Someone is breathing extremely close to my neck. My arm is gripped tightly, making me unable to move. I don't want to turn around to see who it is. It might be Lucas, but it might not. I don't even know what to think!
"You!" The person next to me says in a loud whisper. "Why do you come back here?"
I finally turn my face towards the voice and immediately catch a familiar face. I don't know if I should be worried or happy to see the girl from the Diner.
"I told you don't ever come back here once you decided to run away!" she hisses at me.
I pull my arm away from her, and I can see finger marks around it. This bitch is damn strong for someone so petite. "I told you I didn't want to run away!"
She tilts her head slightly to the side and raises her thick blonde eyebrows at me. "You went missing for three days! Where have you been then?"
Shit! Quick, think of something! I was thinking about an excuse before I got caught, but I still haven't come up with anything yet.
"Um," as I bite my tongue inside my mouth. "I got lost in the woods," is that the best you can come up with, Ava?
"Oh, is that really?" she puts her hands on her hips. "After a month wandering around the woods, you got lost now?"
"Technically, I got lost three days ago. But-" I cough a little to cover my shaky voice. "Yeah..."
"What's your excuse for that gash in your forehead then?" She narrows her eyes at my forehead. I hope Liam didn't put anything suspicious on my cuts.
"I fell over a ravine," which is untrue. I did fall over a ravine, but it was seven years ago.
"So, after you fell, did you cra-" When she asks me another question, I quickly cut her off before I have to come up with another lie because I don't think I have anything more to tell.
"Look," I raise my hand to stop her from talking further. "I know you don't believe me, and that's up to you. But now I must return to Daisy's cottage and find Lucas."
As I start to walk past her, she stops me.
"You should have just walked away when you had the chance," she says in a warning tone, and her face turns suspiciously into concern.
"What do you mean?" I frown at her.
"Let's just say that Lucas is unhappy when he can't find you around the camp." She swallows hard. "Things have changed around here after you were gone."
***
I run as fast as I can to Daisy's cottage, ignoring all the staring eyes that bore into my back. It's like they are seeing a running ghost. Some of them gasp and shriek with their hands covering their mouth. I almost get to the familiar cottage before someone suddenly blocks my way.
Why is someone always blocking my way when I'm running at a sprint pace? It's not like I can just command my legs to stop all at once!
I let my body crash with whoever is in front of me because I don't see any other way, and it's too late to run around this person.
"OUCH!" as that person shrieks when our bodies hit the ground together. That was your fault, idiot!
I groan while trying to stand up, but my whole body is aching from the run and the fall. I think I bit my tongue when my chin hit the ground, and I can feel a metallic-like liquid in my mouth. I spit out, and I can see blood.
I ignore it and push myself up with my hands before walking towards the cottage without looking at the person. I really don't have time to apologize.
"Ava!" the person I just crashed calls out behind me. "Where have you been?"
I turn around when I recognize the voice and see Mason standing there. He rubs the back of his head and grimaces when he sees blood in his hand. I suddenly felt guilty, but that was still his fault anyway.
"I'll tell you later, Mason," I turn my body back and start walking to the door, only several steps away from where I stand.
"Wait," as Mason reaches for my hand. "Nobody's home."
"Where are they?" I turn to face him again and catch a glimpse of concern in my voice. Is it really concern or fear? I still haven't really come up with any good lies to tell, and I know that Lucas is so hard to convince.
"They went to the city," his eyes catch the sight of my bloody lips. "You're hurt!" Then his eyes suddenly scan through my whole face. God, I wish he misses my famous hickey.
"I'm fine," I quickly turn my back to him before he spots the one thing I wish I could hide right now, and I run for the door before Mason can catch me again.
The cottage is empty, like it's been empty for days. I walk to the kitchen, but it's also empty and clean. There are no dirty dishes in the sink or pots on the stove.
"When will they come back?" I ask Mason when he finally catches up beside me. I walk to the sink and wash my hands and face because I feel disgusting right now. I wince when the cold water touches the cuts on my face.
"I don't know," says Mason as he leans in on the counter beside me. "Maybe this evening."
"How long have they been away?"
"Three days," he says while scanning my face once again. Can he stop doing that? Doesn't he understand the difference between being a creep and being curious?
I shift my body to the other side to hide my hickey from Mason.
"Your forehead needs to be sewn; that gash looks painful!" He reaches for my hand again, but I walk away from him before he can catch it.
"I'm fine, Mason," I say while walking towards the stairs. "I'm going to take a shower. You can leave now if you want to."
I walk up the stairs without waiting for his response and go straight to my room.
Why does it feel so strange to be back in this room? If Liam was here, would I be feeling so hollow like this? I had already gotten used to his presence, which was the missing puzzle in my heart. Now that I'm back here, that piece will be taken away again.
Quit drowning in shallow waters; this is not the time! Get up, and dig up some information from Mason before Lucas comes back. He's not a threat to us.
I shake my head when the voice echoes in my head.
You can't get rid of me! How many times do I have to remind you that?
I grunt in annoyance before finally retreating myself from the bed. This bed is dangerous!
I walk to my closet and pick a turtleneck top this time. After showering, I come downstairs and find Mason with his back to me, stirring something on the stove.
"It smells so good!" I say after sniffing the air. It smells like sauteed garlic, making my stomach grumble throughout the kitchen. Mason chuckles silently in his place, and I suddenly feel the urge to hide under the table.
Mason turns his head in my direction, giving me the kind of smile I have never seen before. I thought he was the kind of guy who doesn't feel emotion, but that smile is different. I like him more with a smile than a facade expression.
"I hope you're hungry," he says before turning his head back to the stove.
I take one of the chairs and sit crossed-leg there, "it depends on what you're cooking."
"Food," he says nonchalantly, and he's back into the Mason I've known for the past two months! I feel disappointed that he chose to act all cool in front of me. I won't fall in love with him if he ever wants to be who he is around me anyway.
I roll my eyes even though he can't see me.
After a torturous ten minutes, Mason finally hands me a plate of luscious-looking pasta.
"Nice presentation," I say to him without ever taking my eyes off the food.
"Thanks," says Mason without a smile. Regardless of his facade expression, I'm on the brink of saying anything sarcastic. "Sprinkle some pepper to kick it up a notch."
I quickly take the fork from the table and swirl the chilly oil-coated noodles before putting them into my mouth. I wonder if Liam can make me this one day, or maybe I should just ask Mason to write the recipe on the paper Peter gave me. Peter will need this recipe more than the information about Lucas's plan.
"This is so good!" as I moan out happily in my place after the first bite. "This is the best pasta I've ever eaten in my life!"
Mason laughs at me, and I can't stop myself from smiling. Only once in a blue moon do I get to listen to him chuckle. "Thanks," he says as he takes a bite of his own pasta.
"Maybe you should teach Lucas how to cook," I say with a full mouth. "So that he is of use around this cottage."
"Well, you have Daisy to cook for you. She's also an amazing cook, isn't she?" Mason says after he finally stops laughing.
"Yeah, it's also weird that she always cooks a large amount of food!" I scoff at the images of her cooking in a pot bigger than her own body.
Mason nods in agreement, "That's because she needs to cook for the Fighters in training."
My eyes widen when I know what I need to say next. This is going to be good, "really? How many are they anyway? I'm sure it's not that many, am I right?"
"Let's see," as he puts his fork down before he continues talking. "The total number of people in this camp is probably around 376. While the active Fighters are around 250, and that includes us. Of course, that must be a lot of food she has to make. Do you usually help her?"
SCORE!
The voice suddenly yells inside my head. One piece of information is finally crossed out!
I clear my throat to prevent myself from yelping. "Do I look like someone who spends time in the kitchen? Anyway, you know I'm one of the Fighters in training," I say before giving Mason a playful wink.
"Ava!" Lucas's voice suddenly echoes throughout the cottage from the living room. I'm about to answer him, but he is already running towards me. His face is so red, like a volcano about to explode. He grabs me and pulls me into his bear hug. "Where have you been?"
I can hear clearly that his heart is beating so fast in his chest.
"I-I'm sorry," I mumble from his chest. "I got lost in the woods."
"Are you okay?" asks Lucas, squeezing my head like a lemon.
"Well, if you don't stop compressing my skull, I won't be okay."
Lucas finally releases my face, and his eyes drift to the cut on my forehead. For a second, a flash of worry crosses over his green eyes. I suddenly feel queasy when I see how much his eyes remind me of Liam's green eyes.
"We need to get you to the infirmary!" says Lucas before dragging me away from the dining table.
"I'm fine, Lucas!" I quickly pull my hand away and lock them behind my back. "It's just a cut, and it's almost dry."
"I'm still taking you to the infirmary!" I know that Lucas worries me, but lying is not my forte, especially under pressure.
Mason glances at me from the corner of his eyes before giving me a slight nod. The first person that's supposed to be suspicious is Mason, not Lucas.
"Fine, but not until you tell me where you've been!" I quirk one of my brows up, knowing that Lucas is not very good at lying either.
Lucas only frowns at me without saying anything for a minute. When I don't say anything, he sighs before finally speaking, "Really? Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"
"I told you, didn't I? I got lost in the woods! Now you tell me, where have you been, Lucas? Where's Daisy?" I ask before glancing over his shoulder. I just realized that she isn't following him inside the cottage.
"I need more than just that, Ava! I need you to tell me the whole story!" demands Lucas, who looks a bit more annoyed now. "You were missing for fucking three days! Don't you know how worried I was? I thought something bad happened to you!"
I roll my eyes at him when he raises his tone at me. "I know, and I'm sorry, okay? I will tell you everything, but you must answer my questions first. I'm not debating this, Lucas!"Lucas opens his mouth, but he quickly closes it again. I keep staring at him until I'm sure he's uncomfortable, and I know he's hiding something from me.
"I went to the city with Daisy, and she's still there." he finally says in one quick breath. I raise my eyebrows at him, "What are you doing in the city?"
"I've already answered my questions. Now you answer mine," Lucas shakes his head before walking closer.
Shit, I have to think of something!
"Um, I went for a hike. I got lost, and I fell over a ravine." I say, trying so hard not to stutter, but my voice sounds hoarse from the constant lies I keep telling.
"That's all you're going to tell me?"
Oh shit, is he suspicious now? Should I be more convincing?
"You know what, let's talk about this on the way to the infirmary." I can hear from Lucas's voice that he's trying to have it out with me.
I can see that Lucas is mad. He pushes aside his anger because he knows I won't budge from my words, even if he drags me to the infirmary by force. "I thought you were captured. So I went to the city to meet someone."
I don't say anything and just keep staring at him, demanding more answers using my eyes. Lucas understands I won't move an inch if he remains silent, so he continues his dubious story.
"We're going to have a war soon, and you should have just walked away and hide."