Tallis stalking towards me. He wore a frown, and even though everything in his body language said that he was troubled, I couldn't help but feel a glimmer of excitement that he finally came for me. For me. I smiled wide at him, but it fell as I noticed the way his shoulders were rigid.
"Well, what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked with a millimeter grin while leaning against the handle of my scythe. I didn't want him to know just how excited seeing his face made me.
"Jules, I have some bad news," he said in a morbid tone.
"Is it Gordon? You should have let me talk to him," I scolded while dropping my tool and preparing to trek with Tallis to camp. That kid was a handful.
"It's..." Tallis began, but hesitated. His lack of confidence and composure was strange for the usually refined Scavenger.
"Well spit it out, you're scaring me," I bit back.
"It's Cyler and Patrick. They've gone missing on their way to Ethros," Tallis finally said with sadness in his eyes. I took a moment to absorb his words before brushing dirt off my hands. An eerie calm overcame me.
"How long have they been missing?" I asked softly.
"A few hours maybe? We aren't sure."
I took a deep breath and grabbed my dress. A swarm of anxiety hit me, but I wasn't one to crumble under pressure. Mom always taught me to fake it till you make it.
"Well, they probably did something stupid and got caught," I mused while walking towards the Dorms.
"Where are you going?" Tallis asked, following after me.
With each step, I had to consciously force myself to keep calm. My brother and I didn't have a great relationship, but I still cared about his well being. And without Patrick, Huxley would spiral. We had to do something.
"I'm off to take a shower," I replied with an air of confidence and a shrug.
"Are you still angry with me, Agapimenos? Can't we pause this for a moment? Your brother is missing."
I paused. God, we did a lot of chasing after each other.
"Tallis,” I began, my voice almost a whisper. “It absolutely pains me to admit this out loud, but this is how I freak out. I'm going to go take a shower, get dressed in one of those dresses you hate, and come up with a plan to save his ass because everyone else is helpless without him. Please let me pretend to have a semblance of control, I'll see you at the house."
I started to turn away, but in my usual manic manner, I decided at the last minute to quickly crush my lips to his. His cool lips felt so good, I almost didn't care that people could see us.
Tallis stood frozen in confusion, his lips barely responsive. When I broke away and continued walking towards the Dorms, I heard him yell, "Crazy woman!"
During my walk to the house, I formulated a plan and thought of how ridiculous it all was. We were a family. Couldn't Maverick be bothered with a simple courtesy call? Our own flesh and blood, yet it was Tallis who was concerned enough about me to reach out. We were all we had left, and we were throwing it away.
I waltzed into my old home and made my way towards the kitchen table. It was so strange, seeing them all there. I couldn’t remember a time that we all sat down peacefully for dinner together, and I briefly worried that I’d never get the chance.
I threw Tallis a small smile and sat down. “Oh my! Don’t act so excited to see me!” I said sarcastically to the others. Mia was in the chair to my left and we exchanged mutual half-hearted scowls before I shifted my seat farther from her.
“So what are you doing to get my brother back?” I asked snidely. Knowing them, they probably were too busy bickering to come up with a useable plan. I felt Tallis’ eyes on me, but I refused to return his stare. I wasn’t ready to reveal whatever it was going on between us, and it wasn’t the time or place to exchange looks of longing from across the room.
They all remained silent for a few moments. I noticed Mia sharpening her blades beside me, and I saw how her eyes occasionally cataloged the movements of everyone. After another beat of uncomfortable silence, I broke.
“Oh, the silence is super reassuring. This is a great plan. Just sit here quietly until they just magically