235

"Desirée? Are you OK?"

I looked up, Cade stood in the doorway, looking almost horrified at my current state.

It was almost embarrassing, having Cade see me crying. I never liked people seeing me look weak and vulnerable. I felt powerless. Quickly wiping my eyes, I looked away from Cade, sniffling.

"I'm fine," I said hoarsely, grimacing slightly. "Don't worry about me."

"You're crying," he said.

I shook my head. "It's fine," I said. "I'm fine. Don't worry."

Cade's mouth thinned, looking almost pained. "Something happened," Cade said. "Something that made you..."

I pursed my lips, embarrassment heating my cheeks. Having Cade worry over why I had been crying made me angry. Marli and Celia had a reason to know why I hadn't been there for them. But the intensity of their suffering...the feeling of me possibly abandoning them made me feel like the worst person in the universe. It wasn't fair to them. They didn't deserve to be suffering for so long.

"Cade, please..." I begged, feeling my eyes tear up again.

Before Cade could say anything else, Drift's Holoform entered, looking at me worriedly. I felt my heart sink. Drift didn't need to see me looking weak and vulnerable. It made me angrier, more embarrassed.

"Please...I'm fine," I begged. A few tears spilled down my cheeks, causing me to cover my mouth to stifle the sobs. "It's just hormones. I'm pregnant, remember?"

"This isn't pregnancy hormones," Cade said; shaking his head. "I remember seeing this with Tessa's mother. Her mother was pretty hormonal. This...This is something different. What did they say to you?"

"It's all my fault," I said, trying to steady my voice. "I let them get taken...a-and..."

I felt a comforting arm over my shoulders. The sobs wracked through me.

Through my tear-filled eyes, I saw Drift sitting next to me, trying his best to comfort me in my distressed state. I briefly saw a look on Cade's face that made me feel even worse. He looked almost guilty.

"Whatever happened to them isn't your fault," Drift said gently.

"You can't blame yourself for what happened to them." Cade's voice sounded so guilt-stricken.

"They were experimented on," I exclaimed. "I could've saved them. We had been in their headquarters in Chicago...remember? I could've saved them. I should've looked."

"Don't blame yourself, Desirée," Cade said. "None of us could have known what was going on with them. It's not your fault."

"I knew they left with Jazz and Dino," I cried, the tears flowing endlessly. "I should have been worried when they died. I should have wondered what happened to them or looked..."

Drift removed his arm from my shoulders and carefully wiped the tears from my face. I looked at him, slightly uncomfortable from the sudden contact. Drift wasn't one who would physically comfort someone in their moment of despair. He was kind of philosophical in a way, using haikus and other methods to try and justify certain situations.

And having Drift suddenly wipe tears from my eyes made me a little uncomfortable.

"Drift...?" I looked at him, trying to make sense of what he was doing.

"You should not blame yourself for what happened to your companions," Drift said. His blue eyes looked sad. "Seeing you look so distraught makes us worry for you."

"We don't see you cry often," Cade said softly.

Shaking my head, I sniffled. My stomach felt achy, my eyes burning and my throat scratchy.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I didn't mean to make you worry. It's just...I don't like this."

"Don't like what?" Drift asked.

"Feeling like this." I motioned to myself. "Vulnerable and unable to control my emotions. Marli and Celia have been experimented on by Cemetery Wind, they didn't deserve to be exposed to something like that. Celia was so angry at me...she blamed me for what happened to her and Marli. I think she's right."

"No," Cade said. "You can't believe what she says."

"I was aware that they both left with an Autobot," I said hoarsely. "Jazz and Dino are dead now. I had a hunch that if us, the humans, were caught by Cemetery Wind, we'd be taken into some kind of custody. If I had known they were going to be treating humans like guinea pigs...Celia and Marli were good friends of mine when we were in the military. Now they every reason in the world to hate me."

Cade and Drift shared a look.

"Listen, if Celia and Marli try and come back, we'll tell them to leave," Cade said.

I shook my head. "I want to finish this," I said. "Marli and Celia deserve to tell me what's been bothering them. It's unfair to them, having to keep their emotions bottled up for so long."

Optimus POV

"Prime, is something wrong?" Ironhide asked via ComLink.

Optimus had received a message from Drift, informing him of Desirée's condition. She was an emotional wreck at the moment. Optimus's Spark rattled angrily at the thought of his Sparkmate being in so much pain. Drift told him as much as he knew, though it wasn't much.

"I'm fine," Optimus lied. He didn't need to be putting his personal worries into the mission. They were getting close to Tennessee, and any worries and anxieties at the moment had to be pushed down so the mission could be done successfully.

"Prime, you should know by now that we know when you're lying," Ironhide scoffed. The weapon specialist had known Optimus for centuries, one of the few Autobots who knew the Prime well enough to tell what was truly worrying him.

"What's bothering me at the moment has nothing to do with the mission, Ironhide." Optimus's voice had come off as sharp, almost frustrated. "Our main focus is making sure that Galvatron doesn't inflict severe damage."

Ironhide didn't respond. He knew better than to respond.

Optimus prayed to Primus that the mission would go by quickly so he could go back to Desirée.

QUICKY A/N:

I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THIS UPDATE. THE FOUR OC'S ARE NOT MINE, THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.

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STAY SNAPPY.

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~SMITHY