Chapter 10
Melissa:
AJ got back to the bus in a panic.
"Where's Durbbie?" I asked walking towards him.
He had his hands on his knees trying to get his breath back. "She…ran…don't know…" AJ said.
I felt all the color drain form my face. "What did you say to her?" I demanded. Durbbie only runs off when somebody pushes her too hard. The only person around her was AJ, so that means that this was all his fault.
"I asked her about Scott," AJ said defending himself.
This was too much. Not only did Durbbie run off, but we weren't even in the United States! I was so flustered I kept on sputtering fragments of thoughts. Finally, I gave up and walked away. Instead of painting my frustration out, I literally started beating the stuffing out of the nearest pillow.
"Whoa there," Brian said coming up next to me. "What's going on?"
"AJ," I said slamming my fist into the pillow and sending up a cloud of feathers. "He lost Durbbie."
"What?" Brian asked. I started beating the pillow again out of sheer frustration. I heard Brian try to talk me down, but it wasn't working. I stopped beating when I noticed Brian had taken the pillow away and was sitting in its place. I looked up at him with a guilty smile.
"Sorry," I said sheepishly.
He smiled back at me.
Brian:
"What happened?" I tried again, seeing I had her full attention.
"AJ yelled at Durbbie and now she's gone," Melissa explained.
"No," I said in disbelief. "Durbbie doesn't run off."
I became aware of another person in the conversation. "Oh yes Durbbie does." I lifted my eyes to see Durbbie.
Durbbie:
Brian and Melissa were in shock. I merely shrugged and reached for my inhaler. I took a puff and was well on my way to easy breathing when I as abruptly turned around and pulled into a monstrous hug. I'm a sucker for hugs, so I buried my head in whoever this was, grateful that they were providing exactly what I needed.
"I'm so glad you're back," he whispered in my ear.
My eyes sprung open and I let go. "You're not exactly the person I was hoping to see," I spat at AJ. There was an undeniable look of pain in his eyes. I was immediately racked with guilt, but I buried the feeling by brushing past him and reaching for my CD player. I went into my bunk.
AJ:
I headed for Melissa. "I thought you said trying to help would work," I said.
"Work how?" Brian asked.
I sighed and walked past Durbbie's bunk.
"Why don't you see it?" I asked to the curtain. "Why don't you feel this?"
I sighed and put my hand on the bottom of the bunk. Durbbie's hand snuck out and took mine.
"Why don't you let me?"
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