Ill Appearances

Chapter 23: Andy

I woke up in a concrete room. There was a camera in one corner and the cot I was laying in in another.

"You are now in the highest level of confinement chambers," a voice from the speaker on the ceiling spoke. "From this point forward, you will be under complete surveillance. Please refrain from tampering with the camera. If our video feed of this room should get cut off for some reason, we will immediately have guards detain you. If you have any further questions, please press the green button beside your cot. Should you have to eat or use the restroom, please press the blue button. Thank you, and have a nice stay."

I frowned. "They make this sound like it's a luxury..." I sat up, running a hand through my hair. When I set my hand down again, it brushed over a piece of paper next to me. Hesitantly, I read it.

Don't try to remember how you got here, it read.

I flipped it over, reading the other side even more cautiously.

Don't try to move around too much either. Your body should still be repairing itself from the electric shocks you received. If anything, try to fall back asleep. I can't say when Carmen will find you—or the rest of us. Until then, stay calm. I know you hate being confined to such a small space, but it's the only way.

-Mara

At this, my frown deepened. I laid back down, contemplating whether I should try to find a way to escape, or if I should just sleep again. It turned out that my body wanted me to sleep. I'd dozed off just as quickly as I'd woken up.

"Don't take things too personally," Kasar's voice said.

I turned in his direction. "What do you mean?"

He sat at the edge of a cliff, his back facing me. "I can tell how you feel, even if you don't realize it yourself. And, quite honestly, I don't think you should blame yourself. You had no idea that this would happen."

"But Carmen's out there all on her own," I snapped. "All I can think about are those times I wish I could have told her how much she means to me."

Kasar chuckled. "Don't you think you've done that enough? I'm sure she knows you care about her by now."

I scowled. "I...I want to make my feelings clear. I want to finally say...say...I like you. No, no it's more than that."

Kasar finally turned to me. "So then what is it?"

Despite myself, I blushed. "You're really going to make me tell you out loud? Can't you already sense it?"

He smirked. "Believe me, I could feel it way before you even mentioned it. But even still..." He stood, turning to face me fully. "You need to admit it to yourself first."

I sighed. "Fine..."

"What's she like?" he asked.

"She's...she's everything I could ever ask for," I said quietly. "She's smart and caring and considerate. She knows what she wants and how to get it. Not to mention she's gorgeous..." I buried my face in my hands. "This is so embarrassing..."

He let out a bark of laughter.

"It's not funny," I grumbled.

"It's not that," he said gently. "You...you just remind me a lot of myself." He shrugged. "But I'll tell you about that some other time. Keep talking about Carmen."

I sighed once more. "When I look at her, all I can think about is how much I like her. I don't want to live without her. I..." I looked up at the blue sky overhead. "I love her. I have for a while now, I think. It's surprising how quickly things can change like that. At first, I wasn't even sure if she liked me at all. When I kissed her for the first time, it was like she'd cast a spell on me. Even...even if I hadn't realized it at the time, I couldn't let her go. I just..." I scowled, running a hand through my hair. "What do I do? I want to tell her so badly, but when will I do it? Heck, I don't even know where she is right now..."