AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 19
Mina barged through the door of the Bunker, almost breaking the doorman’s nose. She didn’t even turn around to say sorry. She just kept marching down the hallway. She still thought this was all a trap. Dante would surely be waiting for her there but she didn’t care any longer. She felt hurt, betrayed. She knew she couldn’t trust anyone here and, still, she went ahead and did that, despite her own gut feeling. Now, everything had gone to shit.
She wanted to end this once and for all. Breathing heavily, she entered the big room and saw that there were only a few people there. She recognized Renwick and Raphael in the corner, a few people she saw last time and Thorne were sitting on a small couch to her left. He’d been talking to someone, who had his back turned to Mina. The moment she barged in, with Hendrik by her side, everything froze. Everyone stopped doing whatever it was they were doing and they turned around to face her - all but that one figure, whose face remained hidden under a hat.
“Well, here I am!” she shouted at everyone but mostly at that person who hadn’t turned around yet. “You wanted me here, right? At least have the decency to face me, Dante!”
Her words echoed throughout the room. No one dared move. They looked at her, then at the figure, then back at her. There was confusion, anxiety and surprise on their faces. Of course, she expected all of those. Everything was finally out in the open. They’d all been working against her, allowing her to make a fool of herself, thinking she was safe, thinking she had made friends here, people she could rely on. But, all of that was one big fat lie. That thought sent her to the brink of tears but she was damned if she was going to cry in front of all of them and especially in front of Dante himself.
Seconds passed and nothing happened. Her anxiety grew. She wanted to jump on his back and kill him right then and there but, in that case, she’d never find out if he had anything to do with Kellam’s disappearance.
As always, she needed to be patient.
As always, that never came easy to her.
“You’ve always been too rash, Mina,” the figure suddenly rose up, lifting it’s elongated body upward, then finally turned around, taking off the hat he was wearing, so she instantly recognized the dark, chocolate tresses of her brother’s unkempt hair.
“Kellam!” she screamed, then threw herself into his arms.
She had no idea how long they just stood there, hugging. It didn’t matter. This was what she had come here for. Her brother was alive and well. Her heart could finally be at peace. Her mother was right. If she was right about that, then there was more Kellam needed to reveal to her.
But, right now, none of that mattered. She was pressing her nose deep into his neck, her cheek pressing against the hard indentation of his collar bone. It really was him. She’d finally found him. It took her a while to let him go and Kellam gave her as much time as she needed. He could feel her heartbeat pressed against his chest. He knew she was on the verge of tears. Mina, who never found it easy to cry and show emotions, was hiding her face, because she didn’t want anyone to see the little tear that rolled down her cheek. The rest she was able to suppress.
“Come,” Kellam smiled at her, “sit down.”
She sat down next to him on the little sofa and glanced at Thorne with the corner of her eye. He was smiling at her. Switching her focus back on her brother, Mina realized how worn out he looked. He had black bags underneath his eyes and his jaw bone was even more prominent. His clothes hung loosely off of him, as if he was wearing a size too big. He looked like a homeless person. His bear
d was there, too. She noticed that immediately, because Kellam had always been very meticulous about his looks and usually spent more time in front of the mirror than she did. She always teased him about that. Now, that fact made her sad.
She wondered where he’d been hiding all this time. Was he around here? If he was, why didn't he contact her? Why would he allow her to believe that he was hurt, kidnapped or something even worse? How did he end up here in the first place? What happened back home?
She had so many questions for him, but for now, she just wanted to look at him, even though it hurt her to see him like this. A part of her was still afraid that this was all a dream, created out of her innermost desires, and as soon as someone snapped their fingers, she’d wake up in her bed, and Kellam would still be lost. She couldn’t bear that.
It seemed that Kellam felt the same way. He kept looking at his little sister, as if she was a mirage and she might disappear any second. The love in their eyes was palpable, undeniable. They’d missed each other like crazy and, this whole time, Mina felt as if she’d been walking with a part of her heart missing, bleeding profusely and she was unable to stop it.
“You must have so many questions for me,” Kellam was the first to start.
His voice was soft and kind, as always, but he sounded weak. He sounded as if he’d been talking for hours before she came and, now, his voice was down to a barely audible murmur. The moment he spoke, Thorne got up, giving them some privacy. Mina knew that, probably, everyone was listening in to their conversation but she felt at ease. If Kellam trusted these people, then she trusted them, too.
“Maybe it’s best if you just started from the beginning,” she smiled at him, unable to get that stupid grin off her face.
There was nothing she could do about it. She was happy. Her heart was full. Her stupid face wouldn’t stop smiling, even if she tried to prevent it.
“I think the best start would be my apology to you,” he admitted, gravely.
“Apology?” she wondered.
“Well, I don’t know how much you’ve learned over the course of this past month but what might come as a shock to you is that…” he sighed, gathering the courage to say what needed to be said, “I arranged my whole disappearance with the Bunker gang. No one attacked me.”
He said it as quickly as he could, hoping it’d be like peeling off a band aid, but Mina just kept looking at him, as if she was still waiting for her brain to register what he’d just said.
It couldn’t be. It’s too cruel. He wouldn’t do that.
Mina thought about it for a second, then it finally hit her. She’d been worried sick about him all this time and he knew it. He’d allowed her to live in this conviction, he had allowed this heartache to go on until now. It was too crazy to be true.
“You let me believe you were hurt or even worse all this time?” she asked him, her voice on the brink of cracking.
She wasn’t shouting. She had no strength left for that. She was exhausted by this whole ordeal and, now, instead of being ecstatic that she’d finally found Kellam, alive and well, she had to learn the tough truth. He’d done this.
