BitterSweet - 1

Chappie 12

"Clay?" The tent was empty. Outside in the woodlands was empty. I thought he may have gone for a pee, but when I peeked behind the tree's in the woods, apart from buzzing bee's and squirrels he wasn't there. The sun was golden and hot already. Sheep ate grass, pooped out grass, licked each other and stared at me. I shivered. Creepy sheep. Birds sang high in tree's sounding too happy. Where was he?

"Clay?!" I shouted. What if he's left me? I stepped back into the tent and looked at his bags. Clay's bags with things that belonged to him in them. I shouldn't look at them. I bit my lip and dived at the rucksacks. The first bag was boring. Medical things, pens, paper, a bottle of whiskey. Yum a chocolate bar and a small notebook. I ate the chocolate bar and flicked through the note book. Just an address filler with names and numbers wrote inside. Boring. The next bag had clothes padded inside and they wafted his smell to me. I picked out a white plain shirt and put it on taking off my dried blood covered one, much better. Wow it felt like I was surrounded in Clay's arms, which was more than nice. The last rucksack was small. I unzipped it.; a hand gun was at the bottom and some bullets in a plastic container. Well he was bodyguard, a tooth brush, which I resisted putting in my mouth, a few other small bits and a photo. I looked at it. Clay was there and he was smiling. A younger smile which lightened his whole face and a slightly older man who looked like him. His dad? And a girl with red long hair, with her arm over Clay, his sister perhaps?

"Scarlett?" Damn he was back. I stuffed the photo and chocolate wrapper in the bag as he popped his head in the tent,

"What are you doing?" He frowned. I chopped down the chocolate as quick as I could, almost choking in the process. Damn, "Were you in my bags?"

"No!" I said outraged,

"Then why are you wearing my shirt." Oh busted. I stared at him and tried to look like one of those sexy actress in the movies. You know, when they wake up and put the hunks shirt on and look all sexy.

"I needed a clean shirt." I twirled my hair around a finger and fluttered my eye lashes. Please don't let me look an i***t god! Please let me look sexy.

"What's up with your eye?" He frowned,

"Where were you?" I snapped. Clay smiled and opened a bag,

"I found us a lift. Did you eat my Mars bar?"

"No. What kinda of lift?" I frowned. Clay's smiled changed a bit.

"Don't start moaning Scarlett." He picked up the sleeping bags,

"Why will I moan?" I asked twisting my hair up into a bun. Why did I have so much hair? I probably looked worse than a homeless guy. Did I smell like a homeless guy? Oh I really needed to have a shower and get some new clean clothes and some shoes and...

"...so I suppose it's better than nothing and at least we can get to the nearest town." Clay finished,

"What's better than nothing?"

"Were you even listening?" He sighed and started taking down the tent. I watched him. He was so strong and clever. I mean how many guys can take apart a tent? Not many. I looked at his hands. They had been rubbing along my skin last night. I flushed deeply and Clay looked up at me in silence. I wonder what he thought of me? Probably thought I was a young immature girl, who looked like a tramp with a cool pair of sunnies on. I stared at the stitched up cut on his arm. Was it suppose to be yellow? Ew, but that meant something. Come on think Scarlett!. It meant it was disinfected? Like there was germs inside, right?

"Look at your arm cut thingy." I suppose bullet wound would have made me sound older. I should try and be more grown up around him. Show him that I was a young lady, "It's disinfected." Clay frowned at me and poked it,

"It's infected, Scarlett. Pass me the first aid kit. I need some antiseptic cream." He sat on the grass.

"Is it really bad?" I asked. He didn't answer but I noticed a shine of sweet covering his face and his hands were shaking slightly as he went to grab the box. I may be a bit dumb sometimes, but I knew something was up. The cut on his arm was ewy but he was Clay and I wanted to help him. I bit my lip,

"Let me do it." I muttered and pulled out the cream Clay had used on my feet last night.

"Scarlett..."

"Just stop being all Rambo and let me do it!" I snapped. I had to do this. Help him the way he had helped me. Clay was looking at me with his deep forest eyes, they were wide and filled with an emotion I didn't understand,

"You need to put the cream on the cloth." I gave him a look which shut him up. OK come on Scarlett you can do this easy peasy lemon squeezy. Oh ew. I felt Clay shiver as I dabbed the cream on softy,

"Are you OK? Did I hurt you?" I asked,

"You didn't hurt me Scarlett" He said softy,

"Oh..." well the cut looked a bit cleaner. It was still a nasty mess however. I pulled away and picked up a small bundle of bandages in the box, "I'm gonna put this on the wound, to protect it from germs and stuff." Clay didn't say anything. Just watching me with those intense eyes. I wrapped the bandage along his skin and tied it up, noticing the long scars running up his arms for the first time. I ran my fingers along them, "Where did they all come from? The scars?" He had huge ones on his back as well,

"I don't want to talk about it." He grumbled,

"Your always telling me to talk" I said, which was completely true,

"Some things are better kept in the past." He mumbled,

"Yeah, until it eats you up and gives you nightmares." I muttered, thinking back to my nightmare of James last night,

"I can handle the nightmares."

"I can't." I muttered and moved away from him. He grabbed my wrist as I turned,

"It's not your fault Scarlett. None of this is your fault." I didn't look at him. How does he do that? Read my mind?

"It is." He went to interrupt me, "Don't say it's not, because it is. You should just go Clay before something happens to you. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"Look at me." He said. I didn't want to because I felt the tears ready to burst on my eyes. It was strange, one minute I was OK, the next thing everything that had happened caught up with me and tears were rolling down my cheeks. Clay twisted me around to stare at him, "I'm not leaving you. I'm not going anywhere OK?"

"Everyone has to leave one day." I mumbled. He pulled me into him and wrapped his arms around me. I shivered from his touch which sent tingles around my whole body. His scent surrounded me, protected me. His body heat warming all the cold parts inside me. I sunk my head into his chest and let the tears soak through his shirt,

"Thank you." I mumbled,

"Don't thank me too much." He chuckled,

"Huh?"

"You know the lift I mentioned?" I nodded, "It's a hay truck, and we have to sit in the back with the hay."

"Hay's not too bad." I mumbled. Hay was OK. Horses ate it and it smelt nice...

"A used hay truck. You know, like poo and hay..."

Oh...

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!