I'm Your Leader | Barns Courtney [Completed]

Chapter Five | Recovery

The next few weeks was full of awkward moments. Barns had scheduled extra lessons with me. Just because he wanted to help me get use to entering the astral plane. It didn't take long for the others to find out. Everyone from the older members to the new arrivals gave me dirty looks when they saw me. Baily had become my only friend at the camp. Not that I got close to anyone else, but others wouldn't even talk to me.

I knew it was because Barns was giving me more attention than the rest of them. I didn't want extra lessons, especially since they involved the astral plane. Each time left me with a headache, nausea, and tiredness. I knew he only wanted to make me stronger, but it felt like torture. Thankfully he was very sweet and caring. He always gave me medicine and tea afterwards. "Hey, do you have any lessons this week?" Baily asked, taking me out of my thoughts.

We were sitting next to the lake enjoying the lovely weather. "No, I don't." I replied. I mentioned about me having a bad meditation experience last time. It was true too. Someone interrupted my lesson, and things went wrong. Barns was furious at the camp goers that interrupted us. "Oh no. I'm so sorry that happened to you. Are you alright?" She said. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just drained and I feel a little disoriented at times." I replied.

We talked for a few more moments before she walked be back to my cabin. With permission from Barns I was allowed to skip all of the activities. He would send a staff member to check on me every now and then as well. Baily and I said out goodbyes. I wished her luck for her lesson with Barns. I locked the door behind me and sat down on the couch. I decided to call my mom because I hadn't talked to her in a while.

I had a land line phone in my cabin, so I could call. I didn't have any cellphone service out here. I dialed my mom's number and a few minutes passed before she answered. She asked me how things were going. Some of the questions she asked caught me off guard. But then I remembered that she thought it was a religious camp. I asked about my family members as well. I failed to mention that the camp instructor is one of my favorite musicians.

A knock on the door caught my attention and I said my goodbyes to my mom. When I looked through the curtain I saw that it was a staff member. He was wearing the same velvet robes all of them have on. "How are you feeling this afternoon?" He asked me curiously. "I'm feeling alright." I replied with a small smile. "I'm glad to hear that. Barnaby told me to bring this to you." He said as he handed me large brown paper bag. It had handles on it. "Oh, okay. Thanks" I replied.

"You have a good afternoon and evening." He said and I thanked him. We said our goodbyes before he left. I closed and locked my door. When I reached the couch I opened the bag I was given. There was a letter on top and I opened it.

Dear Lilly,

I'm sorry for what happened during our last lesson. I know it wasn't either of our faults, but I feel responsible. I want us to return to the original lesson schedule. I promise I won't push you as hard as I have been. I'm just glad that you're okay. I might stop by your cabin this evening to check on you myself.

- Barns

I smiled softly and felt loved by him. I sat the card aside and looked further into the bag. There was chocolate and a brown stuffed teddy bear. I cuddled the teddy bear and ate a little of the chocolate. 'He'd so sweet." I thought inside of my head happily. I relaxed most of the day. Around dinner time I started to get up and leave, but then someone knocked on the door.

When I looked out of the window I couldn't stop the smile that was on my face. Barns was standing there. When he saw me he smiled back. I opened the door and invited him in. "I brought us some food. That way you don't have to go to the cafeteria." He said as he walked in. "That was very sweet of you. Speaking of sweet... thanks for the chocolate and the teddy bear." I said with a smile. He sat all of the food he brought on the coffee table.

"I'm glad that you liked everything. I just... feel so guilty about what happened." He said with sympathy I'm his blue eyes. "It wasn't your fault. You couldn't have known we were going to be interrupted." I said. "I know, but I can't help it. You could have gotten seriously injured, and I don't what that to happen to you." He said with a soft look in his eyes. His words and his expression made me feel warm inside. "Barns, you're so sweet. Um... it... it's okay if I call you Barns right?" I asked nervously, blushing a little.

"Of course it's okay. Only when we're alone though. Especially since everyone here knows me as Barnaby." He replied. I assured him that I would only call him Barns in private. We sat on the couch and ate the food he brought. Everything was delicious. After eating we talked, which was nice. But after a few minutes I started feeling a little dizzy. "Hey, come here." He said softly. I slowly moved closer to him. He wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back a little.

To my surprise he left a gentle kiss on my forehead. Oddly enough it made the dizzy feeling go away. Unfortunately it came back. "Can you kiss my forehead again? It's just... it makes the dizziness go away." I said shyly, blushing. He gently peppered my forehead with soft kisses. I giggled, and he laughed a little too. I broke the hug slightly so I could look up at him. He was smiling and his eyes were glowing with happiness.

My insides felt warm and fuzzy seeing him look so happy. I snuggled back into his embrace, and he gently tightened his arms around me. "Are you feeling better?" He asked softly. "Yeah, I am. Thank you." I replied. Being this close to him gave me butterflies. The fact that he kissed my forehead made me blush. I started to wonder if I was developing a crush on him. It was a little scary. But I couldn't deny how safe I felt with him in that moment.

'You probably just think you have a crush on him. Especially since had been so sweet and kind to you. Plus you admire him a lot.' I thought as we basically cuddled each other. We stayed like that for a while before he checked the time. "I should get going and let you get some rest." He said softly. "Do you have to go?" I asked as we broke the hug. "I do, and you need sleep." He said softly before kissing my forehead. I blushed and smiled. "Okay. I promise I'll get some sleep." I replied with a smile.

I walked with him towards the door and he hugged me goodnight. We talked for a little bit before he left. I closed and locked the door behind him. Then I walked over to the couch. He and I had cleaned up the trash from dinner, so I didn't have to clean up all by myself. Eventually I got ready for bed and cuddled the teddy bear he gave me. It didn't take me a long time to fall asleep. I guess he was right about me needing rest.

Sometime during the night I had to get up to use the bathroom and get a drink. Once I was finished in the bathroom, I went into the kitchen. As I was getting myself a glass of water I heard noises outside. My mind went to what I had seen a few weeks ago. When I thought I saw staff members hiding a dead body. I glanced outside to see what was going on. There were staff members outside in the woods next to my cabin. But I didn't see anything that might look like a dead body.

Maybe Barns asked them to keep an eye on my cabin. Just in case I needed help or something. After I finished drinking my water I went back to my bedroom. I laid there awake for a while before falling back to sleep.

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A/N: Thanks for reading. Remember to vote, comment, share, etc. :) <3