Getting Back To You (Book 2 of Under The Floorboards)

Chapter 15: Kendall

Mark's wrist is swelling a bit, the bruises color more as time passes by. Wren pries open a closet door, shining his light inside. I stand on the tip of my toes to see over people. Everyone is breathing quietly, barely whispering as the pounding of the child's fist on the door sounds out. I stop paying attention to what is going on when a hand wraps around my wrist and pulls me to the side.

I squint to the darkness and realize who it is. Leo lets go of my wrist, a small smile forms through the little bit of light in the room. "Kendall I have to talk to you," his smile fades. My heart slows, my eyes dart away from his.

"Yeah?" I bite my lip.

"We should just be friends. It is going to get too complicated with everything going on. I know we aren't technically together, but I just don't want to complicate things," he sighs, making sure only I can hear him. I am grateful that it is dark, he can't see my face.

"Yeah, that's okay," I flash a light smile, taking a deep breath.

"Can you promise me something, though?" he asks me through the darkness.

"Can you promise me that we will always be friends no matter what happens?" he asks.

"Of course. I promise," I purse my lips, deep in thought. I rejoin the group, pretending as if nothing had ever happened. I tell myself that him and I don't even have feelings for each-other, we are meant to be friends. I repeat it over and over in my head until I convince myself it is true.

Cole and Lazaro help drag boxes out of the closet, handing them to Yvoni and Arizona to put somewhere else in the room. They had to have brought out at least ten boxes. Damon joins Wren, Cole, and Lazaro to try opening another small crawlspace within the closet. "There's a lock on it," Lazaro examines.

"Anyone have strong legs?" Wren asks aloud.

Ty nods, placing his hands on each side of the small closet for support. He begins kicking at the lock, slamming his foot down on it until it pops off. "There," Ty breathes heavily.

"You guys think that door is going to hold much longer?" Yvoni asks fearfully as the door shakes.

"I don't know. We have to hurry," Alaska bites her lip as she crosses her arms. Cole pulls the crawlspace door open, revealing a dark hole filled with cobwebs and dust.

"Who wants to go first because it's not gonna be me," Zane shakes his head.

"I'll go," I state blankly.

Leo looks at me quickly, shaking his head. "No, I will," Leo calls quickly.

"No. It's fine," I stare at him for a brief second before wedging myself in. My skin crawls as the webs brush against me. Everyone begins making their way in behind me. Soon enough, I am deep within the crawlspace, the last person in has finally shut the door. I crawl forward quickly, hoping to get out as soon as possible. Leo is right behind me, sticking close by. Everyone else is close behind him as well, the sound of breathing fills the small tunnel.

"Be careful," Leo orders me.

"I got it. I'm fine," I call back to him, my hand connects with something sharp on the ground.

"Ouch," I wince, pulling my hand from the ground. Blood drips from a small slit in my hand.

"What is it? What happened?" Leo asks me quickly.

"Watch out guys. There's glass on the floor," I call back, continuing on.

Eventually, Leo stops asking how I am doing. In fact, everyone stops talking in general. We crawl for a while, until I finally see a small source of light ahead. The further I crawl, the colder it gets. I feel a gust of wind blow in towards me, small snowflakes slap me in the face.

"Almost there," I call behind me. Soon enough, I am only feet away from the exit. It is brighter now, colder too. The wind blows every now and then.

"Shit, it's gonna be so cold," Hazel whines.

"It's okay. We will make it," Nina assures her. The sound of trains passing by begins to get louder. I crawl out into the snow, looking around me outside. Trains circle around us, nothing else is in sight for miles. Once everyone is out, we huddle together. Chase wraps his arms around Nina to keep her warm. We walk for a while before Pen points toward a train.

"Jump on," she directs as she grabs ahold of it. We all jump on quickly, Pen slides open the cart door and hops in. All of us fit inside, scattering around it. Maria slides the door shut once everyone is in.

"It's okay guys. We are doing good. We are all back together and we are making good progress. We just have to stay positive," Ivy sighs, running her fingers through her hair as she paces back and forth.

At that point, I don't know what to feel. I don't feel much of anything again with everything going on. The world just feels like too much. Everything is too loud. My head swirls with thoughts of my old life, thoughts of Leo, thoughts of Mark, my friends, my family, the people I love. Nothing makes sense anymore. I just want to be happy again.