Divagate

Chapter 23

    "Couldn't sleep either?" Lia guesses.

    "Yeah." I nod even though I know she can't see it. There's that almost silence again. Both of us avoid making eye contact in the dark.

    Lincoln grunts, displeased with something in his dream, and rolls over onto his back. I notice his arm slide off of Lia as he moves. Whatever strange emotion I was feeling ebbs away. In the absence of Lincoln's arm, Lia pulls her arms and legs closer to herself, practically curling up into a ball. The emotion slithers it's way back to the surface, causing me to sigh and lay down.

    Looks like I'm off to a great start with the whole "being better" thing. Lia sighs, too.

"Since neither of us can sleep, want to go for a walk?" Lia asks softly. I consider this offer for a second, running through possible scenarios and weighing their outcomes. None of the outcomes seem too bad. Besides, a walk might do me some good.

    "Sure." Neither of us moves. Someone from the next tent coughs. I don't know how long we sit in silence for, just staring at nothing. 10 minutes? 30? An hour? Either way, Lia sits up,

    "We should go." I hear her carefully slip out of her sleeping bag.

    "Yeah." I slide out of my sleeping bag, too. As I pull my shoes on, Lia starts crawling around the tent, seeming to be searching for something. "What are you doing?" I hiss.

    "Um, is the clothing suitcase in here?" I don't bother asking why she needs it. It really doesn't matter to me.

    "Yeah," I whisper. I've said "yeah" so much that it's starting to not sound like a word anymore. "It's over here by me."

    "Oh, ok." Hesitantly, she makes her way closer to me. I can tell she's squinting in the dark, doing her best to see exactly where it is. "Uh, where?" I forgot that it's behind me.

    "Here." I say, forcing the slight annoyance I have out of my voice. Scooching over, I gently take Lia's wrist. Her breath hitches from the unexpected touch, nearly causing me to let go.

    No, you need to be better.

    I slowly guide her until I feel her hand hit the suitcase. She's right next to me now, her shoulder brushing mine.

    "Thanks." She whispers. The zipper very slowly gets unzipped. Her arm lightly skims mine, raising the hair on my arms. Whether it's from her basically being a human electric eel or something else, I'm not sure. She digs through the suitcase and pulls out a few pieces of clothing.

    "Don't look." Lia commands, her whisper making her words sound threatening. I can't see that much in the dark, but I hold up my hands before using one to cover my eyes. Despite being unable to see through my hand, I close my eyes just in case.

    If she wants privacy, that's what she's going to get. Just to be even more cautious, I lay down on my side.

    I hear her pull off something and drop it by her sleeping bag. She tugs on the new clothing item and goes onto the next. Lia gasps softly as she tosses the old clothing aside. There's a startled, sharp inhale and thrashing from the other side of the tent. Out of habit, my body tenses and my heart starts pounding. It's taking all of my strength to not bolt up.

    "What the fuck?" Lincoln sputters.

    "Sorry." I can practically hear the cringe in Lia's voice.

    "Lia? What are you doing?" He whispers, still trying to catch his breath. "Is this... your sweater?"

    "I— I was changing," I just know her face is so damn red right now. "So yes, that's mine. Sorry it hit you."

    "It's al... oh my God, I'm so sorry." There's a quiet clap as he slaps a hand over his eyes. I guarantee his face is just as red as Lia's.

    "Um," Lia coughs lightly. "Don't worry about it." Fuck, this is so awkward.

    "I... uh... I'm just going to go back to sleep." The sweater lands on Lia's sleeping bag next to me.

    "Yeah, ok." I physically cringe.

    "Hopefully I'll forget this happened." Lincoln lays back down, sounding like he's pulling his sleeping bag over his head.

    "Me too." Lia mumbles to herself. A quiet snort escapes me, and I feel Lia's eyes harshly staring me down.

    "Sorry. Goodnight." Lincoln states, muffled slightly.

    "Night." Lia yanks on her shirt. "Shit." I wait a second before responding.

    "Hmm?" I do my best to make it as silent as possible.

    "Nothing. Let's just go."

    Uncovering my eyes, sitting up, and taking my gun out from under my pillow, I follow Lia as she crawls out of the tent. I shoot a glance back at Lincoln, who looks like a caterpillar in a cocoon. Once outside, I realize how hot it was in the tent. I also realize what Lia was upset about.

    Illuminated by the moonlight, Lia stands in a t-shirt that's way too big for her. The hem brushes her thighs, just barely above the edge of her shorts. She grabbed the wrong one. I can't help but smirk.

    "It's not funny, Darwin." She says, eyeing my gun as I put it in my waistband.

    "It's not funny." I echo, continuing to smirk.

    "Ok, where do we want to go?" Lia speaks up, eager to change the subject. A plan suddenly pops into my head.

    "Wait here, I have an idea."

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Salut, tout le monde!

I know, it's been a while. Again. I didn't realize how busy I was going to get once school started. Sorry, guys.

Anyway, I hope you're all doing well and enjoying Divagate! Don't be afraid to comment! I want to see your thoughts (good and bad) on things!

As always, I love those of you who read every single chapter! You guys are the best!! <3

Thanks for reading chapter 23!💕