The Lesbian Gene (Lesbian, Gay, GirlxGirl)

Chapter 27: Far

Chapter 27: Far

The carousel ride had ended as soon as it began, but to me it was plenty of time.

To decide. To convince myself. To want to tell Audra that I loved her.

That somewhere along hiding. And running. And fighting for our lives, I saw reason not to give up. And it was her; Audra herself.

Yet what happens in my life is always a series of interruptions. And so, the moment the carousel ride ended, and just as we were coming back to the hallway after thanking the crew, we bumped onto the boys; the last people I'd like to see right then.

Neil, curious-looking as ever, was the first to ask. "Where had you been? We were looking all over for you, Audra."

"Where had you been?" Audra asked in return. She didn't give anything away, though her face was still flushed, her cheeks reddening even on a chilly day.

Hanz, who could be the most perceptive in the group, stared from Audra to me, asking, "Did something happen while we were gone?"

"Yes."

"Nope."

Audra and I stared at each other, which understandably made Neil's face prune up. "Did something happen or not?" he asked, sounding much like his old sarcastic self.

"Yes," I finally admitted.

Hanz, even before I was finished telling, hooked his arm around Neil's neck, much like he did when choosing the rooms. "Great then!" he said. "But I just remembered. I still haven't told you about our whole set-up here yet. Maybe we should take this opportunity at breakfast and go?" He smirked. "Oh, and guys? Watch yourselves. People are beginning to wake up."

Whatever conversation we were having prior was soon overshadowed by the barrage of people coming from all places, as if on cue. Hanz himself ushered us forward. Meanwhile, Audra and I briefly glanced at each other again before we were swallowed by the crowd.

On her eyes was a silent thank you. And even when my chances of telling her what I really felt was totally ruined for now, I couldn't help but smile back. For now, that was more than enough.

Breakfast would be done in the boy's room, which upon entering, completely looked like ours. While there wasn't a piano, there was a statue of a glorious mermaid in the middle of the room. Furthermore, the large bed was facing a balcony that had no other view than the eternity of the sea too. I was completely baffled that the table on the left was already filled with food, though, even though we hadn't ordered yet.

"Did you tell them to bring this?" I asked.

"Yes," Hanz answered, finally letting go of Neil. "Everything is arranged for us. Here, take a seat, and I'll explain to you."

The four of us chose our chairs.

"You might be wondering what this ship is, what's the deal, and how we can stay safe." Hanz looked from one person to another. All of us were silent— Neil too, for once allowing Hanz to speak.

Satisfied, Hanz leaned back on his chair, grinned. "Well, like I said when we'd arrived here, this ship is for cruising and they allow some people off from port to port. Sometimes they allow people in too."

"Like us."

"Correct, Pax. Although. . ." He frowned. "We had to come in using the crate so the tracers couldn't get us. We were smuggled in, so to speak."

"But are we clear yet" Audra said, already playing with a butter knife. "Can we walk around?"

"Yes," Hanz answered truthfully. "And no." Neil's eyes squinted while Hanz explained. "Technically, the ship is made up of ninety-five percent foreign passengers. They don't know that we're hunted. They don't even know, perhaps, that something had happened in Stalwart. All of them are on vacation, so let's keep it that way, shall we?"