Blue Moon

Chapter 27

Alona didn't understand why she was being so difficult. She got up off the bed and walked up to his door. Arlo was literally the only person she had now, and she was repaying his care for her by being a brat.

She tapped the door, "Arlo?" It was her turn to wait.

The door was cracked.

She heard him walk to the door, "Alona it's better if we don't talk right now." She could still hear the anger in his voice.

She pushed the door fully open; he had his back to her. He had taken his shirt off. She saw it lying across the room on the edge of a basket.

"I just-" She didn't know what to say. Her face blushed.   

He turned around and waited for what she would say.  

He had done so much to help her. She would be dead right now if it weren't for him. She thought of the flashes of light, horrified looks on the men's faces, and the blood.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm acting bratty." She stepped forward. "I just need you to include me." She stepped closer again. "I'm involved Arlo, I should be told."

His tattoo softly shimmered in the low light; he watched her step closer to him. She wasn't scared of him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him. She could hear his heartbeat deep in his chest, pounding steadily. Her shoulder screamed in pain at her lifting her arm to hug him. He stiffened at her embrace, people did not touch him. He lifted an arm and hugged her back, he wasn't sure what to do.

She let her arms fall and then stepped back. 

"I should have at least discussed it with you." He replied.

She nodded softly. She met his eyes and was shocked to find that his eyes looked a deeper gold than she had thought. She stepped back and brushed a hand through her hair. She was completely embarrassed.

"Well. I'm going to go change." She said glancing at his bare chest, her cheeks flamed up again.

"I'll make us some dinner." He watched her back away slowly. She was smiling.

She nodded then left the room, the door swinging shut behind her. She collapsed onto the worn mattress of her bed. She rubbed her cheeks, hoping the redness would go away.

She took off her ripped cargo pants and stared at Arlo's sweatpants. She shook her head and pulled them on, they were much too long so she had to cuff the ends and roll up the waistband.

She went into the bathroom and rinsed her face with cold water, hoping to ease her flaming cheeks. She looked at herself and saw how disheveled her hair was. She quickly brushed through it, wishing she had her ponytail holder to pull it back.

She stared at her reflection. The cut above her eye was healing. Her cheeks were still red, she felt so silly. She was stressing over a guy when there were bigger problems to worry about. 

She took a deep breath, her body still aching, and left her room. Arlo's door was wide open, she guessed he was already downstairs.

She walked into the kitchen to find him working at the single stove eye. The light above them buzzed and flickered as the generator outside struggled to heat the stove and cool the small fridge.

He glanced back at her as she stepped through the doorway. Thankfully, he had put on a shirt. Alona's cheeks were finally returning to their former pale color.

"You know, I still don't know much about you." Alona realized they had barely talked about Treeon and how it came to be. She had so many questions.

He looked over at her, "You want to know about me? Or..."  He looked back at the food, "Volkovs?"

She hopped up onto the counter, "You, well and Volkovs."

He smirked, "We had known about Earth for about a year before we contacted humans." He sighed, "We studied humans for a while, then you know what happened next... All the fighting."

"What made them come here in the first place?" Alona asked.

"Our leaders gathered military families, they told us it was for exploration and searching for resources." He paused, "When we came across Earth, the plan was to negotiate with humanity or eliminate the human race. Anyone who opposed to the plan was executed. My parents and my sister were among those executed. The rebels went into hiding; those against their plan."

Alona could imagine not having parents, but she couldn't imagine knowing them and then losing them. He stepped away from the stove and collecting two plates from the cupboard above Alona. She leaned out of his way, waiting for him to continue. 

He put food on their plates as he continued, "They were waiting for the right moment."

He handed her a plate and they made their way to the bar stools.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize... I mean, your parents..." Alona hoped he would continue. Her stool made a scraping noise as she pulled the seat out and sat down.

He nodded as he pulled out his seat and laid his plate down. He replied, "I was probably 5 when they were executed. I hardly knew them."

He took a bite of his food, "Everyone was loaded onto ships. I was 10 at the time. I was enrolled in a military school, like all of the other children."

"We found Earth when I was like 13. They sorted us into our future positions. I worked my way into the Guard. I protected the highest members of society." He took a bite of his food, finishing it he continued, "That's when a rogue ship crashed to Earth and began killing humans."

He stopped and shook his head, "I couldn't believe what was happening. Our leaders were framing the Rebels."

Alona ate as he spoke her attention completely on his story, "They sent a special team to try and kill off the "Rebels". They failed of course. So I requested to switch positions and went to Earth. I was 16 at this point."

He took another bite of his food and chewed it slowly, "I was so full of rage."

Alona finished her food and wiped her mouth thinking of how hard it must have been, struggling between revenge for his parents and blending in so that he wouldn't be killed also. 

"That's more or less it." He finished his food as Alona let all he had told her sink in.

She thought of Mr. Werner and his science geeks. She hated reliving that night in her mind. She blinked to try to get the image of Mr. Werner's angry face out of her mind but, his beady eyes, his sharp teeth failed to fade. She could clearly see the wrinkles around his mouth when he yelled in her face.

She wanted nothing more than to punch Mr. Werner in one of his beady eyes. 

"How long has it been since you were above ground?" She asked.

He had to think before he answered, "Almost 8 years."

Alona's heart felt like it was breaking; it had been almost 8 years since he had seen the sun or felt its warmth. 

----

Sawyer :)