Rescue- Runaways 2

Chapter 24: Marcus

The door at the top of the staircase slammed. I bolted up from where I had been laying on my cot. Luke and I were in our room, and everyone else was in the front. Aaliyah and Peyton had gone outside, so it must have been one or both of them returning. Whoever it was, they sounded irritated.

My question was answered when I saw Aaliyah disappear into her bedroom a moment later. Peyton was nowhere to be seen. Luke glanced at me, raising an eyebrow. "Should you go talk to her?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Probably not. If she wanted to talk, she would have found us. We should leave her alone. We'll find out what upset her eventually."

We both already knew what had upset her, but neither of us wanted to say it. I knew what heartbreak looked like. It reminded me of the stages of grief, which made perfect sense because in a way you were grieving the loss of someone. First was denial, which I'm sure she had probably expressed to Peyton, then came anger. That was certainly what Aaliyah was displaying at the moment.

"She doesn't want to talk to you Marcus. She needs to. There's a difference," he remarked. "When girls need you to talk to them, they want you to find them. They won't come searching."

I was split between wanting to laugh and wanting to roll my eyes. "And you know this how?"

"A sister," he answered. He was smiling now, probably realizing how uncharacteristically practical he sounded.

"Yeah, I have one of those too," I reminded him. Then I really did laugh, and he did too. "You're too smart for your own good," I joked.

He just kept laughing. "You are too, when you think about it."

"Yeah, sure." I stood up, concluding that I probably should go talk to her, even though I knew I would be stuck having the same conversation with Peyton later. Luke nodded his approval.

"Good luck." I just rolled my eyes, walking out of the room. It didn't take me more than ten paces to reach Aaliyah, and it didn't surprise me to see her curled up in a tight ball on her cot. For a moment, I didn't know what to do. It was like I had frozen. I had never been put in this situation before, at least not in a long time.

I finally sat down next to her. Of course, she turned her back on me, but not before I could see her eyes. They were red and puffy, further proving the theory I had. Although the thought occurred to me that maybe her and Peyton had just fought, and this wasn't the end of her first love.

My hand found its way into her hair, and I stroked it gently, working out a knot with my fingers. "Go away," she muttered hoarsely. "If I wanted to talk, I would have come to find you."

"You don't want to talk Aaliyah. You need to. There's a difference." I repeated Luke's words back to her gently. "But I won't make you talk. You don't have to if you don't feel like it."

She just shrugged, embarrassed that I was watching her cry. It wasn't the first time though, and I'm sure she remembered that. But she wasn't the kind of person that was okay with showing vulnerability like this, even if it was only to me.

"I'll listen when you're ready," I told her. She didn't answer. So, I started on the second knot until she batted my hand away. Then I just sat there. "I'm not moving you know," I said lightheartedly. No reply. To be honest, I didn't think I would want to talk to me if I was in her place either. I just knew that I would want me to stay.

Seconds passed, then minutes. I didn't know how long I had been seated next to her. At last, she spoke. "You know what happened don't you? Did she tell you before?"

"No, she didn't. I'm sorry Aaliyah," I whispered. "I know how it feels."

"I know you do," she replied. "Because the same girl did the same thing to you."