𝐃𝐔𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘 ── bellamy blake ¹ ✓

[ 22 ] the end

I let go of his hand so he can catch Octavia as she leaps into his arms with a deep sigh of relief and once again, I catch myself wanting to burst into tears. It's been weeks since they've seen each other.

And then I notice Clarke. The head of blonde waves lowers almost bashfully, but her gaze still travels up to Bellamy, and then me. My lips are pursed as I offer a challenging stare in return, but hers almost twitch up in an absentminded smile. Still, it is clear she knows her faults as her feet shuffle uncomfortably and I decide to approach her just slightly, a single question burning on the tip of my tongue.

Clarke swallows, while I pass by the Blake's and end up mere feet in front of the girl, "My dad. Did he make it out?"

I quickly decide that I absolutely loathe her silence, because she fights for words a moment too long. Her lips part with shaky finality, and her head lands in a curt nod, "There were many survivors." So she doesn't know.

"Okay," I bite down onto my lip, slowly nodding in silent reassurance of myself; many survivors means that there is a large possibility of him being just fine, but my chest still stings under the sharp stab of worry, so I look back up, locking our eyes, "At least you're here."

Clarke's light eyes storm with clouds of puzzlement, and I find a certain amount of triumph in the way her own thoughts thunderously clash behind her irises. She doesn't know what to think and frankly, neither do I, because in the past few weeks she's done nothing but betray my trust for her, yet she is still my friend. I think she realizes exactly what I'm thinking, so she manages an apologetic roll of her lips and says, "I'm glad you're okay, Emily."

"Thanks. You, too," I resist the urge to carelessly shrug, as that would come off entirely too hostile, but I know the lack of emotion behind my words sets off a sting on their own. For a moment, I feel bad that I might be projecting the negativity of the past day solely onto her, but I count on Clarke to figure it out herself and realize that it's not just her presence setting me off.

When I spin around on my heels, my eyes instantly meet Bellamy's, who looks just slightly scandalized (he must have been watching our reunion) as he releases Octavia from his embrace. The youngest Blake finally turns to face me as I already move closer towards her, a small smirk reaching across her lips, "Hey, Superwoman, long time no see."

I barely manage a soft laugh, reaching my arms over her shoulders as Bellamy stands beside us, intently watching us greet each other with a tight hug, "You look sexy as hell, O."

"Don't let my brother hear you," the younger girl rumbles a chuckle into my shoulder and I strain to move my eyes to the man in question. He stands motionless, but the mindless grin on his face deceives his façade; he already heard me. Octavia carefully pulls away and we exchange one last smile, before she hears Monty, Aiden and Jasper enter the cave and moves to greet them, as well, remarking about their collective amount of scrawny shared between them. Slowly, Maya also joins the group and the boys have to inform Octavia that she is with us.

By then, Bellamy and I have ended up in front of Clarke, expectant of important information -- the former out of the two of us wonders, "Where's your army?"

"Gone. Just like yours," Clarke wastes no time in responding, eyes coated with a helpless sheen of unshed tears. Her words instantly take me back to the harvest chamber where the grounders had been gathered up by the Mountain Men and lead away. My shoulder bumps against Bellamy's arm as I feel the sudden sensation of losing my footing, but it's all in my head. "Say you have a plan."