𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬 | 𝐜𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 ✔️

↞ eleven

forest
{olivia's pov}

i attempted to fall back asleep after the high pitched howling of the coyotes. it also didn't help that teddy was talking to himself while standing guard.

"2300 hours. corporal teddy duchamp stands guard. no sign of the enemy. the fort is secure."

"shut up, teddy, and keep your eyes peeled," chris said. there was only a second or two of silence and teddy started making a weird instrument noise. everyone groaned.

"cut it out, teddy! we're trying to sleep," i yelled over him. teddy sighed.

"the dogfaces rested easy in the knowledge that corporal teddy duchamp was protecting all that was dear to them." none of us bothered trying to keep him quiet anymore. but eventually, vern had to stand guard. i knew for a fact he wouldn't last long. all of a sudden, sleep overcame my body in the dark night.

i was home alone because my parents told me they had something come up at work. they were both busy people, so i always understood why they left all the time. it was a late evening when i was flipping through pages of a magazine, and a loud knock sounded at the front door. i walked downstairs and slowly opened the door. it was my parents. they were both crying, and i was confused.

"what's wrong?" i asked. suddenly, their facial expression changed from hurt to anger.

"it's your fault we died. it's all your fault," my father yelled.

"you're a disgrace to our family for letting us die. it should've been you," my mother said.

"because it's all your fault," my parents said in unison.

i awoke with tears running down my cheeks, seeing chris hovering over me.

"are you alright?" he asked, wiping a tear off of my face. i sat up, staring at the fire. "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. it was just a dream. you're safe."

"i had a nightmare about my parents. i wish they were still here," i said. i looked at chris and he seemed hurt by staring into my teary eyes, but i gave him a slight reassuring smile. before he could respond, gordie started groaning in his sleep. we both turned to him. he screamed and sat up quickly. i immediately rubbed his back, trying to comfort him.

"you ok?" chris asked. "you were dreaming." gordie looked at me and back to chris.

"i didn't cry at denny's funeral," he said. i knew he was talking about his brother. he dreamed about the funeral and i frowned at the thought. i stopped rubbing his back. "i miss him, guys. i really miss him."

"i know," chris simply responded. "you guys better get back to sleep." chris stood up and walked away to go sit against a tree with his gun in hand. gordie looked at me.

"did you dream too?" he asked in a whisper. i nodded. we both looked back at chris who was leaning against a tree on the ground. he looked cold and tired when he was away from the fire. gordie and i stood up at the same time and sat on either side of chris.

"maybe you guys could go into the college courses with me," gordie said. i did quite decent in school, but i never really considered doing college courses.

"that'll be the day," chris replied.

"why not? you're smart enough," gordie said.

"they won't let me." i furrowed my eyebrows.

"what do you mean?" i asked. chris looked at me.

"it's the way people think of my family in this town, and me. i'm just one of those low-life chambers kids," he explained, looking back down at the ground.

"that's not true," gordie said.

"oh, it is. no one even asked me if i took the milk money that one time. i just got a three-day vacation."

"did you take it?" gordie asked quietly.

"yeah, i took it. you knew i took it. teddy knew i took it. everyone knew i took it. even vern knew it, i think. i'm sure olivia would've known too. but maybe i was sorry and i tried to give it back."

"you tried to give it back?" gordie asked in disbelief.

"maybe. just maybe. and maybe i took it to old lady simons and told her, and the money was all there. but i still got a three-day vacation, because it never showed up. and maybe, the next week old lady simons had this brand-new skirt on when she came to school."

"yeah! yeah, it was brown and it had dots on it," gordie recalled.

"yeah. so let's just say that i stole the milk money, but old lady simons stole it back from me. just suppose that i told the story. me—chris chambers, kid brother to eyeball chambers. do you think that anyone would have believed it?" i felt extremely horrible for chris in that moment. he was neglected just because of his last name?

"and do you think that that bitch would have dared try something like that if it'd been one of those douche bags from the view if they had taken it?" chris asked gordie. he shook his head.

"no way."

"hell, no! but with me?" chris started, but then he stopped. he glanced at the fire in the distance. "i'm sure she had her eye on that skirt for a long time. and when she saw her chance, she took it. i was the stupid one for even trying to give it back," he said, choking back tears. he couldn't hold them in any longer, and i could tell. it was obvious.

"you were doing the right thing by trying to give the money back, chris," i said, attempting to make him feel better.

"nobody gives a shit if i was doin' the right thing or not. people are too scared to look at me in the halls because they think i might do something to them," he snapped, looking me in the eyes. i examined his, and he was broken. "imagine having to live with that." i frowned as his voice cracked when he stated the last sentence. the tears welled in his eyes.

"i just never thought—i never thought that a teacher. oh, who gives a fuck, anyway?" he said, letting himself cry. i rubbed his back slowly to comfort him. "i just wish that i could go someplace, where nobody knows me." i put my head on his shoulder and he rested his head on mine.

"i'm sorry i wasn't here when all of this happened," i said after a few seconds of letting him cry.

"it's not your fault. i guess i'm just a pussy, huh?"

"no, man," gordie said as he put his hand on chris's shoulder.

"you're anything but a pussy. and if people don't wanna take the time to realize that, then they're the assholes. they're missing out on such a sweet guy," i explained. i took my head off of his shoulder to see him look at me with a tearful grin. "you aren't a bad person. i know i've only known you for a little bit of time, but i can already tell that you're the most intelligent chambers i will ever know."

"yeah," gordie said, agreeing with me. chris looked at him and back at the fire.

"thanks, guys. why don't you two get some more sleep?" he asked, wiping his tears with his bare arm. i took the gun away from him gently and he looked at me.

"you need the sleep more than i do. both of you guys get rest," i said.