Kidnapped Part 5 - The Kiss

We were in the back corner of the main room. Everyone was relaxing or checking their own wounds from being pelted with ice. Besides Caleb, Marc was the only one who had really noticed our arrival. He did not laugh at my clumsy entrance. He came over immediately. He put his arm around my waist and walked me to a hallway. Once we were in a room that was far from the others, Marc sat down on a couch that was made of branches that were covered my leaves. He gestured for me to sit beside him. He started talking once I sat next to him on the small couch. He turned so his whole body was facing me.

"I did not think you would want to talk much in front of the others." I nodded in agreement. "You cannot possibly be enjoying this." "Gee, what could have given you that impression?" I said sarcastically."I know that you are miserable. I hate to see you so depressed and lonely. It makes me so angry! I just want you to know that I will do everything that I can to make you happy. Things are going to be kinda tough for quite a while and I want you to be able to see a happy side of it. If you need anything, do not even hesitate to tell me, okay?" I sat there in a stunned silence. I remembered that he was a great friend but I would have never guessed that he cared that much about me. My eyes watered when I thought about it. "Twy, you’re crying. I’m sorry if that came out wrong. Awe, please don’t cry!" He hugged me tight and continued to plead with me to stop crying. "It’s...not your fault...I...am happy!" I said between sobs. "It certainly does not sound like it." He muttered beside my ear. I pulled away from the warm hug. "I’m crying because...you care...I lo...Thank you." I was confused. I was about to say ‘I love you’. I did love him in a way I guess but even if it was the brother/sister kind of love, it was hard for me to admit. He sighed in relief. I got another warm, tight, comforting hug before he let me go and dug through his pockets. He eventually found what he was looking for, a Kleenex. "Don’t worry, it’s clean." He said in response to the worried look on my face. "It had better be." I said as I wiped the tears away with it. Once all evidence that I had been crying were gone, we went back into the main room.

The guys were having a discussion. They were deciding what to do next. They were arguing, unsure of whether they should fight and try to get their house (and control) back or to run and live somewhere else far from the others. Caleb had disappeared. "We cannot leave our home to those lowlifes! Those idiots will have the place destroyed in days! It will take too long to find another house of proper size and location that could work for us. We have to fight them!" One of them said as we walked in. "We cannot risk our lives anymore that we have already done. Let them have it. We can come back later, if we must. We have a lot of changes to make. We cannot do anything at all if we are all half dead! I was leader at the house. Nothing has changed that! We will not sacrifice ourselves for a hunk of wood!" John glared around the room, as if daring someone to argue. They stayed silent.

"This looks like bad timing." I whispered into Marc’s ear. "Maybe I should go somewhere else while you guys sort things out." I did not want to be caught up in this. "You are a part of this now, weather you or anyone else likes it or not. Stay. Please." "Please?" I almost snorted. Kidnappers with manners! "I am giving you a choice. I can take you home right now if you want. But if you stayed, we could train you so you do not accidently destroy anything when you are upset. We can also train you so you can fight to prevent anything like this from happening again. We are all on your side here, Twy. If that is not reason enough, stay for me." My throat went tight and tears were once again threatening to come loose. "Please Twy? Will you stay?" I really missed my family, but what if I killed one of them by accident? Plus it was not so bad here as long as Marc and Caleb were around. I swallowed. "Okay. I’ll stay."

My heart melted as Marcs almost-in-tears face broke out into a huge smile and he lifted me up in a bear hug. "Thank you." How was I going to be able to leave him? "Don’t worry; I won’t let anything hurt you." He murmured into my ear before he put me down. He kept one arm around my shoulders as he led me further into the still silent room.

Everyone turned to look as Caleb landed (perfectly again, might I add). He rose a brow at me when he saw that I had been crying. Or maybe it was because Marc’s right arm was still wrapped securely around my shoulders. "Where were you? You missed all of the fun!" Tye called as Caleb walked in. "There was something had had to be done." He stated. "Ookay then..." Tye was silent and Caleb sat down on a large rock. We all sat in silence for over five minutes. I murmured an excuse to Marc and walked towards the hole. How am I supposed to get out? I was wondering when Caleb came up from behind me. "Need help?" I jumped and squeaked. He had come silently and had startled me. "Calm down, it’s only me. Do you need help?" He asked again. "Uh...Yeah. How am I supposed to get out of here?" He smiled a little. "You jump."

I looked at him in disbelief. "That high? I can’t do that!" "Well there’s always the other way." I looked at the dirt wall for some hidden ladder or tunnel that led to the surface. "What is it?" I did not even have time to squeak. He had me in his arms and out of the hole before I could blink. "Whoa!" I was a little disoriented from the speed but otherwise fine. Caleb set me down when he was sure that I would not fall over. I staggered around drunkenly but made it fine out of the clearing and to the closest tree. I turned to ask Caleb how he was able to move so fast but he had disappeared. Weird. He must have gone back inside.

It bothered me a little but I was fine with it. I had come out here to be alone. I looked up at the tree I had chosen to lean against. It looked acceptable. I jumped (nowhere near as well as Caleb could but well enough for my purposes) to the lowest branch and started climbing. I did not stop until I had reached the highest branch that would bear my weight. I looked down at my surroundings. The forest seemed to go on forever but there were a few clearings here and there. The house was in one such clearing. It was pretty far away but not so far away that the others could not reach us within an hour. They were all in the house, we were all but forgotten. I looked to the other direction. There were mountains there, large and proud. I stared at them wistfully. I had always wanted to live in the mountains. They are just so beautiful and peaceful and exciting and...The list goes on. I love the mountains. I sat there in my tree and watched the sun set. I let my mind wander from topic to topic and finally felt peaceful for the first time since I was captured. I did not even notice when it had gotten cold and dark. I was alone and peaceful. I layed back against the rough bark of the tree and closed my eyes.

I must have drifted off at some point because Marc’s voice startled me into wakefulness. "Twy? Did you get yourself stuck in this tree?" "Uhnnng....Whaaat??! Oh! No, I can get down." I yawned and layed with my stomach flat against the branch I was sitting on so I could see Marc better. As you might have already noticed, I am not too bright after waking up. My long hair hung down on either side of me. "How did you get up there?" He asked bewildered. The tree was pretty big but come on! I can climb a tree! "I climbed it!" I said indignantly. "Why?" I frowned. "Come up here! I do not like yelling down the tree at you!" He shrugged and started climbing.

"Scooch." He said and made a shooing motion as he made it up to my branch. I moved over and he hauled himself up onto the branch, making it bend a little. I moved closer to the trunk of the tree, just in case. I am usually quite paranoid but I had no time for that in the past few days. "So," He said. "Why did you come out here? Or why did you stay out so long I should ask." I looked up at the stars as I considered how much to tell him.

"I needed to be alone. This has all happened so fast. Plus I love it out here, in the trees and the fresh air. Being out here clears my head and gives me peace. I really need that too because..." I faltered. "Because of ...of what happened." I blinked away at the unexpected tears. Marc held up a hand. "Say no more. I think I understand now." He must think I am really wimpy. I thought as I broke into tears yet again. "Thank you!" I whispered before I threw my arms around him and hugged him. Marc froze for a second in surprise but quickly recovered and hugged me back. "Remember. I will do anything for you. All you have to do is ask. I want you happy Twyla." I did not say anything. We stayed like that for a little while; I was clinging on for a little longer than called for because I was finally feeling the cold. "Time to get you back inside." He murmured. "Yeah..." Marc was still not convinced that I could climb down by myself even though I got up fine so he insisted on being right below me so he could catch me if I fell.

I only slipped once on my way down and did not need Marcs help at all. He grinned a goofy little boy grin and gave me a mock bow as I got down from the tree. A cloud moved away from its position in front of the full moon, bathing us in moonlight. The clearing looked like something out of a fairytale. I looked up at Marc, who was also looking around in wonder. The silvery light highlighted all of his best features, the dusting of freckles over the bridge of his nose, his smiling mouth, his gorgeous green eyes and his perfectly proportioned face. The overall affect was as if Marc was part of the fairytale. He had saved me.

I don’t know what was going through my mind at the time but a rush of emotion went through me and I threw myself at Marc (Who was staring at me as I stared at him) and kissed him. I pulled him close. Marc’s response to the kiss was similar to his of the hug. First he did not move, and then kissed me back with the same ferocity and need as I did. "I love you." I had almost said it once. Now I let him know of the feeling that even I did not know I had until now.

I hope this chapter was not too confusing. I am moving tomorrow so I really wanted to get out another chapter before I leave. Please comment and thanks for reading! =)