Chapter 11: Time To Say Good-bye

It was about three in the morning now. I had been keeping the eye on the clock all night, only getting a total of 45 minutes of sleep. Iggy woke up periodically, asking me if I wanted him to take watch.

Yes, I know; a blind kid on watch sounds really stupid.

But Iggy was a blind BIRD-kid with enhanced senses. Nothing could get past him without him knowing that it was there.

But I always refused, shaking my head without looking at him. I wanted to keep an eye on Ember myself, even though she hadn't moved from where she was since I left her out there.

I fell asleep again at 3:15 only to wake up 10 minutes later to find her gone. I almost jumped out of my seat when the door creaked open slightly, the dim light from some window in the hallway shining into the room. I quickly closed my eyes and steadied my breath as if I was asleep and listened intently. There was a soft rustling and a swift ripping of paper before it grew silent. I guessed she was already standing at the doorway; I could see where the light dimmed slightly from behind my eyelids.

As soon as the door was closed, my eyes shot open. I quickly looked around the room only to realize that everyone was still fast asleep.

Didn't they hear her come in? I wondered as I got up out of the chair, being very careful not to step on Nudge, who had somehow managed to roll off of the bed, before I dashed to the door. I opened it, not even bothering to close it again, and ran through the hallway. My legs seemed like they couldn't move fast enough as I burst through the doors into the dim morning light.

And I saw her with her backpack, just standing there looking up at the sky.

Well...it's more like I almost ran right into her.

I stopped and had to open my wings a little just so that I wouldn't go falling flat on my face. She turned around to face me and her lips turned up into a smirk. But her eyes showed so much sadness in them; I actually couldn't look her straight in the eye.

"You didn't get any sleep last night" she said, not meaning this as a question.

"Neither did you" I replied, standing right in front of her, my mind racing. Ember chuckled, but it had a pained tone to it.

"No, I guess I didn't..." she mumbled, her gaze seeming to go to a distant place, as if remembering something. After a few moments, she turned away from me, her wings snapping out, her feathers ruffling slightly as she got ready to take off.

She's gonna leave... Was all I could think before my hand reacted and grabbed her hand in mine.

"Wait..." was all I could get out of my mouth. Her wings drooped slightly, but she wouldn't look at me.

I needed her to turn around so that I could read her eyes to know what she was feeling.

"What about Angel? And Nudge, and Iggy, and Gazzy? Total? They trusted you; you can't just walk out on them" I began.

And what about me? How do I feel? I asked myself, but even I couldn't answer that question.

"They'll be better off without me" she replied simply, as if she was forcing all emotion out of her voice. I was losing her; she was slipping out of my grasp, like flowing sand through an open crack.

"What about your laptop?!" I asked, gripping her hand.

Yes, a desperate attempt on my part.

I didn't even understand why I was even doing this. Why I was fighting so hard to keep her here when she clearly wanted to leave. But all I could think was that she had to stay with us.

For the short week that we had known her, the flock seemed...happier. As if she had filled some kind of gap left by the traitor Max, or at least dulled the pain. The idea of her leaving now just as everyone had opened up to her seemed impossible in my mind.

She finally turned to face me, taking a deep breath before she did. My chest felt heavy and my heart felt numb as I saw her expression.

Longing, regret, anger, pain; all mixed together in those brown eyes that seemed to go on forever and yet nowhere at the same time.

"I can always get another one" she replied. I felt her hand gently slide out of mine. But like an idiot, I held it even tighter. Like trying to grab air. "Jeesh, you must be Fang's emotional twin or something" she said, that smirk returning to her face again.

Oh.

Haha.

That was supposed to be a joke.

But I couldn't even reply with a smart remark because I was thinking the same thing, too.

Why couldn't I just let go of her and say,"Bye! Hope you live long enough to have a happy life". Why couldn't I just walk back into the hotel and watch my flock like I had been doing since we had escaped the School?

I've only known her for a freaking week? So why?! I asked myself. I knew she was waiting for me to say something, but I was lost for words, both mentally and physically, which is saying something. Suddenly, Ember sighed heavily before walking toward me, closing the small gap between us. She leaned in and I was frozen; I didn't know what she was going to do. She whispered something in my ear and before I could say anything, I heard something click, like the sound of a lightswitch being turned off.

Everything instantly went black, and all I could remember was her voice ringing in my head with those last words.

"Stay safe".

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