Chapter 32: The Truth

Nelly’s face paled the more she listened to their conversation. After lots of convincing, they finally allowed her to sit at the side while they discussed the current situation and their next move. She started to doubt all her life choices. Why did she ask to stay and listen? Because she had to. She mentally complimented herself for being strong enough to be sitting there.

Stacy’s voice echoed in her mind. ‘So that’s what she meant when she repeatedly emphasized that their world is dangerous,’ Nelly started to understand. The moment Neil took a look at her, she immediately masked her fear. It’s hard enough to convince him to let her stay. Now that he finally agreed, the least she should do is to pretend that she’s alright so he won’t feel troubled.

“That’s why they attacked the arena,” James said. “We’re lucky Rory was there when it happened,” Neil commented. “So that’s all that happened during the time you were away,” James made an obvious conclusion. Neil nodded. “Thanks! Jack was always in a rush, he didn’t have time to fill me in yet,” he said.

Nelly was still in shock when they tried to end the discussion. She didn’t say a word. The men seemed to have made an unspoken pact to not talk about anything related to Nelly. When Nelly realized that they were done talking, she was confused. They never said anything about their current situation. Were they safe? Why did they move in a hurry? How long would they be staying here? All her questions were left unanswered.

“May I ask why we moved here?” She raised the question. Both men tensed visibly. They did the annoying exchanging look thing again. Nelly looked at them expectantly, still waiting for her answer.

“Someone found out about our previous location. That’s why we thought that it’s safer to move,” Neil replied after a slight delay. Nelly nodded. “Is there a chance for them to find us here? What’s the probability?” She finally got him to start talking about their situation. She wouldn’t let the chance to clear all the questions in her mind slide off so easily.

“It’s hard to say..” Neil trailed off. He looked over at James, the lines between his brows and the look in his eyes screamed, ‘help me over here!’ James cleared his throat. “We’re still arranging for a new location. Don’t worry, Nell. We got everything under control,” he tried to sound assuring.

Neil almost rolled his eyes. “Nell? Why are you acting like you’re close?” His words made James burst out in laughter. “What?” Neil continued with the same tone.

“You sound like a grumpy old man trying to protect his daughter from the boys around her,” James patted Neil’s shoulder as he said those words. Nelly giggled. James smiled proudly as he gave Neil a challenging look. He seemed like he had something to say before he sighed and turned his attention back to his sister. “James’s right. You don’t have to worry. Everything will be alright,” he assured Nelly.

“Who was it that found our location? Are they our enemy?” Nelly continued questioning. Right after the question escaped her mouth, she mentally berated herself. ‘You should try to sound smart and reliable, not asking dumb questions!’ To her surprise, the men didn’t seem to react to her dumbness. “Yes, they are,” James replied. He wanted to elaborate but looked to Neil for confirmation.

“They’re after me,” Nelly said, her voice low and stable. It wasn’t a question but a statement. Neil and James were both taken aback by her sudden change. She gave them a small smile. “You can tell me about it. Or you can go ahead and tell me that I’m wrong and everything’s alright like how you always do.”

“You’re not wrong,” Neil confirmed. He gave James the SOS look again. James rolled his eyes internally. “We have our enemy. They are after ALL of us. No one is safe. That’s why we move around, so that they won’t find us,” James chimed in, emphasizing on the word all so that Nelly wouldn’t stress out about being a target.

“No, you don’t. Why didn’t you move your base around?” Nelly challenged. “Those at the clubhouse are fighters. They can protect themselves,” Neil replied.

For a moment, the room was quiet. “You’re all running and hiding around because of me, aren’t you?” The men’s heads jerked up to look at her. “That’s not what I mean..” Neil tried to explain. He was worried as he checked his sister’s expression. To his surprise, there wasn’t any sign of distress. She had the same small smile plastered on her face. “What’s the real situation out there? I want to know,” Nelly repeated her question calmly.

“We suspect that a spy leaked the information about our previous location. Once we found out about it, we immediately evacuated,” James explained. “They won’t give up easily, will they? They will continue to look for me and we’ll keep on running,” Nelly knew the answer. However, she wanted to hear from them. She felt her heart sink as they nodded. So that’s how it’s going to be.

Nelly nodded. Looking at their worried faces, she assured, “don’t worry. I’m alright.” She even smiled to emphasize her point. She hoped that her smile wasn’t too stiff. “Thanks for telling me the truth. I’ll go get some rest,” she took her time standing up and entering her room. Once out of their sight, she leaned against the door. She felt her limbs giving out as she slid down and sat on the floor.

She looked around. The place she called bedroom was nothing but a mere storage room. They got her an old couch so she could lie down. They were in a basement. There were no windows and the only way out was through the door behind her. She felt the walls closed in on her. She felt suffocated. This would be her life from now on. She couldn’t see the end of it. She could pretend that everything’s alright but for how long?