chapter 16

When I woke up the next morning, the fire was more intense than before. It felt like I was actually melting from the inside and out. But Trevor was still in the same position, holding me with strong arms trying to stop the shaking.

"Hey, you're awake. How do you feel?" He asked.

"Like the fire is melting my skin off," I said. I remembered the deal he made with Luke last night and I needed to know if Luke was out getting the supplies. I tried to focus my hearing in the next room and for a second, I couldn't hear Luke snoring and then an intense ringing came. I couldn't hear anything else except for the sharp noise piercing my ears. I couldn't help but grab Trevor's arms in pain.

He tightened his grip on me.

"Hearing," I said, barely managing to get the word out through the pain. The ringing slowly, but painfully, passed.

"Amber, you can't do that. You're just going to make it worse for you," He said, his mouth buried in my hair.

"I needed...to know...if Luke was gone," I said, slowly.

"He's gone. I sent him away with Lydia 2 hours ago. She's supposed to call me if he runs," He said, stroking my hair.

"Shouldn't he be back by now?" I asked.

"They are on their way back now. They should be here in about 5 minutes," He said.

There was a few minutes of silence between him and I. I could barely get any words past the pain and I knew that he hated seeing me like this. That's when I heard the door slam open and Lydia ran into the room. I looked at her and I felt Trevor's head lift up.

"He got everything, nobody saw us in the facility. How is she?" She asked, walking towards me slowly. I could feel Trevor shake his head in response to her question. I tried focusing my vision on her but the fuzziness kept coming and going. I finally managed to get it to go away and my eyes could finally focus clearly on her.

"Amber? Do you think you can manage for one more day?" Lydia asked, putting a hand to my burning skin. I jumped back when she touched me because it sent my nerves into shooting pain. She backed away from me and then looked back at Trevor.

"Ok. Stay here with her, I will go check on Luke," Trevor said. I felt him get up from the bed and place one last kiss on my forehead. I looked into his dark brown eyes and all I could find was pain in them. He searched my face and I gave him a faint smile before he turned around and left the room. Lydia pulled up a chair to sit next to the bed. I looked at her and she gave me a faint smile.

"What can I do Amber? What can I do to help?" She asked.

"This is out of your control. I just need...to hold on until you guys get the antidote," I said.

She took a moment to look at me, her light brown eyes searching my face.

"Amber, please don't leave me. You are the only one that is keeping me sane around Trevor," She said. I laughed at her words.

"Lydia...," I said, trying to go around the truth that we all already knew. I was dying and there was a good chance that I wasn't coming back.

"Promise me that you will fight. You will hold on until you absolutely have to let go. That you won't die on me," She said. I looked at her and I could tell that the girl from the warehouse, the girl that hated me, no longer existed inside of her. Instead, it was a girl that was trying to save me. The girl that wanted to be my friend.

"I promise," I said, quietly.

"Ok. I'm going to go check on Luke. Try getting some sleep," Lydia said, standing up from her chair. She gave me a faint smile before turning her back towards me and leaving the room. I could feel the pain intensify as soon as she left and I couldn't keep my eyes open. The fuzziness came back into my vision and my eyelids dropped, sending me into pitch black darkness.

* * *

When I woke up from my dreamless sleep, it was already dark outside. And Trevor was sitting in the chair that Lydia left in front of the bed.

"Hey." I said, smiling at him.

"Hey." He said, leaning forward and grabbing my hand.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts before saying what I needed to at this point.

"Trevor?" I asked, trying to get him to listen to what I have to say.

"Yeah, Amber?" He asked.

I took a moment and looked at him before saying everything I wanted to say.

"If this doesn't work out. If the poison...," I took a pause trying to compose myself. I could feel the tears prick at my eyes.

"Amber, don't you dare say that. Don't you dare finish your sentence," He said.

"If I don't make it, take Lydia to California and do whatever you have to do to take down Fallen Labs. I want you to keep Lydia and Jared and yourself safe. But I also want you to find someone that makes you happy," I said.

"Amber, I can't. I can't find someone after I found you," He said, his deep voice pained with what I was asking of him.

"I want you to be happy. To love someone else that is preferably alive," I said, laughing at my words.

Trevor laughed with me.

"I love you. From the first day I laid my eyes on you. I knew you were different, stronger, than the others. The only one that will make me happy, is you Amber. I won't let you go, not when this thing between us has barely even started," He said.

I picked up my hand and cupped his cheek. I looked at his dark eyes, trying to savor every single part of him. His messy, soft, chestnut brown hair. His medium colored skin, the way his jaw clenched when he saw me cry, the softness in his eyes when he said he loved me.

"I love you too. I love everything about you and I always will," I said. I could feel the pain coming back and now, it was the strongest it had been. I could feel my hand drop from his face and the fuzziness in my vision returned.

"Amber?" I heard Trevor's faded voice say. I felt him take my face into his hands and the next thing I knew, Lydia came into the room with a needle in her hand. I could feel myself drift off into a darkness and the last face I remember seeing was Trevor's. And he was shouting my name.

* * *

I was in my old bedroom. The lavender walls were newly painted and my room was filled with clothes on the floor. I was listening to music and dancing around my room, trying to avoid cleaning my room, when Jared walked in. I didn't notice him until he pushed me over. I fell into a huge mountain of T-shirts and they went everywhere. I managed to get up from the deep pit my body made and met Jared's eyes. We both started laughing at what just happened. He pulled a large white shirt off of my head and I laughed even harder than before. I walked over to the stereo that was playing Jailhouse Rock by Elvis Presely, and turned back to Jared, putting my hands out so he could take them. He put his hands into mine and we started dancing all around my room. We somehow ended up on the bed and when the song finished, we both jumped down onto the mattress and landed on our backs. We were both out of breath when we stopped dancing and I couldn't help but laugh at our fun. He turned towards me and whispered "Wake up," in my ear.

"What?" I asked.

"Open your eyes Amber. Wake up," He said. My eyes shot open to the room that only had light coming out of the small window. I tried to shake the sleepiness from my head and looked around the room. Then I realized that I should be in pain. I should be dead. But when I moved, I felt nothing. No pain, no fire. I tried moving my shoulder to see if the events from the past 2 days actually happened.

"Agh!" I shouted, biting my lip to stop the rest of the scream from coming out. Yes, Amber. It really did happen. I sat up and put my feet on the cold floor. Standing up without any pain. I waited and waited for the fire to start again but nothing happened. I walked to the door, carefully, preparing myself for what I was expecting to come but nothing happened. I felt relieved when I couldn't feel the pain in my body, only soreness in my shoulder from the gunshot. I opened the door from the room that opened to the kitchen, where Luke was standing. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"Uh...Hi?" I said, confused on why he was still here.

"Hi," He said, putting down the sandwich he was about to eat.

I looked around the kitchen and living room looking for any sign of Lydia or Trevor.

"Trevor went out to get some supplies for your shot, which by the way I'm sorry about, and the girl is in the other room," He said, looking back at his sandwich. Wait, did he just apologize to me?

"Um...thanks," I said, turning around to walk to the room Lydia was in. I didn't know what else to say. It wasn't like I could forgive him for shooting me, or anything else he did considering that he killed my dad. I shook his words from my head and opened the door to Lydia's room. She was sitting on the bed, typing on the laptop. When she looked at me, a huge smile crept up on her face. I closed the door before I could say anything.

"Guess I kept my promise," I said, laughing.

"I knew you would. It's not like you would leave me alone to go insane with my stupid brother," She said, in a joking manner. I came over to the bed and sat next to her. She gave me a hug as soon as I sat down but I winced at the pain since she wasn't very careful with me.

"Sorry," She said.

I laughed at her enthusiasm and returned the hug. "It's ok," I said. I unhooked myself from her and she did the same with me. I looked at the computer that was in her lap.

"What are you hacking now?" I asked, in a sarcastic tone.

She laughed before explaining.

"Nothing, I'm just trying to see what roadblocks they have put in our area. See if we can still go to California without getting stopped," She said. My eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Wait, you said that we shouldn't run into roadblocks. Especially since we left Georgia 2 days ago," I said.

She looked at me with confusion on her face.

"Amber...You've been out for almost 4 days," She said. I couldn't believe her. My eyes went wide with surprise by the time she just announced to me.

"4 days! You guys have been here for 4 days! Why didn't you guys just leave me?! You would be in California right now...You guys probably wouldn't have known if I was dead or alive," I said.

"We weren't about to leave you. Plus, Trevor checked on your shoulder every few hours and even though the antidote knocked you out, the blacks veins started to shrink. They are smaller now but they are still there, it takes a while for your body to get the poison out especially since you used your side-effects. So you may feel a bit of pain for a few more hours," She said, turning back to the laptop. I felt my face relax from the shock that occurred earlier.

"Do you think you can do it by yourself or do you need help?" I asked, trying to find something for me to do.

"When have I ever needed help with technology," She said, laughing at her words.

I gave her a small smile before getting up and leaving her room, closing the door behind me. I looked in the kitchen and Luke was gone. I walked over to the food that was laid out and I picked up a twinkie. I walked towards the back door and opened it, heading to the dock that I was sitting on, watching the stars with Trevor sitting next to me, only a few days ago.

I finally reached the dock and took off my white converse, that I slipped on to come outside and I let my large, white, kiss t-shirt fall past my shorts by only a few centimeters. I sat down on the dock and dipped my feet in the lukewarm lake water before unwrapping my twinkie and taking a bite out of it. It tasted better than I remember but that is probably the effect from my body not having any food in it for the past 4 days. As I was about to take another bite out of the twinkie, I heard the backdoor open. I didn't turn around to look because it was probably just Lydia trying to find out where I ran off to. I unfocused my hearing to the world around me and just focused on the dark blue water. The wind blew my dark brown hair to the side, messing up the braid I managed to make earlier without causing any pain in my shoulder.

"Amber?" The all too familiar deep voice said. I turned around as soon as I heard him speak. He walked towards me and I stood up so fast I thought I was going to fall. I met him halfway.

"Hi." I said, with a smile on my face.

"Hi." He said, the same smile on his face. He closed the remaining distance between us and took my face into his strong hands. He pressed his sweet lips against mine and I couldn't help but return his passionate kiss. I lifted my hands to his soft hair and treated it with the same gentleness he treated me with. I pulled away to grab air, while keeping my eyes closed and I rested my forehead against his. He pressed another kiss on my lips but this one was shorter than the previous one. This one was filled with only love instead of heat and passion.

"I thought I lost you," He whispered. I could feel his breath on my cheek.

"I don't go that easily," I said, letting the smile show on my face. I opened my eyes to meet his dark ones.

"Plus I would never leave you or Lydia," I said.

"I love you. God I love you so much," He said.

"I love you too," I said, pulling away from his forehead. He dropped his hands to my waist, keeping the distance between us closed. I kept the radiant smile on my face and let my hands fall to his chest instead of his neck since moving my arm up to his hair sent a shooting pain to my shoulder.

"How does your shoulder feel?" He asked, returning the same radiant smile.

"It still hurts but it's manageable sometimes. The veins are still there so I'm assuming that the poison is still in my system," I said.

"You'll be ok. It should be out of your system by tomorrow but your body is going to have to heal at a normal pace for the next week," He said.

"What about Luke? What do we do with him once we leave?" I asked, looking past Trevor and in the kitchen where Luke was talking with Lydia.

"He doesn't know where we are going so he can't out us to The WildFires or Fallen Labs," He said following my gaze.

"Ok. Seems like you guys have done a lot without me," I said with a laugh and looking back at him. He turned his head and met my eyes.

"Not everything I had in mind," He said, giving me a small smile. I couldn't help but return the smile.

"Oh yeah. What haven't you gotten to do the past 4 days?" I asked, sarcastically already knowing what he wanted.

He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss on my lips. "I haven't been able to kiss the girl I love," He said, pulling away.

"Well I haven't been able to see the guy that I love," I said, pulling away from his grip to pick up my shoes from the dock.

"I also haven't eaten anything in 4 days and that twinkie wasn't the best choice for my first meal," I said, laughing and walking past him. He ran behind me and put his strong arms around my waist, picking me up and spinning me. I couldn't help but laugh and smile. This was the happiest I have felt in months. When he put me down, He was laughing with me. His sweet laugh echoed in my ears.

"Come on. Let's go get some food in you. We are leaving tonight," He whispered in my ear. He let go of my waist and I walked up to the house and into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich.

"So you're telling me that you went under a different last name when you came to the warehouse so they couldn't hold anything over you or Trevor?" I heard Luke ask from behind me.

"Yeah. And it was all an 11 year olds plan. Because the 14 year old couldn't figure anything out," Lydia explained, bragging about her brilliant plan.

"14? Trevor told us he was 15 when he got captured," Luke said.

"Well when they found us he was 14 but maybe when you got to know him he was 15 because his birthday was only a few days after we came" Lydia explained, turning back to the laptop in her lap. My brows drew together in confusion.

"When did you guys get to The WildFires?" I asked. Lydia looked up at me.

"It was 3 years about a few days ago. You were still out cold," Lydia said, turning back to the laptop. I heard Trevor walk inside from the back door and I immediately looked at him.

"What?" He asked.

I walked back to my room to change my clothes and pack up everything that I needed for the trip to California. Trevor's birthday either already passed or is coming up, so what could I give him? I grabbed my backpack and reached inside the front pocket of it and felt something hard. I pulled it out and I realized what it was. It was the bracelet I made for Dad. I made it out of string and leather and he thought it was so creative. He was fixing the car one day and left it lying around so I picked it up and put it in my room and I completely forgot about it until now. Jared must have put it in there before we left. And it gave me an idea. I didn't want him to go without at least one present. I walked back out of the room and walked over to Lydia.

"So...when is Trevor's birthday?" I asked, trying to play innocent.

"In 2 days...why?" Lydia asked, thinking I was planning something.

"Just curious," I said. I turned around and walked back into my room. I looked back at the leather bracelet and it was a perfect present for an 18 year-old guy. I hid it the best I could in my hand and walked over to where Trevor's room was. I knocked on the door and it took a few seconds for him to say "Come in." I opened the door and walked in on him, shirtless. Again. I turned around and closed the door waiting for him to put on his shirt.

"Why do I have the worst timing," I said in a joking manner.

"Amber, it's just another guy shirtless. I'm sure you have seen tons of models shirtless but I bet I look better," He said in the same joking manner. When I turned around, he was fully dressed and his hair was damp. His clothes were already packed up in his bag. I looked at him from head to toe. His hair fell over his eyes, the forest green shirt he was wearing showed his muscles so perfectly, The black cargo pants he had on mixed well with the boots he was wearing.

"So...are you going to stare or do you have a question in that pretty little head of yours?" He asked. I shook my head, trying to tear my eyes off of the handsome 17-year-old in front of me.

"Lydia...she said something about your birthday in a few days," I said.

He rolled his eyes and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"What? Do you not think 18 is a big deal?" I asked.

"I just don't like my birthday. I haven't liked it for 3 years considering that I was in the warehouse during 3 of them," He said, looking down and then back up at me.

"I get it. The worst birthday I had was in the warehouse. Spending it with a client. It was the worst thing I could have imagined but...I figured I could make this birthday a bit better," I said. I looked at him and walked closer to him, closing whatever distance we had between us.

"Close your eyes," I whispered. He looked at me for a moment and then closed his eyes. I held up the leather bracelet in front of his face and before I could tell him to open his eyes, he already did on his own. A small smile crept up on his face.

"Did you make it?" He asked, grabbing the bracelet from in front of him.

"I made it when I was younger. It was for my dad but he's...you know," I said, looking away from him trying to avoid the subject.

"It's beautiful. Thank you," He said, guiding my head back towards him with his finger under my chin.

"But you know what would be better?" He asked, looking at me with a crooked smile.

"I don't know, what could it be?" I asked sarcastically before returning the same, evil smile.

He leaned forward and put his hands on my waist before kissing me. This kiss was different. It was sweet, passionate, and aggressive. Like he wanted me. My hands drifted up to his neck and then the back of his head. He moved his soft lips down to my jawline and then my neck and then back up to my lips. His grip around my waist tightened, but it wasn't painful. It was gentle. I could feel that he wanted me. And with every second of inhaling his scent, I wanted more of him. We heard a knock at the door and then he pulled away.

"Ugh!" I said loudly. He laughed at my reaction and then turned to the door.

"What Lydia?" He shouted, resting his forehead against mine.

"We have a problem," She said, her voice muffled because of the door. I shot my eyes open at the words and met Trevor's dark eyes that still said he wanted me.

He slowly let go of my waist and walked over to the door, letting Lydia in.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Police are going to put patrol in this area tonight. They know about this house and they are probably going to search it for kids. We have about 2 hours before they do but we need to leave. Now!" She said urgently.

"I'll go finish packing," I said, running past Trevor and Lydia. I walked into the room and started throwing my clothes in my bag. I didn't bother to change out of the large kiss shirt and the athletic shorts that I used to wear when I went out for a run. I let my hair out of my messy braid and re-did it and then rushed out of the room. As soon as I got out, Trevor and Lydia were already at the van talking to Luke outside. I grabbed an empty water bottle and filled it up as quickly as I could and then walked out to the van.

"If you go West, you should end up in Arkansas by morning. By then, they wouldn't have extended the roadblocks that far so you won't get caught," Luke explained to Trevor. He handed him all of the money he could spare and gave him a small nod. I walked around to the passenger side of the van and jumped in, throwing my bag in the back. As soon as Luke went back inside, Trevor jumped into the van and started the engine. He sped out of the forest and we got onto the road within at least a minute.

"It's midnight right now, we should get to little rock in maybe 4 to 5 hours," Lydia said. I looked outside of my window, trying to focus on the outside world until I got a huge headache. I rubbed my temples, trying to make the pain go away.

"Amber? You ok?" Trevor asked, looking over at me with worried eyes.

"Yeah. Just a small headache," I said.

"Just, don't use your side-effects for too long and you should be fine. Give it a few days and you can use them again," He said, turning back to the road.

"If I die in my sleep, I will find you two in hell so Trevor, try not to kill us," Lydia said.

"I'll try," He said with a small chuckle.

Lydia laid down in the back of the van and shut her eyes to try and get some sleep. It took her a full 10 minutes to fall asleep. I wasn't very tired so I just looked out of my window, watching the world pass by us.

"You're not tired?" Trevor asked.

"Not really. When you spend 4 days asleep you kind of have all the energy in the world," I said.

"If you say so," Trevor said, still looking at the road.

I turned to look at his serious face. His hair was still damp and made his eyebrows look like they were cut into multiple pieces thanks to the messiness of his hair. His jaw was clenched and his eyes focused on the road. I looked at the bracelet that I gave him and it fit so perfectly for him. It wasn't too bulky or too thin but it was maybe a pencils width. I smiled looking at it on him and then turned back to my window. Looking at the green forest pass by.