The Unwanted ~ Book 1

Chapter 23

As I walk towards the cafeteria, I see a familiar figure standing by the entrance. Andy stands there, holding something covered in tin foil. When I approach, he comes over to me with a serious expression on his face.

"Hey."

"Um, hey" I say awkwardly.

We stand in silence for a minute, before Andy holds out the tin foil covered object to me.

"Here. Thought you'd want to eat something."

"Thanks."

I uncover the foil to find a BBLT sandwich inside. It's a regular sandwich - two pieces of bread with bacon, lettuce and tomato placed in between - , but it has the power to make my stomach rumble. While I was training with Sky I didn't really notice since I was so focused. I am starving."Can I talk to you?" Andy asks and for a moment I'm able to forget about my hunger as I notice the seriousness of his expression. "Yeah, sure." Andy motions for me to follow him and we start taking a leisurely walk around The Compound while I devour my sandwich. When I finish, I roll up the foil and toss it into the nearest trash can I can find.

"So, did I do something again Cas?"

"Huh, why would you think that?"

"Cas." He raises an eyebrow at me.

"I'm not blind. You were clearly avoiding me today. It's like before except your still talking to me, even though it's only  to give me the cold shoulder. Never knew that would hurt more than when you were ignoring me." Oh boy. I totally messed up! It didn't occur to me at the time, but my apparent 'solution' has only served to create a bigger problem.

We continue walking and as we walk I look around to find my fellow bibloods hanging out with smiles on their faces, getting along. It's just like a huge family. I'm a part of this family. I think of Andy as a someone close to me and the last thing I want is to ruin that. All I wanted was to try and figure out exactly what he meant to me, but putting some space between us wasn't the right choice. "Andy, I'm sorry. I just needed some space, but it's not like before. I wasn't avoiding you because I was mad at you. I just had something I needed to figure out." After hearing this, a half smile lights his face.

"And did you figure it out?"

I sigh. "Honestly, I'm not sure."

Andy stops, grabbing onto my shoulders and turning me to face the scene I was just watching. "Cas, I consider everyone here to be my friends and family." I nod to signalize to him that I also feel that way. "I'll tell you something. In the future, you'll have to go on missions with some if not everyone you see. Some may survive, others may not be as lucky."Andy stops for a moment to allow his words to sink in and I feel goosebumps form on my arms.

"How do you deal with that?"

"That's the thing, Cas. Running away from your problems never solves anything. You have people you can talk to about your problems who are more than willing to help if you give them the chance!"

Katie. Flare. Sky. Violet.

"I know there are some things that are hard to talk about to us guys, but you have plenty of girls to talk to!"

"Yeah, you're right."

"Also if you want to train properly, you're going to have to learn how to keep your work life separate from your personal, otherwise we won't get anywhere and we'll keep going in circles as I constantly wonder whether or not you hate me!" "Sorry." I mumble as my cheeks turn red.Seeing my reaction, Andy chuckles. "Don't be. I've actually gotten used to your emotional instability, it's pretty cute!" I dig my elbow into his side and Andy cries out in pain.