chapter 13

"Amber!" I heard Trevor shout, with anger in his voice. The teenage boy with blonde hair pointed the gun at Trevor and commanded him to stay where he was. I could hear his low growl.

"Are you guys with Fallen Labs? The WildFires?" The teenage boy said. I tried to focus on him but all I could focus on was the stinging pain in my cheek. He was strong, I could tell you that. He punched me again when I didn't answer. I couldn't focus on anything now. I could barely focus on the voice that was behind me.

"We escaped The WildFires. We are trying to get somewhere safe and we came here for supplies and to spend a night out of Georgia. We are just like you. Scared teenagers, running from Fallen labs and The WildFires," I heard Trevor say. The teenage boy holding the gun to my head, dropped it to his side before putting it in his waistband. He shouted at people that I couldn't see in the dark.

"You guys can come out now. They are just kids," The boy with the blonde hair yelled. That's when I noticed 3 more dark figures come into the aisle. One was a girl and the other 2 were twins. One was a girl and the other was a boy but both had the same green eyes and dirty blonde hair.

I felt the boy who punched me, pick me up and try to steady me.

"Sorry for the punch. I thought you were someone trying to take us," He said. His voice was deep and sincere.

I gave him a faint smile before he let me go, trying to see if I could stand on my own. I finally regained some feeling through my body, enough to let me stand on my own. He stepped back to join the group that was behind him, and all the lights turned on as soon as he did.

"I'm Jack. The girl with the brown hair is Peyton and the twins are Layla and Cameron," He said, pointing to each kid when he said their name.

I felt Trevor come up behind me and introduce us. "I'm Trevor, this is my sister Lydia and this is Amber."

I picked my gun up and put it in my waistband, before the other kids could manage to grab it.

"So why are you here?" Jack asked. His light blue eyes found my dark brown eyes. Trevor looked at him and let out a low growl before I looked up at him and shook my head.

"We just needed to get out of Georgia. They are putting roadblocks in about a day or two and we had to get out as soon as possible," I said.

Jack narrowed his eyes towards Trevor and then looked back at me before turning around to talk with the group. I could hear them whispering but I couldn't get a clear conversation, considering that I couldn't focus at all except on the sting that was in my cheek. It was more painful than usual but that's probably because my healing process is sped up so the pain comes fast. Jack turned back around to face me.

"You guys can stay here for 3 nights. Take as many supplies as you need but only if you don't tell anyone else we are here. We are trying to lay low for a while," He said. Trevor looked at me and I looked at him. I turned back to face Jack and nodded at his one condition.

"Do you guys want to join us for dinner?" Peyton asked. Her brown hair was long and it matched well with her hazel eyes. Lydia responded to the question before Trevor and I could.

"Sure! I will go help set up with you guys," she said. Lydia, Peyton, and the Twins both turned around and walked over to the little campsite they set up.

"Amber, why don't you come with me. I will go get an ice pack for that cheek. It's the least I could do," Jack said. I felt Trevor take a step forward, putting me behind him. I saw his jaw clench in anger before he could get a sentence out.

"I think I can help her with that," He said with anger in his voice that he couldn't hide. Jack met Trevor's eyes at the same level, considering that they were the same height. He gave a little chuckle before saying, "I think she can answer for herself. You know, without her bodyguard speaking for her." I could feel Trevor get more and more angry with his words. I saw him clench his fist and that's when I turned back to Jack saying, "Sure, I'll go with you. Can I have a moment with Trevor though?"

He nodded and turned around to meet the group at the end of the aisle. I turned around to face Trevor and his eyes didn't come off of Jack.

"You need to calm down," I said, in a soothing voice. After a few seconds, he finally looked down at me.

"How can I calm down with that Jack-ass here," He said.

I looked at him, trying to figure out why he was so angry. So jealous.

"I don't like him," He said.

"Listen. We can stay here for 3 nights. That's a lot of time to gather supplies to last us all the way to California. You just have to deal with him for a few days ok?" I asked.

His face softened as soon as I touched his hair. He let out a deep breath before saying "Ok," in agreement. I gave him a faint smile before turning around to meet Jack at the end of the aisle.

"I'm sorry about that. He's just mad that you hit me," I said.

"Hey it's ok. I understand why he would be so mad if someone even touched something as pretty as you," Jack said, giving a small smile. I didn't return the smile. I could feel the blood rushing to my face, making me uncomfortable with his words.

We started walking to the other side of the store, where the refrigerators were. He told me where their group came from and how long they have been on the run. He even told me that all 4 of them had extra side-effects. That caught my attention.

"What side-effects do you have?" I asked. His blue eyes found my dark eyes when he put the ice pack on my cheek. I jumped a little at the coldness of it.

"Sorry. Um...I have sight and I also have agility and strength," He said.

"So that's why your punch hurt so much. Either that or I'm just really weak," I said in a joking manner. We both laughed at my words. He took a moment before asking the question on his mind.

"So, what are yours?" He asked. I hesitated before telling him the truth.

"I have sight, hearing and quick healing. I might also have this sense to feel like something dangerous is coming. Like knowing something bad is about to happen to someone I care about," I said.

"Doesn't everyone have that?" He asked.

"Apparently, the vaccine heightened that sense. Now, whenever I feel something bad is going to happen, it's stronger than someone else's. I could tell right off the bat that something bad was going to happen here and look where that got me," I said. I laughed and so did Jack.

It was easy to talk with him. He was really sweet and funny when you got to know him and he always had something to talk about.

"So, how old are you?" I asked.

"I'm almost 18. What about you?" He asked.

"I just turned 16 a few months ago," I said. We walked in silence for a few minutes after that question until we walked past the clothing section when something caught my eye. I turned to find a white dress that had blue roses painted on it. It was a simple dress with the sleeves off the shoulder and the skirt going a few inches above the knee.

"You should try it on," Jack said. His footsteps got louder while he approached me.

I turned to look at him and shook my head.

"Why not? I'm sure your boyfriend would like it," He said.

"Who? You mean Trevor?" I said, confusion in my voice.

"Well...yeah. He seemed so protective over you I thought you two were together," He said, surprise in his face.

"No, we aren't...together," I said. Hesitating before denying his thoughts. He looked at me and smiled.

"You would still look great in it. Even if it wasn't for him," He said. I gave him a faint smile before turning back to the dress and walking towards it. The dress was so soft. It was cotton but it looked like it was a designer dress. I grabbed it off of the hanger and went into the dressing room. I slid into the dress, like it was meant to be worn by me. I looked in the long mirror and smiled at my reflection. My white skin and brown hair mixed well with the blue petals that were designed on the dresses skirt.

"Come on. Let's see it," Jack said. I came out of the dressing room and showed him the dress.

"What do you think?" I asked, spinning around to show every angle of the dress. He was silent for a few seconds before trying to attempt a sentence.

"I...You look...wow," Jack said, looking me up and down. I smiled before I said, "I should take it off now."

"No, don't! If you like it, why don't you wear it. At least for a few hours," He said, looking at my dark brown eyes. I gave a smile and nodded before we started walking back to the mini campsite Jack and his friends created. I didn't see Trevor anywhere but Lydia was sitting with Peyton on the floor having the sandwich that they made for dinner. Lydia looked at me and her mouth dropped open.

"Amber...you look amazing. Where did you find that?" She asked, like she wanted one of her own.

"I was walking back with Jack when I saw it in the clothes section. There were some other dresses if you want one. Why don't you go with Peyton and have some fun over there," I said, giving her a smile. She looked back at Peyton and they both got up and ran off to the clothes section. I laughed at their reaction.

I turned back to Jack and found his light eyes looking at me.

"What?" I asked.

"You're just so great with her. Like she was your family. You know exactly what to say to make her smile," He said. I gave a faint smile before looking away from him, trying to break our long silence and eye contact. He stepped closer to me but as soon as he did, I didn't feel comfortable. I looked back up at his light blue eyes and said, "I'm going to go look for Trevor. I'll see you in a bit," I said, turning around to search the store for Trevor.

I walked through the toy section, tire section, and snack section but I couldn't find Trevor anywhere. I found the door that went to the garden area and figured, might as well give it a shot. I walked through the sliding doors and found the most beautiful flowers in the greenhouse. There were roses and daisies and lilies. I walked through every row of beautiful flowers, admiring their colors before finding him in the tulip row. His shoulders looked tense and his hands were clenched into fists. He was obviously still angry about earlier.

"Hey." I said. As soon as the word left my mouth, I could physically see him relax. His shoulders went down to their natural placement and his hands opened up. He turned around slowly and looked at me. His eyes softened as soon as he saw me in the dress. But he didn't say a word.

"What's wrong? Is the dress broken?" I asked, looking down at the skirt of the dress. I looked back up at him and a crooked smile peeked onto his face.

"No, you look...beautiful," He said. I smiled at his words. It didn't matter what everyone else said, the only person's opinion I cared about, was Trevor's. He looked away from me after admiring me for a minute. My brows drew together in confusion.

"What are you thinking?" I asked, walking over to him. He took a moment before choosing his words carefully.

"I'm trying to figure you out," He said, looking back at me. He took a deep breath before explaining.

"One day you're someone that I completely know but then the next you're like this person that puts up those barriers that come back up when you're scared or angry but with him... you didn't put those walls up," He said.

"He offered to do something nice, to help us out for a few days," I said, with a hint of confusion in my voice. I tried to hide the real reason I didn't put those barriers up. I didn't want to show anyone the anger I stored away for almost a year. If I put down those barriers I'm scared of what people might think of me. That I'm broken.

"He hit you Amber. Or you don't remember that that happened almost an hour and a half ago," He said, anger building up in his face.

"He was scared. Trying to protect his friends, his family," I said in defense of Jack.

"He hit you. And you just walk off with him like it didn't happen," He said, stepping closer to me.

"He thought we were with Fallen Labs. With The WildFires. He was scared. Can't you see that?" I asked.

"He hit you. He touched you. He may have done it out of fear but he still did it Amber," He said, in an angry voice.

"He. Was. Scared." I said, trying to make every word clear.

"He. Hit. You. And you still go off with him. You can't tell me that you didn't notice the way he looked at you," He said. I looked away from him. He let out a little angry laugh.

"He hits you and makes googly eyes at you and you still go off with him. Tell me. Did he kiss you, hold your hand, call you pretty?" He asked. He looked back at me and that's when I kept my eyes away from him.

I stayed silent.

He walked towards me in anger and closed off any distance between our bodies. He took my face into his hands so delicately, only inches separating our faces.

"Tell me that I am not crazy. That I didn't imagine every conversation we had. That I didn't imagine us holding hands or you sleeping on my chest the night in the motel or in your house. Tell me that I didn't imagine this and that you want this. Tell me that I'm not crazy," He said. I could feel his sweet breath on my cheek. His lips were inches from mine and I couldn't stop staring at them. At this moment, I craved every single part of him. I craved for his lips to touch mine softly, to feel his hands treat me so delicately, to smell the rain and leather his body gave off.

I couldn't move and I couldn't speak. I could only look into his eyes.

"I...," I said, trying to find the words to say. He let go of me and walked past me to head towards the door, leaving me in the Garden all by myself.

* * *

It's been 2 days since I last talked to Trevor. Tonight is our last night and we leave in the morning. We have passed each other just walking around in the store but we haven't said a single word since the Greenhouse. I've been hanging out with Jack to take my mind off of it. He's helped a little but I feel empty without Trevor. Like there is a void in me without him.

"Hey Amber! Catch!" Jack said, throwing a medium sized bouncy ball at me. I snapped out of my thoughts and caught the ball just in time. I looked back at Jack and I knew that I had no facial expression when he stopped smiling.

"What's wrong? Sad about leaving me tonight?" He said, coming towards me only to separate us by only a few inches.

"It's just...It's nothing," I said, smiling to hide what was really going on in my head.

"Are you sure? You can talk to me you know," He said, taking a step closer. That was the thing about Jack. He always made me laugh and smile but he also made me uncomfortable sometimes. When he got too close to me or tried to hold my hand, I wouldn't resist because I would feel bad after everything he has done for me, Lydia, and Trevor. But I still felt uncomfortable when he was close to me because the only person I wanted this close was the one who wasn't talking to me.

"Maybe we should head back. I'm kind of hungry," I said, turning around to walk back.

"Ok," He said, coming to my side to take my hand and hold it. This time, I jerked my hand away from his, but he didn't stop trying until we finally got to the mini campsite. I walked over to where the food was already sitting, grabbing a paper bowl and scooping up some Mac N' Cheese. That's when Trevor came up beside me and grabbed a paper bowl. I didn't look at him for a second.

"Hey." He said, his deep voice was soft like usual.

"Hey." I said, grabbing a bottle of water.

"Can we talk?" He asked. I could feel his eyes on me. I finally managed to look up at him and gave him a faint smile. Jack answered before I could get a word out.

"She's busy right now. But you guys will have more than enough time to talk when you leave tomorrow," He said, grabbing my hand and dragging me away from Trevor before I could even stand my ground and say the opposite of what Jack said. Jack dragged me all the way to the toy aisle that we were in earlier. I looked at him and I could tell that I was furious with his actions.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You didn't even let me talk," I said, sitting down to eat my Mac N' Cheese.

"I just didn't think you wanted to talk to him," He said, picking up a ball and playing with it.

I didn't confirm or deny his thoughts. He sat down next to me and played with the small ball in his hands.

"I'm sorry. It's just I thought something happened to you while you were with him and that you wouldn't want to talk to him," He said.

"Something did happen but I don't like ignoring him. He's still my friend," I said, playing with my food.

"Want to talk about it?" He asked. I hesitated before looking up at him and gave him a faint smile before nodding.

We spent maybe 2 hours just sitting there in the aisle talking about everything that happened with me and Trevor. He didn't try to hug me or touch me or anything. Instead, he just simply listened, and it was nice to have that.

"So you don't have feelings for him?" He asked, standing up and helping me up from the floor.

"It's complicated. I just have these walls that I don't want to take down. It's kind of a way to protect myself," I said.

"Well do you have feelings for anyone else? Like maybe a very handsome blonde 17 year old standing in front of you?" He asked. I looked at his eyes but I didn't know how to respond. I've never had feelings like I did towards Trevor for anyone. But I for sure knew that I didn't like Jack that way. But I had no idea how to express it. There were some moments where I thought maybe I do like him and others where I don't. And I didn't want to hurt his feelings. Instead I gave him a little hope.

"I...don't know," I said.

I felt him slide his hands onto my waist. He closed the space between us and his face was inches from mine. His grip tightened around me and it started to hurt a little but I ignored it because my head was clouded with fear.

"How about we try something?" He asked in a low, seductive voice.

I couldn't get a word out, all I could do is look at him. And then, he closed the distance between our lips and his soft lips found mine. He kissed me with such passion and softness. His grip kept on tightening around my waist and I pushed my hands against his chest, trying to separate us. I pulled away from him but his grip didn't let me go far.

"Come on. You can't tell me you don't want this," He said, with a crooked smile on his face. He pushed himself back onto me and I kept hitting my hands against his chest until he caught my wrists. His hands were so strong and started to hurt my wrist. It felt like I was a porcelain doll and he could break me at any moment. He kept kissing me and I tried so hard to pull away but I couldn't, not with his grip on my wrists.

I did the only thing I could think of to escape from this trap he was holding me in. I lodged my knee right in the crotch and I could feel his iron grip let go of my wrists.

"Ow!" He shouted, falling to the floor.

"What the hell! Why did you do that?" I said, walking away from him on the verge of tears.

"I thought you wanted it. But now I see why Trevor left you all alone. You're just a broken girl," He said, looking at me with such anger in his eyes.

I could feel the anger building and the tear about to fall from my eyes. I took a moment before saying anything but I didn't try to hide the disgust and anger in my voice.

"I'm leaving tonight," I said, running out of the aisle. The tears were falling down now and I couldn't stop them. I felt my legs go weak as I was running away from Jack. And somehow I found myself in the garden. I was in the rose section, sitting against the wall of the greenhouse, facing the door, with my head in my hands. I couldn't breath. It was like I was being suffocated, like my throat was swollen. All I could do was cry. And it was the first time in almost a year that I let myself cry. I looked at my wrists and saw the red marks that were going around the whole area. I tried moving them but it hurt so bad. It's like he couldn't let me go. I felt so used, so stupid to not see this coming. I kept letting the tears fall when I heard the door to the greenhouse open. I looked up and saw Trevor standing there.

"Amber? What's wron-" He paused mid sentence and then looked at my face. I knew he could see my tears.

"Nothing. It's nothing," I said, wiping the tears off of my cheek and with an angry tone. I heard him walk towards me and I tried to hide my wrists so he wouldn't see the damage that was done. He sat down next to me but I couldn't look at him. I turned my head away from him.

"Tell me what happened," He said. I closed my eyes, letting another tear fall down my cheek. I could feel his dark eyes wonder down to my hands that were trying to stay hidden. He picked one up carefully and I bit my lip trying to stop the pain from coming out. I turned my head to look at him and he looked away from my red wrists and looked at me.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I said in a quiet voice. He gave me a faint smile before wiping the tear off of my cheek.

"Tell me what happened," He said in a soft voice.

I took a deep breath before speaking. "I was with Jack eating dinner. And he kept asking me about what happened between me and you. Then he asked me about how I feel about him and he kissed me. He wouldn't let go of my waist and I tried so hard to push him off of me but he grabbed my wrists and wouldn't let go. It felt like he was going to break them. I managed to get away but then he said that he understood why you left me. Because I'm broken and damaged."

I saw his face turn into pure anger. His jaw clenched and before I could stop him, he got up and started walking away. I got up and tried to catch up to him.

"Where are you going?" I asked. He didn't look at me, he just kept walking forward. I threw myself in front of him and with my damaged wrists, tried to stop him in his tracks. He looked down at me and met my eyes.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"What do you think! First, he hits you. Then, he kisses you and wouldn't let go of you. I'm going to kill the little ass," He said. Anger was the only emotion in his voice.

"Don't do anything. I can handle this. I can fix this," I said, lowering my hands to my side.

"How can I not do anything!" He said. I looked away trying to form a plan in my head and figured out what we needed to do.

"Everyone should be sleeping right now. You go get as many supplies as we need and I will go get Lydia. We leave tonight," I said. He looked at me and I saw the anger fade away.

"Please, Trevor," I said in a soft voice. He hesitated before nodding.

"Ok. Ok let's go, but you have 30 minutes. If you don't meet me in the van by then I can't guarantee anything," He said. I nodded and then ran off to the campsite where Lydia was sleeping. By the time I got there, she was still awake. I walked over to her and explained everything.

She nodded and then crawled into a tent. I stood in front of the tent to make sure nobody else would wake up. Lydia crawled out after 10 minutes. She had 2 bags. She handed me my backpack that was completely packed with clothes and supplies.

"Ok, go to the van and if Trevor isn't there, wait for him in the back. Go," I said pushing her towards the general area of the front door. She ran off and was out of sight before I heard footsteps behind me.

"Where do you think you're going?" Jack asked from behind me. I turned around slowly to face him.

"I'm leaving with my friends. I think it's best if we go now instead of the morning," I said, narrowing my eyes at him in anger.

"Maybe you should stay. We can talk about this can't we? We're friends, Amber," He said, taking a step towards me. I took one step backwards.

"Not anymore. Not after that stunt you pulled," I said with an angry tone. I wasn't crying anymore. Instead I let the anger that has been building up for months out. He walked towards me and I kept stepping back until I ended up hitting a shelf full of cereal. I could feel fear and anger build in my chest and spread through my whole body once I felt his breath on my cheek. He grabbed my wrists, holding down so I wouldn't resist. I let out a wince of pain when he squeezed my wrists harder. It wasn't until he squeezed them with full force that I let out a scream of pain.

"You want this. I know you do," He said, his blue eyes searching my dark brown eyes.

"No, she doesn't," I heard a voice say from behind him. It was hard to tell who it was since Jack was towering over me. He turned around and then he fell to the floor from the full impact punch that hit his face. I looked at Trevor and saw anger on his face and then turned back to Jack.

"We are leaving. I hope I never see you again," I said.

"Oh trust me, you will," He said with an evil smile on his face. Trevor punched him full force, knocking him out cold. He turned back to me and took my face into his hands.

"Are you ok? I heard you screaming," He said. I put my hand on top of his and nodded.

"We need to go. Now," I said, taking his hands off of my face. He nodded and took my hand. He ran towards the door and I ran right behind him. Once we finally reached the van, Lydia handed me my gun. I stared at her with shock in my face.

"I needed something in case you guys didn't come back," She said. Trevor started the car and launched it backwards, speeding out of the parking lot.

"Ok well considering that it's 1 AM right now, I'm going to sleep," Lydia said, climbing back into the back of the van and falling asleep after only a few minutes. I examined my wrists, looking at the bruise that was forming from Jack's hands gripping them so hard. They hurt more than I would have thought but that may have been because of the sped up healing process.

"How bad is it?" Trevor asked.

"It's not as bad as I thought," I said, resting my hands in my lap.

He looked over and took my hand into his, entwining our finger together.

"You didn't imagine it. You're not crazy. I just don't know how to express those feelings because I've never...," I paused looking at our hands.

"You've never felt that way about anyone," He said, finishing my thought. I looked up at him and nodded.

"What do you feel? When you're around me or when I touch you," He asked. I took a deep breath trying to explain it the best I could.

"I feel relaxed. Safe. My heart starts to race when I hear your voice and I feel like you are the only person that can put me back together if I break," I said. He didn't say anything. He took a deep breath.

"You drive me crazy. It's like I see you with a guy and I wanted to punch him. It's like sometimes I can't even breath with you around, or sometimes I feel drunk. You do something to me that nobody else has ever managed to do to me. Like you're the only thing that can hurt me," He said, looking at the road. I looked at him and Lydia's words were playing in my head. He loves you, you know. Was it true? Did he really love me? Do I love him? I leaned my head against the seat, leaving our hands tangled together and fell into a peaceful sleep with those words playing in my mind.

I love him.