This chapter is for Artemis' Hunters, for the usual reasons. In this chapter, Sly's broken out of jail and…yeah. Let's see what happens from there.
Bentley's POV:
Only minutes ago, Cerlie stormed out the door with an expression that's going to haunt you for a long time. It was the same one she had on her face when Neyla stabbed her in the back-hurt, betrayal, and…pain. You wish you hadn't said those things to her. Why did you say those things to her? Cerlie didn't deserve. You just got so angry…everything you had wanted to say just…came out. Only now you wish they hadn't.
You sigh, really hating yourself, and get up out the door to hack the computers so you can break Sly out.
Sly's POV:
You feel caged in. You need to get out of here; you don't know how much more of this you can take. You're so used to freedom, and now you're a caged bird. You will never lock anything or anyone up again after this.
You miss Bentley. You haven't even seen Murray-he's locked up somewhere else. And you miss Cerlie. You're worried about how she and Bentley are doing. They don't exactly like each other-you're not sure why. But Cerlie can't be doing well. She and Neyla were such close friends…Cerlie's too loyal to ever do anything like that.
Hm. Cerlie really is something else, isn't she? She's fierce, strong, and while she's got a bad-temper, she'd do anything for anyone she cares about. There's not a lot of girls like her out there anymore. Cerlie's the only one you know that can kick that much ass at Halo.
You're thinking about her and your friends when you hear a loud crash.
You look through the tiny window on the door to hole to see the train's crashed through the wall. Your smirk appears on your face. You won't be in there for very long.
…
You have never been so happy to see the hideout. You missed Bentley, and even more you missed Cerlie. She's a hell of a woman, and a thrill to be around. You have never missed someone's insults so-actually, you've never missed someone's insults. But Cerlie doesn't mean it. She makes threats, but you know she would never, ever do anything to hurt you, Murray, or Bentley. She's always there for you, and everything she does, she does for you-to protect you. Cerlie acts mean and unpleasant, but you've seen better than that. Cerlie's the one you missed most. You look on the couch where she usually is, but she's not there.
You check everywhere, but she's not here. You checked everywhere she could be, but she's nowhere to be found. "Bentley," You call. "Where's Cerlie?"
Bentley's POV:
Here comes the moment you've been dreading. Sly likes Cerlie-as in he likes her, you can tell-and the worst part, this all your fault.
You didn't mean what you said-you should've stopped thinking about her like that weeks ago. And now because of you, she's gone and Sly's going to be crushed. "Sly…Cerlie and I had a fight…I mean, a real fight…and…she left. She didn't even take her bow." If she left her bow, there's no way she has intentions to come back.
"What?"
"It was my fault, Sly. I-I'm sorry, I…"
Sly shakes his head. "No Bentley, don't beat yourself up. She'll come back, I know she will. Cerlie's too stubborn and loyal to leave us like that. There's no way she'd leave for good if she knew me and Murray were still locked up."
He does have a lot of faith in her. But you honestly don't know if she's going to come back or not. You remember her exact words, but you keep quiet about what exactly she said. You feel a pang of guilt. You didn't just chase her off; you really hurt her. You can't blame her for running off like that; you did infer that she was a killer like all the members in her family were. You've been pretty insensitive to her this entire time, when she's actually hurt the least number of guards. She cares more about the safety of others than you do.
Not to mention, you didn't exactly offer your support when Neyla betrayed the Cooper gang. She was closer to Neyla than any of you. Cerlie was the one who hung out with her, who did all of the missions with her. It was Neyla who revealed the truth about her family to her, and that meant a lot to Cerlie. It meant the world to her, actually. Neyla had given her something that no one else ever could've-an identity, and even if it was one she didn't want, she knew the truth that was kept hidden from her her entire life. She knew where she came from, and all of it was because of Neyla. Now that betrayed and hurt expression she had on her face when Neyla sold out Murray and Sly to the cops and revealed her true intentions is stuck to the inside of your eyelids.
Cerlie's a strong girl. She never lets anything bother her, and she always stands as tough as nails. But when Neyla betrayed you, Cerlie's armor cracked like glass. She looked so broken and hurt, like she was about to cry. You're certain that if you hadn't been right next to her, she would've. Cerlie's feisty, but she can carry only so much weight on her shoulders.
And then there's Sly. Sly adores Cerlie. You've seen the way he looks at her. And she and Murray have been best friends since she got here. He's always happy when she's around. You didn't just hurt her; you hurt your two best friends.
…You feel like an asshole, more than you have in your entire life.
Sly's POV:
There is no way Cerlie would abandon you or Murray like that. You know she and Bentley weren't exactly on good terms, but she'll come back. You know she will. She's too stubborn to just give up on you guys like that. She will defiantly come back. And if she doesn't, you don't care what she says. You'll drag her back here yourself, even if she's kicking and screaming.
(A Few Days Later)
It's been forever, and Cerlie still isn't back yet. You keep waiting by the door, sleeping on the couch, waiting for her to come back. Every day seems to go by slower and slower. When you look at the clock to see how many hours have passed, you see it's only been minutes. When another minute clicks by, you've had enough. You are done waiting.
You leap out the door, slamming it behind you, and not even bothering to response to Bentley's questions.
The area is dangerous-did Cerlie get captured too? This place is so heavily guarded, you wouldn't be surprised. No, wait-Cerlie's not stupid enough to get arrested. And even if she was, what could they hold on her? She could say you held her hostage-it may add "kidnapping" to your record, but that's a very small price to pay to get her back. Cerlie hasn't committed any robberies with you (any thefts like you used to do after taking a Fiendish Five member); there's no way they could keep her here.
"Cerlie," You whisper. "You out here?" Nothing. You take a step forward, and you're startled to feel something under your foot and to hear a yell and a curse.
"Sly, you asshole!"
"Cerlie!" She crawls out from under the bench she was lying under and gets to her feet. "Cerlie, were you sleeping out here?" She just looks at the ground, and doesn't answer. "Cerlie, come back."
"Sly, what are you doing out here-how did you e-"
"I'll explain that later. Let's get home, it's dangerous out here."
"Sly, I'm not coming back-"
"Yes, you are. Don't even argue Cerlie, admit it: you want to come back. You're too stubborn to just quit on us."
"Sly, I don't belong there-"
"That's bull. You know, I know, Murray knows, and Bentley knows it. You belong with us more than you do anywhere else."
"Bentley doesn't-"
"Cerlie, I will drag you back there myself."
Your POV:
There are so many questions in your head. How did Sly escape? Does Bentley want you to come back? God, it's going to be so awkward between you and him now. But… Sly's okay. He's not brainwashed, he hasn't gone crazy, he's okay. And there's not a scratch on him. You wonder what Bentley did to get him out of there.
"Cerlie, I will drag you back there myself."
Sly's threat brings you back to reality. He wants you to come back. He's going as far as willing to face your wrath if it means getting you to come back. But…
"Sly, why do you want me to come back?"
"You're an idiot, first of all. Second of all, I want you to come back because I care about you. I don't want to lose you."
You bite your lip. What are you supposed to say to that? No? I won't come back? Well, obviously you can't say that, not after what he just said to you. All you can get out is…"Okay."
Yes, chapter 15 is done. I'm so happy I've updated two days in a row. And it'll be three tomorrow, since finally the weekend is done, and I need to get away from school for a little bit.
See you tomorrow!
~Mimi