Forever Hold My Heart

“That’s not true Katelyn, your dad is dead. There are pictures and there’s just no way.” Marcus said and I looked down at the paper. “Maybe he meant you’re going to hell too, so that when you see him you can tell him that.”
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically.
“I’m just saying,” He said, “Well seeing as you won’t leave this room, I’ll be back with food,”
I got up and walked back to my chair. I could start to see the color returning to Travis’s face. The anecdote was definitely working. I know anyone in their right mind wouldn’t just give themselves up to the Latronums, but I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t go out there then for all I knew they could poison people like crazy. I was so confused, I threw my head back. I didn’t even want to report this to Clarence but I didn’t have a choice, on the contrary it didn’t even matter anymore, I was a dead woman walking.
I broke out of my thoughts when Travis suddenly got up. He tried to run out of the room but he just emptied his stomach on the floor. I quickly got up and grabbed a small trash can. He took it from me and continued to throw up.
I rubbed his back.
“I’m sorry,” He heaved
“Don’t worry,” I said and I helped him back to his bed. I waited for him to fall back asleep so I could clean up the mess. He was throwing up a black gooey substance, I prayed this was him getting rid of all the poison.
Just as I sat down, Marcus came in the room.
“Here you go,” Marcus said
“I’m not hungry,” I said
“Oh no, you’re going to eat this, even if it means I have to shove this down your throat.” Marcus said
“Alright, alright,” I said and I started eating.
“I’ll be back to see if everything is good,” Marcus said
“Can you check if my team is okay,” I said
“Already did,” He said
“Thank you,” I said and he nodded. When I was done I waited anxiously, Travis was sweating like crazy. I couldn’t stand seeing him like this, it was pulling at my heart. He slowly opened his eyes, I got up and sat on the edge of his bed. He reached his hand out and I grabbed it. He cleared his throat.
“Don’t talk you should be resting.” I said and he patted the spot next to him with his other hand. I slowly laid down facing him.
“Go to sleep,” Travis said. I didn’t want to fall asleep, but I knew that he wanted to be in my dreams. I closed my eyes and tried to calm my thoughts. “Sleep.”
I smiled, he was so crazy.

When I woke up I was still next to Travis. I looked up at him he was already up, he was just looking at nothing in particular. He looked way better, as a matter of fact it didn’t look like he had ever been poisoned.
“How do you feel?” I asked as I stretched
“I feel good,” He said
“Still feel like you can run my crazy obstacle course,” I smiled and he shook his head.
“Thank you,” He said
“For what,” I asked
“For being here for me,” he said
“You would have done the same for me,” I said
“I don’t know about that,” He said jokingly and I poked his chest.
“If I recall you owe me a day off,” I said
“That’s right,” He said
“How about tomorrow,” I said
“Sounds good to me,” Travis said
“I’m going to go take a shower.” I said
“See you around,” he said and I was off. Today I was going to spend the day with my friends. I took a quick shower and got dressed. I wanted to make the most of my time. I told my team to just train, make plans, or just hang out for the day.
I called Clarence to pick me up. I didn’t want to bother anyone else to have to tag along with me. On the way to the house I made sure to tell Clarence which Latronums to cross out. I didn’t bother telling him anything else.
“Thanks for the ride.” I said and Clarence nodded. I watched as he drove away before I headed inside.
“Katelyn!” Landon said from upstairs. I jogged upstairs.
“How did you know, I was here,” I said
“I could smell you,” He winked.
“Okay...” I said with a smile
“Gavin’s out in the back.” He said
“Thanks,” I said and I hugged him.
“Okay...” He said and I left as I ran down the stairs. When I went out back I could hear laughing. I reached the pool to find Cecilia, Gavin, and another Royal in the pool. I looked around and saw Damien and Blake at the table. I walked over and hugged both of them when I got there.
“Please don’t tell me you’re heading out tonight,” Blake said
“Nope,” I said
“Oh so then you’re just here to visit?” Blake asked and I nodded.
“So what the new update,” Damien said and I leaned back into my seat.
“Travis is all better.” I said
“They made an anecdote?” Damien asked
“No,” I said
“Then?” Damien pushed
“It doesn’t really matter,” I said
“Don’t tell me you headed out without telling us,” Blake said and I smiled.
“Would I be here if I did,” I said
“She makes a point,” Damien said
“Whats new?” Blake asked, “you look happy.”
“Yeah actually too happy.” Damien said and I shrugged
“I’m just enjoying life,” I said and I looked up at the sky, “Because you never know when your time is over.”
“Did you by any chance have a near death experience.” Blake asked and I laughed.
“No, now will you stop, I came out to hang out.” I said
“Sure...” Blake said and I punched his arm.
“So how’s the latronum hunting going?” Damien asked
“In total we’ve finished 8 of them, 1 of them wasn’t even in the book,” I said and I wiggled my eyebrows.
“You’re creeping me out,” Blake said and I laughed.
“Oh Blake,” I said
“Katelyn!,” Gavin yelled and I looked over. I waved with a smile.
“Why don’t you guys come in,” Cecilia said
“I don’t have my bathing suit,” I said and Cecilia got out and waved me over. I followed her inside the house. We walked to her room and she rummaged through her drawers. she pulled out a two piece bathing suit.
“You wouldn’t happen to have a one piece?” I said holding up the two pieces.
“Why, you have a smoking body, now go get dressed,” She said as she pushed me into her bathroom. As I got dressed I looked at myself in the mirror. I had the worlds worst tan lines. The top piece fit me just fine, this must have been one of Cecilia older swimsuits.
I walked out, and Cecilia handed me a towel.
“Damn girl me and you should work out together.” She said touching my stomach. “I want my stomach to look nice and toned like yours.”
I just shook my head.
“It’s not that big of a deal,” I said

At the pool we were just messing around. We were in there for a long time, my fingers were so pruny. I was outside of the pool, I was about to do a front flip then dive.
“Come on,” Gavin yelled.
“Don’t rush me,” I said I ran in place for a while. “Okay I got this.”
I got a head start run. I threw my hands out but when my hands hit the floor, my right hand slipped. I flipped to my feet but only landed on my left foot. I hit my side on the edge of the pool. I went in head first and if things could go any worse I took in a deep breath of water. Almost immediately I was pulled out of the pool. I was on all four coughing up water, I tried to breath but there was water on the wrong side. Damien kept patting my back. I finally coughed up a bunch of water. I took deep uneven breaths.
“Are you okay?” Blake asked.
“I’ll be fine,” I said as I sat down.
“That’s what you get for showing off,” Blake said and I punched the side of his thigh.
“We should go eat,” Gavin said
“Katelyn almost died and all you can think about is food?” Cecilia said and Gavin put his hands up in defense.
“I’m hungry too,” I said

We all went inside to eat. The day was going by great, we had all showered and gotten dress we were currently just playing board games. We were in the middle of Apples to Apples.
“Dude how are pigeons relaxing,” I said
“Well because they’re so peaceful when they fly,” Damien said
“No, dude,” Gavin said and he started to argue saying two other cards were the obvious choice. I dismissed myself when I got a phone call from Clarence.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Hold on transferring you to a board meeting,” Clarence said and I was about to object when I heard the line ringing. I walked towards the back.
“Hello Katelyn,” A man said it was the same one that started talking first last time.
“Um I hate to make it seem like I don’t care but I’m at a Royals house and I don’t have that much privacy.” I said
“It’s okay, we’ll do most of the talking,” The man with a high pitched voice said
“Okay,” I said
“We’ve received a report from you written by Marcus,” The older man said and I squeezed my eyes shut. Marcus seriously did handle everything for me.
“We are aware that the encounters with the Figuris Iustitia weren’t your fault. After all its expected when going that deep into the forest .” The man with the raspy voice said
“The reason we’re calling you is to talk about the deal that was made between you and this Latronum, from Frigus Iustitia,” The man with a nasally voice said
“Yeah, I made the deal to get the anecdote for Travis. The rest doesn’t really matter though, Travis is all better now. Unless you want me to go through with my end of the bargain” I said
“That would be dumb if we let you give yourself up,” A man with a husky voice said
“Alright well I’m glad that’s cleared up,” I said
“We’ll just have to be more on guard with you. They want you and it looks like they’ll do anything to get you,” The man with the high pitched voice said.
“I think we established that last time we talked,” I said, “And I was going to say is it okay if me and my team lay low for the next couple of days.”
“Yeah that would seem like the smarter thing to do,” The older man said
“Alright Katelyn, you’re dismissed.” The first man said, I hung up and I as I turned around I saw Blake standing there. I didn’t know how much he heard.
“Hey,” I said awkwardly.
“What was that about,” he asked
“Clarence was just asking some questions about a report Marcus filled out for me.” I said
“You’ve been acting so strange lately,” Blake said
“You’re the one that keeps assuming something is off,” I said
“I’m on to you Henderson,” Blake said as we went back inside.
“If you say so,” I said

I stayed pretty late, I was even debating on sleeping over. I was currently in Gavin’s room.
“Do you remember the time when my dog died,” I said as I layed on his bed and he was leaning against the pillows.
“Are you kidding me you missed a whole week of school.” Gavin said
“You missed half the week,” I said
“Yeah because I was concerned for you,” Gavin said
“Do you remember what my mom told me,” I said
“Katelyn you can’t mope for the rest of your life, now will you please get up” He said
“Not that part,” I said rolling over to my side so I could face him. “Remember she told me that death was a beautiful part of life.”
“What makes you bring that up?” he asked
“I was just thinking about it today,” I said
“Was it when you hit your side on the pool,” he laughed, “Was that your near death experience.”
“Shut up,” I laughed
“That was a pretty hard fall though,” Gavin said
“I know,” I said looking at the time. “Well it’s late, I should get back to camp.”
“Today was fun, we should do this more often,” He said and I felt the guilt sink in.
“Don’t let me hold you back, even if I’m not here,” I said
“It’s just you add a different vibe to everything,” Gavin said and I hugged him.
“Well my vibes should carry on even when I’m not here.” I said as I got up.
“See you soon,” Gavin said and I just smiled as I left his room. I walked over to Damien and Blake.
“Hey guys I’m out,” I said and they nodded. I hugged them both, the hug was longer than usual. They both gave me suspicious looks and I smiled at them.
“Are you sure you’re not heading out tonight,” Damien said.
“I’m sure, I just don’t want to have to get back to work.” I said and I got a text from Clarence saying that he was here already. “Well that’s me.”
“Be safe,” Blake said
“Good bye,” I said and I headed out. I got in the car and Clarence looked at me.
“Everything good,” He asked and I nodded. The drive back to camp felt like forever, was I really going to give myself up, everyone was saying no, but deep down inside I knew that if I didn’t they would just go after everyone close to me. Clarence pulled up to the parking lot.
“Thanks again,” I said. As I walked towards the gates, I could hear shuffling in the forest. I hurried inside once inside the camp walls, I could hear laughing in the distance. I broke out into a full sprint towards the building. Once inside I hunched over and tried to catch my breath. My phone started vibrating, I got a text from an unknown number. I watched as I got a couple of texts from the same number.
I walked to my room as I checked my phone. They were all pictures from today, one of them was even when I tried to do a front flip and a dive. I stopped in my tracks, the last picture was of Eli sitting on a tree branch and you could barely see us in the background. Although we were still so far they were still watching. I clenched my fists as I read the last text.
‘Hey babe, I’ll be waiting for you or else.’
‘Tomorrow night’ I texted back
When I got to the room, Travis was reading a book. It was in Latin so I didn’t even bother trying to read the title.I looked around no one else was here yet.
“Hey there,” Travis said and I looked up.
“Hey,” I said reaching for some clothes to change into.
“How was your day,” He asked putting his book down.
“It went rather well,” I said putting on my shorts and then taking my skirt off.
“You look upset though,” Travis said
“No, its just I feel bad that I don’t spend as much time with Gavin as I should,” I said taking off my shirt. I was about to put on my other shirt but Travis stopped me. He lightly felt my side. I looked down and I had a nasty green bruise.
“What happened?” He said and he sounded upset.
“I fell,” I shrugged and he looked at me.
“Out of all the lies, I refuse to believe that one.” Travis said
“No, I was going to do a flip and dive into the pool but my hand slip,” I said and I smiled, “And this is the outcome.”
He looked at me to make sure I wasn’t lying. He stepped back and I put my shirt on.
“Marcus told me what you did to get the anecdote,” Travis said and I groaned as I climbed onto the top bed.
“I lied when I said deal,” I said and Travis jumped up to my bed.
“It’s too bad I survived, it would of been nice seeing you show no mercy on that Latronum,” Travis said
“Don’t say that,” I said looking down at my hands, “Plus he’ll get what he deserves.”
“Your right, so are you going to bed?” Travis asked
“I wanted to do a couple of things and then yeah.” I said
“Alright I’ll just be reading and then whenever you’re ready,” He said
“If you’re tired don’t wait up for me,” I said
“No, it’s fine,” He said and I jumped down from my bed.
“I won’t take too long,” I said as I got a notebook and a pen. I put them on my bed and started looking for something else. When I found it, I just stared at it.
It was the necklace that belonged to my dad, I use to wear it a lot at first but I almost lost it once or twice. I left it on the top of everything and then closed my drawer. I jumped back on my bed and started writing my letter. All my thoughts came out more natural than I thought.

‘The loss of someone is never an easy thing. I was once told that death was a beautiful thing, that it was a part of life; life and death went hand in hand.
I know some of you are going to feel like you could have done something to stop this but you’re wrong. I made my decision and I was going to fall through with it. The reason I did it was because I know they’re going to come after me anyways, they were going to start going after the ones I’m closest to first.
I’m going to leave my phone behind, there are picture in there that I believe would come to shock to a lot of you. The Frigus Iustitia are ALWAYS watching, something clearly has to be done about all of this. I think that my team should still go hunting after the Latronums in the book and continue getting more information on them. I believe that it’s going to take about 3 to 4 teams to take down the Frigus; if you went against all of them at the same time. I recommend that you get them when they’ve split up into their smaller groups. I know they have a tendency to hide high up in the trees. Talk to my team they have more information on them.
I really wish I could have been the one to help take them down, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Thank you guys for being there for me, for having patience with me. I love you guys, and if you’re going to remember me, remember me with a smile.
Take care,
Katelyn Henderson

P.S. To my team just because I’m not there anymore don’t let yourselves fall back into old bad habits.’

I folded the paper, nicely and put it in my pillow case. I dropped my notebook and pen onto the nightstand. I leaned over and saw Travis asleep with the book still in his hands. I smiled at him. I jumped down and put his book on the nightstand. I softly fixed his pillows and covered him with a blanket.
“Katelyn?” Travis said barely opening his eyes.
“Go to sleep, sleepy-head,” I said and I went to turn off the lights. I went up to my bed and I felt like I could cry but I pushed the feeling back. Slowly sleep came to me.
I woke up letting out a sickening scream. I put my hand over my mouth, I sat up. I started to cry. I felt someone wrap their arms around me.
“It’s okay,” Travis said
“What happened,” I heard a sleepy Marcus say as he climbed up to my bed.
“I don’t know,” Travis said, “Her nightmares are so strong, I even get lost in them.”
“It’s okay Katelyn, it’s over,” Marcus said and I only cried harder. I kept having nightmares of Eli and everyone and how they were going to kill me. It was nowhere near over, this was just the beginning.

After several failed attempts of sleep, I gave up and just walked around. I didn’t go outside though, I wasn’t scared, maybe a little but I was mostly annoyed. The sun had already come out and I still roamed the halls, at one point I was just following Marcus around.
“Henderson why are you still following me around,” Marcus said
“Aw you know you love my company,” I said
“Travis told me to tell you to get ready for your day off,” Marcus said
“Where are we going?” I asked
“He says it’s a surprise.” Marcus said pushing me out the door of his office.
“Alright ask him what should I wear,” I said as he successfully pushed me into the hallway.
“Something nice,” Marcus said and he closed the door.

As I was looking through my clothes I was undecided. Why was I making a big deal about this, Travis and me were just going to go hang out. Was it because this was going to be the last time I had to choose an outfit, or was I choosing what I was going to die in. I brushed away those thought, I was going to enjoy today. I was going to pretend like nothing was wrong.
After my shower I got dressed, I hope it wasn’t too nice. I walked over to his office and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” He called. I peaked my head in, he was wearing a white button up with dark blue jeans. “You ready?”
“Yes,” I said and he stood up. I opened the door all the way, he smiled at me. “So where are we going?”
“Patience,” He said as he locked his office.
“Alright,” I said
The whole ride there we were just talking, I loved hanging out with Travis everything just came so natural with him. I started to recognize where we were at pretty soon we were going to be passing by a lake.
I could see the lake and there were people out on yellow pedal boats. Travis parked and I looked at him with a huge smile.
“Are we going to get on one of those?” I asked
“Yes we are,” Travis said

Once we were in the boat it was a pretty simple concept, except Travis was trying to pedal really fast.
“Take it easy, we’re not in a race,” I said and Travis looked embarrassed.
“Sorry,” he said
“Have you done this before.” I said
“No, I just thought it would be fun,” Travis said and I laughed. I started to feel a bit awkward, this almost felt like a date. I knew it wasn’t but it just did.
“So how did you become a leader at camp?” I asked
“I sent in a request,” He shrugged.
“What about Marcus?” I asked
“He did the same, Mathew and Devin did the same too,” Travis said
“Huh, so where do I sign up?” I smiled
“I mean if you think about it you already did. You’ve successfully trained a whole team.” Travis said
“I guess,” I said, “Have you ever had a girlfriend?”
I completely caught him off guard because he stopped pedalling.
“Too personal?” I asked
“No it’s not, it’s just I really don’t have the time to be looking for someone. I don’t know, I mean it would be nice, I j-just,” I watched as his cheeks started turning red.
“So I’ll take that as you’ve been single your whole life,” I said
“No, when I was in 5th grade there was a girl and we dated for a week.” He said and I started laughing. I put my arms over my stomach, I couldn’t stop laughing
“That doesn’t count.” I said
“How many boyfriends have you had?” He asked me.
“hmm 3,” I said
“That’s it?” He asked
“Yeah, first one was in middle school and that only last a month. Then there was Eli and after that I stayed away from the dating scene. Then there was Gavin,” I said
“That’s cool,” He said and I gave him a smile
“You don’t have to answer this. So you’ve never had your first kiss,” I said and he couldn’t even look at me.
“No,” he said
“Don’t be embarrassed,” I said, “If it makes you feel better, I’m still a virgin too.”
“Oh god,” He said and he just turned even more red.
“Okay we’ll change the subject,” I laughed.

We continued to talk about things that were less awkward, for him at least. After the pedal boat we just sat down on some grass near the lake. I laid down on my back and put my head on Travis’s thigh.
“It’s such a beautiful day isn’t it,” I said and he nodded.
“Things have been so hectic lately, it’s nice to just get out,” Travis said and he looked up at the sky. I just looked at him, I was starting to realize that I had an attraction for Travis. I mean I always knew I was comfortable around him but there was just something else about it. I slowly sat up. I didn’t want to make things awkward between us and plus I was leaving. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah it’s nothing,” I said and I laid back down.
“You look like you’ve made some type of realization,” Travis said and I smiled he knew how to read me too.
“Something like that,” I said and I played around with my hands. “So what else is in store for today?”
“Well if I tell you it’ll ruin the element of surprise,” Travis said looking down at me.

After we left the lake we stopped by to get some frozen yogurt. I think what helped Travis make the most of this day was because of the fact that he almost died. After our snack we went to go play a couple games of 8 ball. The day was going by way too fast, after the 8 ball game Travis insisted that I let him take me to buy at least one pair of shoes. I told him maybe some other day. We still walked around the mall and into every shoe store. He would hold up a pair and ask me if I liked them. I would just shrug and he would try to convince me to just get a pair.
We took pictures in a photobooth, I laughed at the results because Travis had the same face in every single one. I told him to keep it and he didn’t argue. By the time we left the mall the sun was beginning to set.
“The day is going by too fast,” I said
“We could always plan another one later,” Travis said and I gave him a weak smile.
“That’s true.” I said
“Come on, to the next place,” Travis said and we walked over to the car.

We pulled up to a restaurant it was really nice, hopefully the food was just as good. I was so busy looking at the restaurant that I didn’t notice when Travis got out and opened my door.
“Thank you,” I said as I got out.
“My parents use bring me here when I was younger,” Travis said
“That’s really cool,” I said as we walked inside.
“Reservation for Travis,” Travis started to say but was interrupted by man.
“Travis! It’s been such a long time,” The man said and he hugged him. “I got this one.”
The man looked so excited as he grabbed the menus.
“I’m so excited to finally see you going on a date at my restaurant. You two are so cute together, don’t worry I’ll keep the reporters away from you.” The man said and I had this stupid smile on my face as I watched Travis trying to talk but the man was just talking way too fast.
“So what can I get you guys to drink?” He asked as we sat down in a circle booth.
“Ice tea,” I said
“Same,” Travis said and the man smiled and walked away. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” I smiled, I thought it was funny how flustered he got.
We were waiting for dinner and I was showing Travis what I learned of palm reading.
“So you went to a palm reader,” Travis asked
“Well technically yes but I went with my friend Vanessa, she got her palm read and the lady kind of just did mine while I was there.” I said and I grabbed his hand. “She said this is your lifeline.”
I traced my finger over the line.
“What about all these other lines?” Travis asked
“I don’t know that was the only thing I remembered,” I said and he grabbed my hand.
“Your life line looks pretty long,” Travis said
“Who really believes in that stuff anyways,” I said and he still held my hand. I looked up at him and we looked at each other. We looked away from each other when our plates were set down.
The rest of dinner was pretty quiet, the food was really good. I was so full I skipped dessert, so did Travis. After we left the restaurant I just assumed we were going back to camp, but Travis had one more thing up his sleeve. A walk through the park. I’d seen this park the night we were party busting. It looked nice at night because there were lights hanging from the trees. We sat down on a bench.
“Thank you for today,” I said looking down at my hands.
“No, thank you,” Travis said and I looked up at him. He was a lot closer to me than I expected. “I tried to set all feelings aside but after everything I realized that you only get to live life once.”
I just listened to him.
“I don’t even know how to say this because the words sound awful when they come out of my mouth. So I guess what I’m trying to say is I think,” He sighed he looked a bit upset that he couldn’t even get the words out. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. “Nevermind I don’t know what I’m talking about anymore.”
“Oh,” I said I was disappointed because I wanted him to say he wanted to be more than just friends, but at the same time I was relieved that he didn’t.

When we got back to camp, I could tell Travis felt a bit awkward. I knew he was mad at himself. I just acted like I didn’t notice, I didn’t want to push him. We reached our room and he started to change into his pajamas. I got a text from Eli.
‘Hey Babe are you still coming out tonight.’ I could slap him
“Who you talking to?” Travis asked
“It’s Clarence he said he’s going to pick me up in a little bit,” I lied
“Oh for what?” Travis asked
“He wanted to go over where on the map did we find the Latronums,” I said and I hated lying to Travis.
“Oh well then I’ll just wait for you,” Travis said
“No, don’t wait up for me. I was planning on sleeping over Gavin’s,” I lied again. The lies came so naturally only because I had already planned everything I was going to say.
“Oh,” Travis said I got up on my bed and pulled out the letter. I went over to my drawer and pulled out the necklace. I was ready to go, I sat down next to Travis. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
I didn’t say anything, I just kissed him on the cheek and hugged him. I sighed and let go.
“Bye, Travis,” I said and I walked out closing the door behind me. I walked over to Travis’s office I slipped the letter under his door along with the necklace and my phone. I left my phone with the volume at its max and had taken off the password. I hurried out before anyone could see me. Once I hit one of the fields, I could feel my stomach tightening. I wasn’t going to cry, I couldn’t. I held my head high as I jumped over the wall. I started walking deeper into the forest when I started hearing laughing from above. The was it, this was really it. I felt a sharp pinch in my neck. I reached my hand and felt a dart. I started losing consciousness and the world went black.