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(edited)
When I arrived back at Jericho, North was not happy. She was standing by one of the metal drums, the fire casting long shadows across her face, with her hands planted firmly on her hips. I closed my eyes for a moment and mentally prepared myself for the lecture I was about to receive. 'Where the hell have you been?' she demanded, scolding me like a mother whose daughter had just snuck back in after her curfew. 'You weren't in your room. I went looking for you, but I couldn't find you anywhere! Where were you?'
I hobbled past her, gritting my teeth at the pain that shot up my leg whenever I placed my foot down. 'Out.'
She chased after me, hands balled into tight, angry fists at her sides. 'Out where?' she barked, and I chose to remain silent. I tried walking past her, but she grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around. 'Don't ignore me when I'm trying to talk to you! Where were you, Blake—?'
I shrugged her hand off with a sudden violence that stunned even North. 'I was with Connor, alright!' I shouted angrily. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair, irritation eating away at my thoughts. 'He wanted to meet up at the train station. He promised to do some digging into my situation before we parted ways, and turns out he ended up finding a list of people.' I stared North in the eye. 'Elijah was on that list.'
North's face fell, her complexion paling. 'W-What? Why would he. . . ?'
I took off down the hall. 'I don't know, North. I just need some time to myself, right now. Okay?'
'I was just so worried. . .' North said softly. 'When I came back and weren't there, I feared the worst. You just left, without telling anyone. Do you know how upset we were? You could have been kidnapped for all we knew. . .'
I glanced over my shoulder, looking at her. Guilt tore through my chest when I saw her solemn expression. 'I'm really sorry that I worried you all. I promise I won't do it again.' And with that, I continued walking. Instead of heading to my room—like I originally intended—I decided to go to the upper deck. Hobbling up the stairs was difficult, but I eventually made it there in the end. I sat down by the ledge, threading my legs through the railing. I stared out at the water, my feet dangling over the edge as I grasped the rusted mental pole acting as a barrier, sighing deeply. I closed my eyes, allowing the crisp air to lick at my skin and for the soft lull of the water below to carry away all of my troubles.
'I'm surprised to find you here.'
I glanced over my shoulder, meeting a pair of blue and green eyes. Markus. I stayed silent, slowly turning back around.
'North send you?' I asked, unable to keep the bitterness from my voice.
Markuscameover and sat down beside me, his hands grasping the edge to steady himself. 'No, I just wanted to check up on you. Is that such a bad thing? Wanting to check up on a friend?'
