Cloak and Dagger

chapter fifteen

It wasn't quite morning as I opened my eyes. In the distance, I could see a pink tint lighting up the skyline as the stars began to fade. With the sun gracing the horizon, I nuzzled underneath the blankets, only to push myself upwards when I realized that I was in a more comfortable position than I'd been the night before.

There was a chill to the air as my eyes scanned the area where Beckett and I had fallen asleep. The remnants of the fire that had burned between us lay extinguished on the ground beside me, and even though it couldn't have been later than six in the morning, the spot where I expected to find Beckett was empty. It was only when I let my gaze drop to my own lap that I realized the blankets he'd used were now lumped on top of mine.

My eyebrows drew together, knowing that at some point during the night he must've gotten up to quell the fire, and wondering why, at presumably the same time, he'd give up the little comfort he'd had for me – the same person who'd gotten him stuck with this punishment in the first place.

It was times like this that I noticed that there were two sides to his personality. Most of the time, it appeared as though he didn't care about much other than himself and doing his job, but in rare moments, his walls disappeared to reveal someone who was thoughtful, caring, and easy to talk to.

However, I knew there was no use trying to figure out how his mind worked first thing in the morning, so I let it go, making a mental note to thank him the next time I saw him.

As I stood up, piling the blankets into my arms, my eyes caught onto a folded piece of paper wedged underneath the blanket that I'd been using as a make-shift pillow. Crouching down, I placed the blankets down to the side and picked up the note. Unfolding it, a small smile twitched at my lips as I read what was written.

I'll be in the training barn late tonight if you still want to learn how to protect yourself.

Relief coursed through me, hoping that this short message meant that yesterday was behind us. The physical aspect of my training needed work, and if, after everything that had transpired yesterday, he was still willing to help me, I wasn't going to turn it down.

Tucking the note into my back pocket, I resumed cleaning up. Once the charred fire logs were disposed of and the dirty blankets were tossed down the communal laundry chute, I nipped into the Grand Hall. Those who were up this early eyed me cautiously, probably waiting for a repeat of the previous morning to occur, but I paid them little attention. Grabbing a coffee and a breakfast burrito, I didn't linger, instead making my way up to my room.

The concept of weekends didn't exist at Division 27. It didn't matter if it was Tuesday afternoon, Friday night or Sunday morning – training still went on and assignments were still given out. However, with no arrangements to train with Joe today, I used the time go over what I'd learned over the past couple of weeks. It was necessary, I felt like, as my mind had been all over the place as of late, but as the hours wore on, I found my concentration slipping bit by bit.

Instead, I thought of Kira and the current predicament the two of us were in. Unless she was incredibly skilled at masking her true emotions – which was entirely possible, she had seemed genuinely apologetic both the day she'd left me sitting with Catherine and Joe and when she'd cornered me in the Grand Hall the previous morning. Before yesterday, I hadn't wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but Beckett's advice now had me thinking differently.

Was I angry with her because of what she'd done?

Yes.

Was I angry that I hadn't really had a choice in confronting my mom?

Yes.

But, after the fact, I knew both her and Joe were trying to help me, and I couldn't be angry at them for that. They were only looking out for me.