A Heart Unbroken [Book One]

Confessions ~ Louis

I woke up in a dusty cabin. Meghan was in a corner, gently stroking Marshall's hair. Marshall was sleeping next to her.

"Meghan? Why did they move us?" I asked. This was a different cabin than before.

"Apparently the others came looking for us. Just like you said they would."

"Did you have any doubt?"

"None. Hanan wouldn't let anything happen to you," she replied with a smile.

I laughed. "Or you. And Cam would never leave Marshall."

We smiled at each other and sat back in silence. Meghan, although busy with Marshall's hair, kept fidgeting. First she cracked her neck, and then her elbows, and then her knuckles. But then she adjusted the way she was sitting, and how Marshall's head was laying in her lap.

"Meghan, what's wrong?" I asked.

"They told me they wanted me to...to join their group...thing."

She let out a quiet sob, then covered her mouth. I crawled over to her and put an arm around her shoulder, wiping a tear as it rolled down her cheek. "It's okay, Megs. They just see how strong you are. Of course you didn't say yes, right?"

"No, of course not. They took my dad away, but...they threatened you two, Louis. And they'll do what they say."

"Come on, they're probably just bluffing so you'll join them."

"Louis, you attacked one of them, and they knocked you upside the head. You could have died if she hit hard enough."

"I've got a hard head," I smiled. She returned the smile, but tears were still threatening to spill.

"Marshall isn't as strong as you are, Louis."

I looked down at his frail figure. Whatever they were planning to do wouldn't be good for him. "That's okay. I'll just take his share."

"It doesn't work that way, Louis, you need to understand-"

"We can deal with it when it comes up. Until then, we need to take of Marshall. Where are his pills? He'll need them when he wakes up."

"They took our bags," she said, panicking. "I totally forgot about his pills!"

"Okay, okay, that's fine. We'll just tell them that we need his pills. Stay here."

I stood up, and immediately felt dizzy. I guess the bump to my head was harder than I thought. But, I managed to walk to the door and slammed my fist against it.

"Hey! Open up!" I heard the guards laughing. "We need some pills for the guy in here! Just let me get the pills!"

"Nice try, Kid, but we are not falling for that!"

"Seriously! Just check his bag!"

When they refused, I started calling them names that I won't repeat. Unfortunately, they didn't like that, so the door was quickly unlocked and opened. Two very angry-looking women yanked me outside by my shirt. One of them told me I would learn to respect my betters, and Meghan shouted at them to stop. Marshall probably woke up between that and my screaming.

When I staggered back into the cabin, Meghan and Marshall were waiting for me. They went to help me, but I pushed them away. "We're not getting those pills," I whispered. I went to a corner of the cabin, pulling my knees up and holding my shins as close to me as I could.

"What did they do to you?" Marshall asked quietly.

"I don't want to talk about it." I buried my face in my knees and cried, hating them all for the pain they caused me.