Let Me Hold You //Apply Fic//

//chapter .21//

Juno lunged to catch Veronica, barely able to stop her head from hitting hitting floor. Maylea was there a moment later, helping pull her to the bed.

"Three..." Juno gritted his teeth. "Two." His arms complained from lifting and holding this kind of weight, so unlike what he normally did. "One." They half lifted, half tossed Veronica onto the bed, and Juno let out a whistling breath. "Thanks, Maylea."

The other girl jumped slightly at hearing her name, eyes wide. "Hmm? Oh, sorry Juno." She picked at her fingernails, studying Veronica. "So... what do we do with her?"

Juno sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Veronica's face was pale, with small beads of sweat forming on her forehead, her eyebrows creased into a worried line. Juno bit his lip, drifting his hand across her skin. It was warm, warmer than it should have been, considering how cold they kept it in rooms. "She has a fever."

Malyea made a small noise and crawled on the other side of the bed, shifting and creaking the mattress. "I think we should let the adults know. She wouldn't be in there if something wasn't wrong."

Juno turned to look at Maylea. "Would you act this way if it was Corben lying here instead? They've both broken out of the nurse's station, hospital room, E.R. whatever thing thingamabob we're going to be calling it."

Maylea folded her arms. "Juno, Corben has a concussion and it's a miracle that he made it to Kai's room without falling and hurting himself further." She gestured down. "And Veronica, well they said she was sedated, so it's probably not safe for her to be off of whatever drugs they had her on. She'll wake up and hurt herself or someone else."

Juno's brows furrowed. "Or maybe they're keeping her on drugs for another reason. Maybe she's saw something she shouldn't have, and they're trying to keep her from telling anyone. Maybe she's in trouble, Maylea!" He leapt up from the bed and then paced to the other side, then whirled back around. "Are you really saying we should just give her up?"

"I'm not saying that..." Maylea threaded her fingers into the strands of her hair, tugging at them gently. "It's just, we shouldn't be responsible for this, Juno. We can't get in trouble for hiding her. We don't know what they'll do to us." Something about her expression made his insides tighten, as if he was going to be sick.

Ignoring it, Juno stepped closer, desperation in his eyes. "And we don't know what they'll do to her! She's in trouble, Maylea, and she even said so herself! Do you just expect me to turn her away? To give her up?"

"We barely know her!" Maylea snapped back, her eyes shaded. "We barely know anyone here, Juno, and you expect me to risk maybe even my life for some stranger?" Fear shone in her eyes, her lips twisted into something hurt.

Juno froze, staring at Maylea. "You think they would actually kill us?" His heart slowed to a crawl, his words, her meaning, spinning on repeat in his head. The air started to become thick, too heavy to breathe.

Maylea dug her fingers deeper into her hair. "I'm saying I wouldn't put it past them. We don't know these people, these teenagers, these walls. You've already seen how careless they are with our safety. We fell down a hole in the wall, and then I almost drowned! People who leave glass tanks under ventilation shafts obviously aren't worried if we live or die."

Juno curled in at her words. "That doesn't mean they would intentionally kill us." Right? Right? His entire body was sending up alerts, tingles and shivers across his skin, shutting down.

Maylea scoffed. "Wouldn't they? They may act caring, but it may be just that, an act." She groaned in frustration, tapping at her Band. "I'm calling them."

Juno jolted forward. "No, don't! What if they kill her instead?" He grabbed her hand, pulling ut away from her other wrist, breath stuck in his throat as he stared at her, wide eyed.