Chapter Nine

 

 

 

Laura

 

Now that Alicia’s been captured and everything has settled down again, my life has once again returned to its normal, dreadfully boring state.

Father decided that since I was the one to capture Alicia yesterday, it would be senseless to have me interrogate her. She’s angry at me for betraying her and not helping her rescue Isaac, so she’s certainly not going to want to tell me anything.

I don’t blame her. I’m angry at me too.

“Good morning, Laura,” Shane says, standing in my doorway, causing me to jump. I know, I know, I’m not supposed to let my guard down, but the past few days have just been so difficult.

“Don’t sneak up on people like that! What are you doing, just waltzing into my room uninvited? I could’ve been naked!” I shout, throwing a nearby pillow at his head.

“You run around your room naked with the door open?” he asks, catching the pillow with ease.

“The door was open?”

“Yep. That’s why I didn’t knock.”

“Man, I must be really out of it.” I sigh, lying back down on my bed. It’s nearly noon, and I’ve been dressed for hours, just sitting here thinking. Was it right to turn Alicia in, or should I have let her go? I can’t decide the answer, and I’ve been driving myself insane all night and all morning trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do now. What I’m supposed to feel. And I’m sick of it.

“No more than usual,” he says. If I was in my normal state of mind, I’d punch him in the arm, but right now I just don’t feel like it.

“You know what, Shane? I need to get out of here. We’re going into the city,” I say, jumping out of bed and rushing into the closet to get my shoes. Skinny jeans, a red tank top, and some flip-flops are the only attire I need for today’s adventure. Screw worrying, screw training. Today, I’m going to have fun.

“I don’t think you’re technically allowed to leave the palace,” he says.

“I didn’t say I was allowed to leave. But I am leaving, and so are you. Or would you rather risk staying here?”

“No, no. I’ll go with you. But if we get caught, I’m saying you ran away and I was just chasing you down and returning you home safely.”

“Whatever. Let’s go,” I say, and jump onto the tree next to my balcony.

“Haven’t you heard of stairs?” Shane sighs, and follows me down to the ground, more gracefully than usual. I’m so proud.

“Stop whining and hurry up. We’ve got to climb over the wall really quickly before anyone sees us!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” he says.

Once we’re over the wall, I quickly search for the tree in which I’ve stored a backpack full of adventuring necessities—snacks and money. The black backpack isn’t hard to find, and I quickly retrieve it from the tree’s branches and throw it on my back.

“All right, Shane. Ready for a long walk?”

“Long… As in how long?”

“Not too long. We aren’t going downtown. I don’t want to see that training camp for a long time. But there’s a nice area with some shops and a park and stuff not far from here, just a thirty-minute walk in that direction,” I say, pointing to the right of the palace.

“Nope, not doing it. Come on. I’ve got a better idea.”

 

* * * *

 

It turns out Shane is the owner of a motorcycle. It also turns out that vehicles with no seat belts or doors are just not my thing. Once we’d gotten on the road from the palace to the surrounding cities, it didn’t take us long at all to find the place that I had in mind. After we parked Shane’s bike of doom in a grocery store parking lot, we walked around for a few hours then decided to find somewhere to rest.

“I still don’t think I’ll ever get over the look on your face when you discovered that I drive a motorcycle,” Shane laughs.

Now, we’re sitting on a bench in the park, eating ice cream that I bought from a vendor near the entrance. I figured that since Shane provided us with transportation, albeit horrible transportation, I could provide us with a snack. To avoid making a mess, I chose a bowl of chocolate. Shane, however, had to be difficult, choosing mint chocolate chip in a cone.

“Well, my horror was justified. That was the most terrifying experience I’ve ever lived through.”

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me! That was nothing. Yesterday you tell me you’ve been shot before and you’re freaking out over a motorcycle ride?”

“Yes. Being shot wasn’t that bad. It hurt. Dad called in a medic. He stitched me up and now I’m fine. But that…? I felt like I was going to fall off the entire time. It was horrible.”

“You’re ridiculous.” He laughs, shaking his head.

“Speaking of being shot, are you okay?” I ask, eyeing his arm where the bullet grazed him yesterday.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Didn’t even need stitches. They just bandaged it up and I was good to go.”

“I’m glad. I never did thank you. You saved my life.”

“Well, that is my job. But you’re welcome.”

“So where did you go yesterday? I spent all day wandering around in the palace, and I didn’t see you anywhere,” I say, curious. I’d actually looked for him a couple of times, wanting to talk, but he was nowhere to be found.

“Um… I went to visit my mom’s grave.” He sighs, looking at his feet. I put a hand on his shoulder, now feeling guilty for even asking.

“Shane, I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“Hey, it’s okay. It was just a question. Yeah, she died six years ago. I just like to go and talk to her sometimes. Keep her updated on my life.”

“Can I ask what happened?”

At this, Shane freezes, and a worried look settles over his face. “If I tell you the truth, the actual truth… No, never mind. It’s probably not a good idea.”

“Shane, you can tell me. You can trust me.”

“I know I can. It’s just that… Well, my mom was killed during a rebel attack,” he admits, resting his face in his hands.

“Gosh, Shane, I’m sorry. But what’s so secret about that? I mean—”

“She was a rebel,” he says, his words coming out quickly and shakily. He’s afraid, afraid of what I could do to him because of this truth. He’s afraid of me.

“Oh, Shane,” I begin, not really knowing what to say. I won’t hurt him, no matter what his past, and I wish he knew that. Before I can gather my thoughts, he speaks.

“Just so you know, I hate them. I hate the rebels. If my mother had never gotten mixed up with their nonsense, she’d be alive right now. The rebels have put me and my sister through a lot of hell, and I hate them for it.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain yourself. Your background doesn’t matter,” I say, throwing my arms around him and holding onto him tightly. He wraps his arms around my waist and he rests his chin on my shoulder.

“Thanks,” he says, his breath tickling my ear as he speaks. I pull away from our embrace, my heart racing and a blush coloring my cheeks. I don’t hug people.

“That’s what friends are for, right? You know, I’ve never actually been able to use that expression, because you’re really the first friend I’ve ever had. Well…besides Eight, but he doesn’t count.” I smile sheepishly.

Shane laughs. “I’m honored.”

“So you have a sister?” I asked. Even though I’ve only known Shane for a few days I thought I’d had a pretty good idea of who he is. Now I realize there’s so much to him that I’ve overlooked. He has a family and a past, a life before he was my bodyguard.

“Yeah, her name’s Lainey. She’s seven.”

“Where is she? I mean, she obviously doesn’t live with you, because you’re here. Is she with your dad?”

“Actually, no. She’s with a family friend right now. I’ve never met my dad. I don’t even know who he is,” Shane admits.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I say, looking at my feet. I’m asking Shane so many questions about his past, but not offering him anything about mine. “I’ve never met my mom. Never got the chance. My dad didn’t kill her, though. Alicia’s wrong. She died because of me.”

“What do you mean?”

I look at the ground. My whole life, death has followed me everywhere I go. There’s more blood on my hands than I care to think about. “Well, she died because she had me. I mean, I know it’s kind of silly to blame myself for that, but if I’d never been born, she’d be okay. She would’ve been there for Alicia, and maybe if she’d had a mother, Alicia never would’ve attacked the palace. Maybe Dad wouldn’t be quite so…well, insane. Things would be a lot different.”

“It wouldn’t be a good different. I’m sure your mom was a great person, but I don’t think she or anyone else would wish that you’d never been born. None of that stuff is your fault. None of it. You already have enough weight on your shoulders without it,” he says. “You can’t blame yourself for everything.”

“I guess you’re right,” I say.

“I am right. Without you, Karkonia wouldn’t have an heir, would have one less brave warrior, and a lot less good in the world. And besides all that, we wouldn’t be friends, which would leave me with a seven year old to confide in. I mean, without you, I’d be taking advice from a girl who learns her life lessons from talking dinosaurs.” He smiles, putting an arm around my shoulder.

“I don’t know… If a dinosaur talked to me, I’d probably listen to whatever it had to say.” I laugh.

Shane rolls his eyes. “You ready to head back yet? It’s starting to get kind of late, and the longer we stay out, the bigger the risk that we’ll get caught,” he says.

“All right, chicken.” I laugh, standing up from the park bench.

“I thought we’d discussed the whole not calling me animal names thing,” he says, following me. I shrug, and begin to head back toward Shane’s motorcycle.

I shouldn’t trust Shane. His mother was a rebel, and although he claims to hate them, there’s always a chance that he could be following in her footsteps. It isn’t smart to blindly believe him, to allow him into my heart, regardless of the warning signs telling me to stay away.

But I do trust him. I do believe him. For the first time since I let Alicia live, I choose to listen to my heart over reason and training. I only hope that this time I do not regret my choice.