To anyone else, the scenes throughout the house that morning would have been perceived as pure chaos, which to some extent they were, but it was somewhat organised chaos. A second didn't pass by without someone rushing past, beckoning another body in the room in a haste for their attention. The kitchen alone was a hive of activity, with a fresh team of my father's men having just arrived in preparation for the raid ahead of us. My father had deployed an extra thirty-six men from his unit, leaving the building back home practically empty, but that was the least of his concerns. We needed all of the man power we could gather.
The chatter in the room made it hard for my brain to process any of my thoughts, so instead I simply let time pass by, watching everyone as they passed through the room in a hurry. Various members of the new team greeted me, and I couldn't help but feel remorseful when not a single ounce of me recognised who they were, despite them all informing me that we had previously met. They understood though, at least that's what they tried to assure me, but I apologised profusely despite this. They were here for my benefit and I couldn't have been more thankful.
Everyone here was evidently anxious to say the least and no matter how hard they tried to hide it, every single one of them failed. Fear is inevitable; you can't escape it, no matter how tough and strong you appear. Fear can be a game changer if you know how to use it. It's what should keep you fighting, not ward you away. You wouldn't have a drive for the prize if there wasn't a fear of losing it.
"I thought you'd be smiling a little more than you are," Ed commented, holding back a smirk as he took a seat beside me.
"You're really cracking jokes right now?" I said, motioning to the commotion surrounding us.
Ed raised his brow in question, "I don't see anyone else brightening the mood in here."
"And you don't wonder why?" I sighed, leaning my elbows onto the table. "And before you say anything, nothing happened Ed."
"That wasn't what Blake told me this morning," he smirked, sensing my distaste.
"Ed. I'm serious," I sighed. "I completely messed it up this morning. I was such a bitch to him, I don't even know why. I just, I didn't want him getting the wrong idea and think that we were back together or-"
"Adelaide, slow down. You're not making any sense. What happened?"
"Well, for starters, Blake got it all wrong -" I mumbled, unsure on how to phrase my words.
"I was just taking the piss Adelaide, me and Blake know that."
"I couldn't sleep last night," I began in a low tone, "and it was getting to the point in which it was driving me up the wall. With everything happening today, I just needed an escape from it all for a while. So I went to see Luke, and to be honest with you, I really hadn't thought it through, it was just impulse. But when I went in, well he just knew that I needed him. He didn't care about anything else; he just wanted to be there for me. So that's what he did, and I actually got a tonne of sleep."
"But then this morning, well after Blake came in, I guess that I just freaked out. I didn't know what to say or how to act around him. He tried to talk to me about it, but I-, I just shut him off. He didn't deserve that, I just didn't know what to do, and panicked."
"Adelaide-" Ed beckoned, catching my attention and interrupting my voice. "Stop worrying. I'm sure he completely understands. He knows how difficult all of this is for you too. He won't beat you down for that. I think he just wants to be there for you because he cares too much to let you suffer in silence."
"I know," I sighed. "It's just all so difficult because neither of us know where we stand. We've gone from not talking for three weeks to god knows what you would class last night as. He was only trying to help and I just shoved it back in his face."
