that trouble you. You know that right?", it's stupid to say things like these,they don't help. I know that. He nods in response and I can see him fighting with himself on whether he should tell me or not. "I really don't deserve you, Sky. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I think it's safe to say that I owe you my life.",a faint smile somewhat lights up his face slightly. "Nathan...I...", I don't know how to respond to that. He confuses me more than ever before!

"It's okay. I didn't mean it like that.", he chuckles, ruffling through my hair as if it had been me close to breaking down. Why is he doing this to himself? Why this necessary pain if he could ease it by simple confrontation and communication? I know how he feels! I've been there, maybe even still am and simply talking to him made it so much better and endurable, so why doesn't he want to talk to me? "Okay.", I mumble, sighing almost unnoticeable. "Anyway, let's head downstairs , the others will be here in a few.", he smiles, the kind of smile I'm used to and for a brief moment the thought of him having faked it the entire time almost breaks my heart.

Fucked up

I return his smile and follow him back down the stairs where I just came from. Dian isn't standing outside anymore so I'm guessing he either went home or he's still somewhere in this building. We enter the living room where both Bertha and Bernie are sitting on their couch cuddling, their faces lightening upas soon as they see us. "-hope you slept well.", the elderly woman gets up from her seat and walks over to us. "I was just about to start preparing lunch. Tomcat and the others will be here soon.",she blinks multiple times, waiting for some sort of reaction from the two of us. "I'd love to help you, ma'am uhm I mean Bertha.", I offer , glancing at Nathan from the side. "Oh, I really don't want you to miss spending time with Thanny but could you help me with getting some ingredients from the basement? If you don't mind.", I nod immediately, happy that there's something I can do.

"Then Thanny here will show you the way.", she points towards the hallway and gives Nathan a stern face. He nods and takes my hand after she had told us what she needs.I wasn't sure how to treat him, should I be more careful? Or simply remain the same? He leads me to a door opposite of the living room and a dark staircase descending into nothing. Of course that changed once he turned the light on and the whole scary vibe was toned down a bit. He walks ahead of me and I'm quick to follow, amazed by the size of this storage room. I'm pretty sure you could survive in this house without leaving in for multiple days, if not even weeks, these people are prepared for either World War 3 or a zombie Apocalypse.Suddenly, I'm being pushed against the near by cold, gray wall with force, a knee squeezing itself between my legs. My eyes widen at Nathan's sly smirk as his hand presses my chest closer to the concrete behind me.

"What the-", I get cut off by a pair of lips smashing onto mine and almost instantly prying them open. I can't even keep up with him let alone breathe but every move was dangerous for my private area down there. His hand absently sneaks underneath my shirt, touching my shivering skin rather gently compared to the roughness of the kiss. What's going on with Nathan all of the sudden? As his knee moves higher up by a mere inch, I can't surpass a moan, wanting to push him off of me. I'm already standing on my tip toes, trying to minimize the friction. Why now? He finally lets off of my lips, biting his lower one as he stares at me with narrowed eyes in the dim light of the basement. I'm more than happy as his knee disappears and he simply turns around to gather up the ingredients we needed, handing me some of them to carry back to the kitchen.

Nobody said a word throughout the entire time, and I'm almost certain that he could hear my heart pounding inside my chest painfully fast and intense. I know he likes to pull surprise stunts but this was a bit too much, even for Nathan.We walk back to the kitchen, the light way brighter up here, as we place all the things on the counter. Bertha smiles at us, her face then turning in curiosity. "Skylar, your face.", she points at me, "It's so red, are you not feeling well?" My eyes widen and I immediately touch my hot cheeks. "Oh no, it's fine, I'm good.",I sneak looks at Nathan and he just grins to himself, watching the two of us. "-ever not feel well, you have to tell me, okay?", she makes me promise twice before finally letting us go.

"What even was that?", I ask him ashe mindlessly stalks across the house and out the glass sliding door onto a rather large garden with a neat pond at the far end. Without Answering me, he quickly steps towards it, sitting down on the bench that was placed in front of it. Small and big fish start to breach the surface, staring at us with wide open mouths, their orange and white scales shimmering in the light of the sun radiating from above.I've seen these fish before, they're called koi and are quite expensive. Taking my attention off of the animals and towards my boyfriend who blankly watches them. "Hey.", I whisper, placing a hand onto his lap. "Sky, I love you, you know that right?", he asks, not taking his eyes off of the pond. "Of course, and I love you too.", slightly irritated, I furrow my eyebrows but decide not to say anything.

"Would you ever pretend not to be together with me?", he bites his lip again, taking a quick glance at me but focusing back on the fish soon after. "No, why would I?",I know I didn't want to come out at first but with his help and encouragement I had jumped over my own shadow. "Then you'd always be open about our relationship?", his questions start to freak me out, why now all of the sudden? "Yes.", I answer truthfully,earning a small smile from him. "That's good, thank you.", this time he actually looks at me, his eyes back to how they normally are."Why did you ask me all of this?", I take his hand in mine, just like he did all these times before. "You see, my ex was nothing like you, he-", Nathan stops in mid-sentence and hectically turns his head back to the house. I follow and notice a group of four people jog towards us. He gets up from the bench and one of the girls immediately charges to him, jumping and clinging onto him, black hair with blue tips flying after her.

The other three reach us soon after,placing their attention on me rather than on their friend. One of them, I'm not quite sure if it's a he or a she, takes the initiative and greets me first. "Hey Sky, it's good to finally meet you. I'm Leslie, we texted before, remember?", she runs a hand through her short dark brown faux mohawk which is shaved at the sides and smiles at me widely. "Right. Awesome getting to see you in person.", I answer, nibbling at my lower lip sheepishly. She chuckles, probably at my anti-social self and let's the other two guys introduce themselves. "Hey man, good to meet you, I'm Jacob.", a boy with a blond undercut steps forward into, what I assume, an attempt of a hug but Leslie puts a hand on his shoulder."Dude, Nathan said to be careful with him, remember? At least ask first.", she rolls her eyes at him and flashes me another grin. "I don't want you to feel cornered, okay? So if you're ever uncomfortable just talk to us, or me.". I nod, grateful for her offer and understanding but still feeling like the frickin freak I am.

The other guy introduces himself as Tom, shaking my hand instead and offering me a sympathetic wink. I repeat the same lines over and over before turning towards the last person I haven't introduced myself yet. She is still in Nathan's Embrace, her legs wrapped around his waist and arms clinging onto his neck tightly. It's like these haven't seen each other for a whole life time, hasn't it been merely a few weeks? Well, I'm not the one to question it, I hate being apart from Claire so I guess it's the same for them.

After another few seconds, she does letgo and gets placed back on the ground carefully. The rather short girl turns around, looking at me with tears in her amber colored eyes. "Sky.", she throws her arms around me as well and I could spot Leslie rolling her eyes at her action, grinning slightly but also kinda in discomfort. Nathan practically peeled her off of me,giving me an apologetic look to which I simply shake my head in denial . "You are so cute!", her hair swished from side to side as she starts to jog in place. "Thanks, I guess.", I scratch the back of my neck, a blush creeping over my cheeks. "And so shy. I didn't know that was his type maybe that's why he wouldn't fall for me.", she puts a thumb and index finger around her chin as if she's honestly thinking about it. I look over at Nathan who couldn't hold back his laughter.

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Heiiii, how are you guys doing? Glad I finally got this chapter out, tell me what you thought of it in the comments and please leave a vote!

P. S Leslie used to be Sam, sorry!

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