It was never effortless to love Aaron Warner. He was a difficult teenage boy who seemed to forget a lot of the time that that was what he was-a teenage boy. He'd always felt that loving or even caring for him would be impossible for all the world to...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
WE SIT IN silence as we drive to what used to be Omega Point. I don't want to see it, whatever was left behind after the battle will only crush my hope that my friends are alive. They have to be.
Sometimes I can't believe this is what my life has come to. I'm eighteen years old, completely head over heels for the guy who's the villain in everyone's eyes but my own, everyone I've ever loved might be dead and I'll be alone. Plus, the supreme commander of North America has tried to kill me. Like, a bunch too. It's insane. My whole life is insane.
The one thing that never made it so insane was Isaac. He's the best. God, I hope he's okay. I never tell him enough how much I appreciate him, never tell him enough how much he means to me and how much I love him. He was shot before I was. I can't even care if this sounds bad but he's the one I'm worried about the most. The last time I saw him, he was being dragged off by Anderson's soldiers, shot and bleeding and dying. If he's dead, I don't know if I'll be able to survive. Isaac's my best friend. The guy who saved me in my darkest time. Sure, Kenji did too but Isaac was always there. Whenever Kenji couldn't be, Isaac was. He's my big brother and the thought of losing him is so painful I could cry until I pass out.
"Are you alright?" Aaron's voice cuts into my thoughts, breaking them apart.
"Hmm?"
"Your leg, love," he replies, "you keep anxiously tapping it."
I didn't even notice.
"Bad habit, sorry," I say.
"Don't apologize," He studies me even though he's driving. "Just tell me what's bothering you."
I have to fight the tears. Fight them harder than I've ever fought anything or anyone. "Um," My voice shakes. Aaron will instantly know something's wrong, I can't lie to him, "I just. . .I don't know if Isaac's alive. He got shot before I was kidnapped by Anderson's men. A-And if he's dead—" I can't breathe. My heart won't beat normally. Don't picture his dead body, don't you dare do it. "I'm so scared."
Aaron's eyes are so full of pain and sympathy that I have to force myself to look in the other direction before my eyes betray me and let the tears loose. "Mara, I will never be able to find the words to apologize to you for my father—"
"Don't," I shake my head, "put the blame on yourself. You just said so yourself, your father did it. Not you."
"That doesn't matter," he retorts. "If I had known—"
"I don't really want to talk about it right now, actually," I quickly change my mind. This is too heavy still. Emotionally, all of it. "Sorry for bringing it up."
He mutters something softly under his breath and I want to ask him what he said but at the same time, silence is all I can handle right now.
After a few more turns and bumps, we arrive at the destruction of Omega Point; Aaron wasn't kidding. I blindly reach for my seatbelt und undo the buckle as my jaw begins to hang at the sight before me. There's a gaping hole in the ground and I don't even want to begin on how deep it is. The grass—which was already a pathetic excuse for the shade of green—has turned to ash, grey sprinkles all over this barren field. I could cry as the dark trees howl in the wind, their branches nearly breaking off instantly because of how terribly they've been weakened.
