I wake up only to find myself cuddling Billy and the first thing that came into my head was, ugh.
I try to move away slowly hoping he wouldn’t wake up but he was already awake as soon as I stirred.
‘Morning,’ he says all cheerful. I look at him and sit up before looking away again.
‘So what are we going to do today?’ he asks sitting up. ‘We? Billy there’s no we from now on, okay? We had a deal.’
‘Remy, there is no deal yet. I said we can work it out in the morning.’
‘Yes and its morning now, so let’s work something out: You go your way and I’ll go mine. Okay that just about settles it.’ I stand up about to walk off.
‘Remiah, you’re starting to act like a child. Right now I only want what's best for you.’
With the last sentence it reminded me of Daniel which made me want to get away from Billy even more. I started to walk off, fast, hoping he wouldn’t follow me, but of course he did.
Remiah?
Another person that knows my name. I thought, but how could he know my full name, I’ve never really told anyone on the other side of the island. The only people that knew my full name was Nick, Jack and the men in…
Billy grabs my shoulder softly cutting me off from my thoughts and making me turn around like he did last night.
‘Billy! Stop following me,’ I say crudely. ‘Well stop running away then.’ He replies.
I let out a giant sigh and kept on walking faster and faster. He still kept following me but at some point he grabs hold of my arm, making me stop and turn around. He holds both my biceps, staring into both my eyes and moves forward. He was so close I could smell the ocean and the slight scent of B.O. not only that but his breath on me.
Once again I felt my heart pumping as fast as a Bullet Train, my body starting to feel numb like I couldn’t move.
I couldn’t help but get lost in his mystifying grey eyes not even noticing the silver shimmer seep across his eyes and making them go darker and darker. I helplessly watched as he leaned in closer and closer this time I couldn’t pull back, and I had no Luke to help me. I wanted to pull back! But I just couldn’t, I don’t know how or why.
Maybe he was like Zach, compelling me into not moving.
He pulls my body closer to his now holding my waist and as soon as he closes his eyes and was so close to kissing me I could feel my body coming back again both lips only centimetres apart. I pull back and punched him as hard as I could square in the jaw, then gave a half-heartedly kick putting him off balance and making him fall on the floor.
As soon as he fell down groaning I ran away not even bothering to look back. I didn't stop running even if I knew I was nowhere near him.
I just wanted to get away from everything; Billy, Daniel, the men in black, all of them, especially this dumb forest.
I wish I could run away and start a whole new life without all these things going on. No Daniel, no Billy, no men in black and especially no Warden running me and Nick’s life.
As I ran I realised how much I’ve actually wanted to punch Billy, as mean as it sounds it’s actually true!
It turned to dark, and by the time I started to walk again my head started to spin and thump, from all the running and thoughts in my head. I sat down leaning against a tree, closed my eyes and just listened to every little thing around me; the birds singing, the wind blowing, the leaves rustling, and sometimes the animals calling or running about on the ground.
I listened really carefully to everything little thing that I drifted off to sleep without realising, yet my ears were still alert like an alpha wolf in its pack.
Once again Zach and Tony ended up finding me and brought me back to Daniel.
‘You’re one tough cookie, Remiah Shantello.’ Tony chuckles, ‘you’re never gonna stop trying are you?’
I don’t answer, I didn't talk for the whole time they walked me to Daniel. I didn’t even try to put up a fight. Zach held my arms while Tony guarded next to us.
We find Daniel sleeping under a tree, with a hat covering his face, obviously not wanting to be disturbed.
‘Oy! Daniel, wake up. We found ‘er,’ Tony says with a smirk on his face.
‘Daniel!?’ Zach screams nudging his arms softly with his foot, now only holding onto one of my biceps. He still doesn’t wake up.
‘Ugh, let’s get this over ‘n done with,’ I sigh, and without even thinking I kicked him right in the ribs maybe a little too hard unintentionally.
As soon as I did that Zach pushes me down to my knees holding onto my neck one knee on my back with my face so close to the ground . It really got my heart racing all in that split second. I was even scared to breathe and I hadn’t had the time to think about putting my hands in front of my face to stop the drop.
I hear Daniel groaning a bit then sit up, not even bothering to tell Zach to let me go.
‘Jeez, Remiah, how could you do that to me? I thought we had an understanding,’ he says trying to sound hurt now standing up as if it was nothing and looking down at me. ‘I thought you knew better?’ he utters waiting for me to answer.
‘Not talking are we? Whys that?’
Zach doesn’t put as much pressure as before but is still holding me down.
‘Remiah Shantello … what ever shall we do without ya?’ Daniel chuckles. Zach lets me go and lets Daniel pull me up to my feet, I look away from him and deep into the forest.
‘Ooh, someone’s made you angry. Zach? Tony?’ he asks looking at them both shaking their heads.
He sighs letting me go and giving me to Zach again, like I was a piece of rubbish.
‘Well, since there’s still daylight how ‘bout we start walking again ‘ey?’
And with that we were walking again; Zach holding my arm, Tony guarding and Daniel just wandering in front like a curious deer.
After a while, I got so tired and hungry, that my legs started to wobble and I could barely even walk, but I kept going Zach holding up some of my weight.
‘Daniel, I don’t think she’s feeling very well.’ Zach says worriedly, ‘I think we should stop for a bit.’
Daniel stops and turns around, contemplates me for a while. ‘She’ll live,’ he says simply then starts walking again, ‘we’ll stop later before the sun sets.’
‘Do you want me to carry you?’ Zach whispers after a while. I nodded and kept my eyes averted too ashamed, but very thankful.
He lets my arm go and carry’s me “princess style” as I wrap my arms around his neck and rest my head against his body. He was pretty strong considering he was only a couple of years older than me and being so close to him I realised he had a pretty strong figure as well.
They kept walking even past sunset, Daniel just kept on walking and I started to feel sorry for Zach, but I couldn’t walk I was too weak and I ended up falling asleep on him.
By the time we stopped it was almost pitched black. Zach and Tony left to get firewood while I ended up staying with Daniel.
‘Hey,’ he says sitting next to me. I look away. ‘Look, I’m sorry if I was being a bit of a jerk before it’s just that-‘
‘No, need to explain.’ I cut him off not wanting to listen to him. But he keeps talking anyway; ‘well…’ he stands up, ‘since we’ve kind of settled that. I want you to know that one of our old mate’s here. He’s starting to work with us again.’
That got me a bit interested, ‘what’s his name?’ I say, standing up but still refusing to meet his gaze.
‘Billy. Billy Herold. Good kid, he was wi-‘
‘What!’ I screeched. ‘No! You’re kidding me right?’ I ask nervously knowing it was a simple joke but I started to back off a little anyway knowing that Daniel never jokes about work.
Of all people why did he have to be one of them? My heart started to race waiting for Daniel’s answer.
‘Yeah, actually, I am serious. Look,’ he smiles looking at something behind me, ‘he’s right here.’
I turn around really slowly hoping it was all a silly joke. But it wasn’t, Billy really was behind me, smiling too as if nothing had ever happened. I felt like running away screaming, but I didn’t because I knew all too well that they would catch me straight away.
I hear Tony and Zach arrive putting the firewood down, and starting it with a lighter talking quietly amongst each other oblivious of what’s going on right here.
‘Hey, Remiah. Miss me?’ Billy smirks, coming up for a hug. I move back so he couldn’t touch me. ‘Stay away from me,’ I mutter.
I look at him now seeing his face from the fire light; he’s cheek pink from where I’ve punched him.
‘I guess you two have already met,’ Daniel observes as I glare at Billy.
‘Sure have! She’s a keeper ain’t she just?’ Billy mocks winking at Daniel. They both laugh as I stand there in complete annoyance.
‘So, um, what happened to your face?’ Daniel asks after a moment of laughing. Billy looks away from me and looks at Daniel grinning, ‘oh, nothing really, just a fight at home. You know me.’ He lies now looking back at me as if warning me not to say anything. I snarl at him and Daniel catches me. ‘Okay, well it’s getting pretty late so how ‘bout some of us hit the sack ‘eh? We can do shifts again.’
‘I’ll do first shift,’ Billy says quickly without taking he’s eyes off me, I roll my eyes before averting my gaze away from him only just keeping him in the corner of my eye.
‘Okay. Tony you can do second, I’ll go third. Zach you can rest the night since you carried Remiah coming here.’
Once again there were two tents; one for me only and one for Daniel, Tony and Zach. I climbed into the tent closing it and lay down straight away, forgetting about Billy. I hear someone zipping open the tent and I quickly open my eyes and prop up on my elbows. ‘No, you’re not staying here. Get out!’ I whispered fiercely, sitting up a little. ‘Shh. People are trying to sleep,’ he whispers back calmly. It was so dark I could barely see anything but guessed he was somewhere near my feet.
I could soon hear him starting to crawl toward me. ‘Billy I'm serious! Go outside,’ I hiss. He covers my mouth and leans to my ear pushing me back down onto my back, half of his body practically on top of me. ‘Shh, people are trying to sleep.’ He whispers his breath hot on my neck; I push him off straight away and sit up, pulling my legs toward my body and wrapping my arms around them self-consciously.
‘Can’t you at least stay outside?’ I ask, merely keeping the edge out of my voice.
‘Nope, I'm staying right here.’ I see his figure sit right beside me, then changes into a curvy line as he lies down.
I sigh deeply, angrily knowing that he’ll never give up. ‘Okay, fine! Just stay on that side of the tent.’ I push him to the right a little more so he’d get the idea and crawl to the left before laying down trying to pretend he wasn’t there.
He rolls over to me uncomfortably close, I half sit up and push him away once again. ‘Billy, stay on your side of the tent!’ I hiss, I turn to one side my back facing him and put my hands under my head. He rolls over again closer than before but this time laughing quietly, his warm strong arm over the middle of my waist, open-hand on my stomach. I push his arm off but he puts it back again, I did it a few times until I got sick of it, and elbowed him in the ribs warningly.
‘Billy! Stop!’ I say a bit louder than I thought, he sits up and stares down at me. I look at him for a while staring at the figures of his face that I could partly make out, then ignore him turning around again and closing my eyes, finally falling asleep.
I guess he got the idea.