Crazies

Chapter Thirteen

~Chapter 13~
(Edited)

*~* Gabriel Coleman's POV *~*

Just staying alive?

Just FUCKING stay alive?

"That's shit, Trouble," I yell out as I start to pace around the room, fighting the need to pull out all my hair. "What I just heard was not just staying alive. It sounded like you were in the middle of a damn war zone which is the opposite of what you promised us." I feel horrible for yelling at my sweet and beautiful Trouble, but I just can't take any more surprises.

"Meanie, please calm down," Trouble pleads with me over the phone and my heart just drops out of my chest.

Dammit, you're making everything worse, I silently yell at myself. I bury my hands into my hair, gripping the strands until sparks of pain shoot throughout my scalp and down into my neck. Picking up my pace, I stomp around the room and use the pain to focus through my all-consuming fear.

I squeeze my eyes closed when I feel the sting of tears threatening to fall and tighten my hands to keep the stream of pain up.

You're so fucking stupid!

The first time I hear my sweet Trouble's voice after almost two hours without knowing if she's alive or dead, and I yell at her from something she can't even control.

"Gabriel." I jerk my head up to see Mr. B standing in front of me. I pull my hands free from my hair and watch in complete shock as my leader's normally hard facade crumbles before me to be replaced by a man just as heart-broken as me.

He slowly reaches out to me to pull me towards him and rests his forehead against mine to look at me with pain laced grey eyes. "I know exactly how you feel, but we need to stay strong." His eyes mist up a little as he adds in a whisper, "for her."

"For her," I repeat as I take in a slow calming breath. Mr. B nods once and lets me go before turning back to the room. I see that North took my place on the couch with Silas and Luke while Sean leans against the arm of the chair that Victor is sitting on. Kota's in the middle of the room with Nathan standing at his side, holding the phone out in front of him. I just miss what he said but I hear Erica's voice answer him and realize that he was talking to her while I had my moment.

"Be safe, Kota." I hear Erica say to him.

"I will," He tells her, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

I hear slight shuffling as the phone gets passed around before Trouble's voice comes through the speakers again. She explains what's happened from the time we were disconnected up to now.

I'm just staring at the phone in complete horror as she tells us about saving Marie and Derrick, learning about the addition to the drug, saving Erica, and lastly her great fucking escape from the hospital.

When she gets to the part about the phone giving them away, I glance over to Mr. B to see his jaw clench tightly as he glares at the floor. I reach out and place my hand on his shoulder to give him the same comfort he just gave me, and I can feel the tension slowly lessen from the contact. I squeeze his shoulder lightly before dropping my hand to my side.

"So, what the fucking hell does all this mean?" I ask after a long silence. I catch Mr. B straightening his posture and pull himself back together before answering me.

"It means that everything that's happened so far has been intentional." Everyone becomes quiet again as they get lost in their thoughts until Kota speaks up.