Sequel: Fall Away ›
Status: Complete.
Trust Me
Chapter 39
"Forget it! I need an hour, at least." I scoffed.
"We did have a deal. I gave you your clothes back without burning or sinking them, so you have to do whatever I ask of you for the rest of the day." He started.
"There's only a few hours left of the day!" I pointed out, interrupting him.
He ignored me. "And right now, I'm asking you to go out and find us something to eat within the next twenty minutes. And when I say I'm asking you, it's just a polite way to say that I'm telling you to."
I glared at him and clenched my hands into fists around my knives. "Smug little..." I began, grumbling.
"What was that?" He said, challenging me to finish my sentence.
"Nothing!" I chirped quickly, knowing he'd probably make me do something worse if I'd finished what I'd been about to say. I quickly hopped off into the forest, eager to hunt. I couldn't believe everything that had happened today. Kip, the boy I'd seen every day when I walked home from school, was dead. Parq had killed everyone in his fake alliance just to try and become my ally, and I'd killed him. I actually killed someone. That thought was disturbing enough by itself. I'd tried to justify it by saying it was to protect Adri and to avenge Kip's death, but it didn't change the fact that I'd ended a person's life single-handedly. I tried to brush those thoughts away, knowing that I had done what I needed to do, but those thoughts were replaced with equally plaguing ones. I stopped dead in my tracks as I remembered the look on Adri's face as he'd hovered over me, and I ran my fingers lightly over my lips as I remembered the feel of him kissing me. My heart began to race just remembering what had happened. It couldn't have been real, could it? Maybe he was trying to get sponsors, though I couldn't imagine what for. Neither one of us had gotten anything from sponsors since the Game had started, and it wasn't surprising. We didn't need anything. We could find our own food, there was a plentiful source of water, at night we kept each other warm, and we didn't have any serious injuries. It was because the Game makers seemed to be favoring us, and I knew Adri was right when he said that they were trying to get an ultimate face-off between us and Ingrid. Or maybe they wanted us to last to the end to see us try to kill each other. Either way, they wanted nothing more than a good game, and they needed us alive in order to do it.
So if Adri wasn't trying to get sponsors when he kissed me, what had he been trying to do? It could have been a mind game, but that didn't make much sense to me. He wasn't challenging me like he normally would before messing with my head, and he didn't seem smug over his victory afterward, despite the fact that he'd clearly won. Nothing was making sense.
I realized that I'd been leaning against a tree and thinking for over twenty minutes, and I was supposed to be back to Adri by now. I quickly climbed up into the nearest tree, the rough bark scraping against my bare skin as I tried to climb it in nothing but my underclothes, and surveyed the area below me. I saw a rather fat raccoon waddling towards me, and I flung my knife at it quickly. I had learned how to kill without causing any pain, much to my father's dismay, but it made me feel better at times like this. That raccoon had died before it had even known I was there, and it hadn't felt a single thing, which made me feel a little bit better that I had to kill it. I hopped down off my branch and scooped the pudgy blob of fur up in my arms, trying not to look at its face. It was cute, but it was also my only hope of dinner.
When I walked back to the camp, Adri was staring up at me with his brows furrowed together and his mouth in a straight line. He looked almost like a frustrated caveman, but I knew that laughing at a time like this was not a good idea. "You're 30 minutes late."
"It took a while to climb the trees without clothes," I offered, unable to come up with any excuse. "Besides, if you want something big enough for both of us to eat, it could take a while."
"I told you to be back in 20 minutes." He pointed out.
"You also told me to get you something to eat. Which one is more important -- my punctuality or our food?" I said, raising an eyebrow.
He scowled up at me. "Fine. But you're only off the hook because you brought the fattest raccoon I've ever seen." I handed it to him and he started to clean it almost immediately. He really must have been starving.
"Why was it so important for me to be back in twenty minutes, anyway?" I asked, laying back on the rock and looking up at the stars.
Adri paused. "No reason."
"No. You hesitated. There must be a reason, and it must be a good one if it's something you don't want to tell me." I sat up and stared at him.
He shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Liar."
"You're nosy."
"You're a liar."
He sighed. "Fine. I wanted you to be back before the sun set. I didn't want you out there after dark, especially not when you're running around naked with only two knives to protect yourself."
"You're the reason I was naked." I grumbled.
"That's beside the point." He said, nearly cutting me off in his haste to counter my comment. "Now, be quiet and let me finish cleaning this fat furry beast."
"We did have a deal. I gave you your clothes back without burning or sinking them, so you have to do whatever I ask of you for the rest of the day." He started.
"There's only a few hours left of the day!" I pointed out, interrupting him.
He ignored me. "And right now, I'm asking you to go out and find us something to eat within the next twenty minutes. And when I say I'm asking you, it's just a polite way to say that I'm telling you to."
I glared at him and clenched my hands into fists around my knives. "Smug little..." I began, grumbling.
"What was that?" He said, challenging me to finish my sentence.
"Nothing!" I chirped quickly, knowing he'd probably make me do something worse if I'd finished what I'd been about to say. I quickly hopped off into the forest, eager to hunt. I couldn't believe everything that had happened today. Kip, the boy I'd seen every day when I walked home from school, was dead. Parq had killed everyone in his fake alliance just to try and become my ally, and I'd killed him. I actually killed someone. That thought was disturbing enough by itself. I'd tried to justify it by saying it was to protect Adri and to avenge Kip's death, but it didn't change the fact that I'd ended a person's life single-handedly. I tried to brush those thoughts away, knowing that I had done what I needed to do, but those thoughts were replaced with equally plaguing ones. I stopped dead in my tracks as I remembered the look on Adri's face as he'd hovered over me, and I ran my fingers lightly over my lips as I remembered the feel of him kissing me. My heart began to race just remembering what had happened. It couldn't have been real, could it? Maybe he was trying to get sponsors, though I couldn't imagine what for. Neither one of us had gotten anything from sponsors since the Game had started, and it wasn't surprising. We didn't need anything. We could find our own food, there was a plentiful source of water, at night we kept each other warm, and we didn't have any serious injuries. It was because the Game makers seemed to be favoring us, and I knew Adri was right when he said that they were trying to get an ultimate face-off between us and Ingrid. Or maybe they wanted us to last to the end to see us try to kill each other. Either way, they wanted nothing more than a good game, and they needed us alive in order to do it.
So if Adri wasn't trying to get sponsors when he kissed me, what had he been trying to do? It could have been a mind game, but that didn't make much sense to me. He wasn't challenging me like he normally would before messing with my head, and he didn't seem smug over his victory afterward, despite the fact that he'd clearly won. Nothing was making sense.
I realized that I'd been leaning against a tree and thinking for over twenty minutes, and I was supposed to be back to Adri by now. I quickly climbed up into the nearest tree, the rough bark scraping against my bare skin as I tried to climb it in nothing but my underclothes, and surveyed the area below me. I saw a rather fat raccoon waddling towards me, and I flung my knife at it quickly. I had learned how to kill without causing any pain, much to my father's dismay, but it made me feel better at times like this. That raccoon had died before it had even known I was there, and it hadn't felt a single thing, which made me feel a little bit better that I had to kill it. I hopped down off my branch and scooped the pudgy blob of fur up in my arms, trying not to look at its face. It was cute, but it was also my only hope of dinner.
When I walked back to the camp, Adri was staring up at me with his brows furrowed together and his mouth in a straight line. He looked almost like a frustrated caveman, but I knew that laughing at a time like this was not a good idea. "You're 30 minutes late."
"It took a while to climb the trees without clothes," I offered, unable to come up with any excuse. "Besides, if you want something big enough for both of us to eat, it could take a while."
"I told you to be back in 20 minutes." He pointed out.
"You also told me to get you something to eat. Which one is more important -- my punctuality or our food?" I said, raising an eyebrow.
He scowled up at me. "Fine. But you're only off the hook because you brought the fattest raccoon I've ever seen." I handed it to him and he started to clean it almost immediately. He really must have been starving.
"Why was it so important for me to be back in twenty minutes, anyway?" I asked, laying back on the rock and looking up at the stars.
Adri paused. "No reason."
"No. You hesitated. There must be a reason, and it must be a good one if it's something you don't want to tell me." I sat up and stared at him.
He shrugged. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Liar."
"You're nosy."
"You're a liar."
He sighed. "Fine. I wanted you to be back before the sun set. I didn't want you out there after dark, especially not when you're running around naked with only two knives to protect yourself."
"You're the reason I was naked." I grumbled.
"That's beside the point." He said, nearly cutting me off in his haste to counter my comment. "Now, be quiet and let me finish cleaning this fat furry beast."