In The Shadows

Chapter Twenty Six

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We made it back to the base all in one piece, no routine checks this time around forcing us to hide behind the boxes.

Our footsteps were quiet along the empty halls. Davis allowed us to go get rested up, considering it was the early hours of the morning, and announced that we would meet in the conference room in a few hours.

We parted, and Crystal, Jax, Chase, and Noah all went down separate hallways, lugging their bodies along like zombies to their rooms. Mason and I walked down the stairs in silence, both exhausted to the point where our muscles felt like limp noodles. We reached the landing and Mason reached out to open the door, leaving it open for me. I grabbed it, thanking her. But when I looked at her face, I saw the tear tracks lining her cheeks and her red nose.

"Mason, are you okay?" I asked, closing the door quietly and hurrying so I was walking right next to her.

"Yeah," she hesitated, still silently crying. Tears streamed down her face and she caught them before they dripped off the edge of her chin. We stopped in front of her door and her face contorted, scrunching up into wrinkles and red blotches

"No," She sighed. "I'm not okay." She wiped her eyes and sniffed, offering a small smile. "But I will be."

"Mason, I don't want to leave you like this. Let's just go talk for a little bit," I suggested.

She paused a moment, thinking, before finally giving in. "Okay fine, but not for too long because I know you're tired too."

"Deal," I agreed, and followed her into her room.

It had the same bland and minimalistic taste as my room, just a little bit messier with clothing draped over the edge of the bed or dropped on the floor. I perched on the edge of her bed and watched as she took out her ponytail, shaking it out.

When she flipped her hair back up, there were more tears. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I mean," she wildly gestured her hand at me, "You look like you're adjusting just fine and you've been here for less time than me."

She backed up against the wall and slid down it, hugging her shins and sinking her face into her knees. Her body shook from the quiet sobs, bouncing her shoulders and causing her hair to fall down in front of her face.

I got up from the bed to go sit next to her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "For the record, I am not adjusting perfectly fine. I got yelled at today by Crystal numerous times, was scared out of my mind too many times to count, and am feeling more alone without my family with me. We're all just trying to get through this, it'll be okay."

"How do you know?" Her head popped up as she challenged me. "How do you know it'll all be okay?"

Because Irine told me it would be, and that's the one piece of hope I can afford to cling on right now.

"Mason" I started gently, but she flew up and began pacing.

"I'm serious. How do you know it's going to be okay? We get ripped from everything we know, or at least in my case, my idiot self chose to get ripped from everything I knew, and for what? What are we fighting for? There hasn't even been a clear motive stated." She threw her hands up in the air.

I opened my mouth just to close it two seconds later. What was I supposed to say to that, especially when I agreed with her?

"Then tonight," she continued. "We run into trouble, almost get killed." She let out a long sigh and turned to me, tears flying down her cheeks and jumping to the floor below.

"And for what?" Her voice rises from the tears, getting caught in her throat. "For a cause we aren't even sure about?" She sinks on her bed, staring at the wall. "I just am so tired of this, so unsure of it all."
Picking myself up off the ground, I planted myself next to Mason on the bed, wrapping my arms around her again.

In a soft voice, she whispered, "How did we get here?"

I waited, just in case she wanted to say anything else. "No matter how we got here, we're here and we've got to make the best of it." She looked up at me and I pulled her in for a hug. "Look, I'm going to tell you what my friend told me. You will go through hard times, times when you'll be stripped of everything you know and everything you take comfort in. You will have to endure all of the obstacles that are thrown in your way, but you know what? You will make it through, you will find a way to stand strong through it all."

She nodded on my shoulder, my shirt becoming damp from the remaining tears lingering on her chin.

"You can do this, Mason." I pulled her back and looked at her. "We're going to do this together."

She gave me a small smile and sniffed, wiping her shimmering eyes. "Thanks Amber. I don't know what's gotten into me. I swear, I'm usually that fun and outgoing girl you met in the hall today," she joked.

"Don't worry about it. Seriously." I shrugged. "We're all here to lean on each other and support one another. I'll always be here for you."

"Thank you," she murmured quietly, pulling me into another hug.

We sat like that for a minute in silence, just holding one another. It had been a long day, and I was grateful for our friendship. But she had brought up a good point. What was the point of all of this fighting and heartbreak?

But more importantly, was it worth it?

*****

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this chapter! What do you think?

Do you like Mason? And do you agree with her concerns?

Ciao for now! 

Payton :)