Feasher math, everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I posted. I had meant to get on with this and keep going without leaving y'all hanging, and that's exactly what I didn't do. Whoops! Anyways, here you guys go! Hope you all enjoy it! And I'll do better, I promise!

God bless and have a great week,

Abbi

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Dylan sifted through all the papers that a runner had delivered from Headquarters and stifled a growl. Reports for all the troublemakers in each district, new schedules for each soldier, the next meeting for captains and officers, and an announcement about the result of Garten's attack on the Cause. He had the sudden urge to burn the reports and plead ignorance. But there was no way he could pretend that the Cause hadn't suffered a severe blow.

The sound of shuffling feet outside his office drew his attention upward. The door cracked open, and the head of his lieutenant poked inside. He looked mildly amused.

Dylan bristled. He was laughing stock now, wasn’t he? “What is it?” He barked, his anger simmering.

The lieutenant lost his smile in an instant, replaced with slight concern. “There’s a doe here to see you, says it's important.” He explained, glancing over his shoulder into the hallway.

A weight settled on his heart. Laurel. Was she alright? Why was she here? Had something happened in the last two days since he had seen her? “Send her in,” he announced, throwing down the sheets of reports.

The lieutenant nodded and stepped back, ushering her in. Her soft, black ears were laid low, her green eyes flicking around the room cautiously before finding Dylan. A peace came over her, and her shoulders visibly relaxed.

Dylan felt his heart quicken, and fought to tame the smile that desperately wanted to unfurl. He waved the buck away and waited till the door was securely closed and the footsteps receded into silence.

“Laurel, how are you? Is everything alright at home?” He asked, trying to keep his tone formal and polite.

Her brows furrowed slightly. “I’m alright. Things at home are… odd, to keep it simple.” She paused, her expression a little worried. “How are you, Dylan? It feels like you’ve… disappeared.” She swallowed. “Like you’re trying to stay away from me.”

Dylan’s heart sank. No. Please. Not now, not like this.

He cleared his throat. “Well, I’ve had lots of work to catch up on, and having the time off didn’t help. Was there something you needed?” He winced at his brusque tone.

Her green eyes flashed, and her face pinched. “Something I need?” She echoed, her voice trembling as her eyes glistened. “I’ve lost my parents, my brother is being withheld from me, I find out that the Cause is in serious danger, and one of my best friends seems to be avoiding me. You ask if I need something. I do. I need you!” She choked.

Dylan felt his throat burn. “Laurel,” he began, his voice rough. “I can’t keep doing this.” The blade in his heart twisted painfully. “Don’t you see that every time I’m around you, something bad happens? I need to stay back. Away from you. Away from the Cause. It’s for the best.”

Laurel’s jaw dropped. “For the best?” She repeated, incredulous. “The best for who, Dylan? For you and your pride? For my safety? For who?”

His temper flared. “I care for you too much to risk your well-being, Laurel. And that also includes Patrick and the entire Resistance of Akolan. I will do what I must to keep the peace between us all, and in the situation with the Cause on the outside. Even if that means I can’t be near you anymore.” He immediately regretted his words, but there was no going back.

Laurel clenched her jaw. “Dylan, I knew when I joined the Resistance that there was a risk. The risk of losing my life. That doesn’t mean you have to quit because you fear I’ll lose my life. That’s something that I alone should be concerned about.” She raised her head a little bit higher. “I only wish you weren’t so blind about that.”

“Don’t you understand?” Dylan choked out, his hands shaking with his fury. “I can’t lose you!”

Tears glistened in her bright eyes. “You seem to be losing me either way all because of your fear, Dylan.” She said quietly. She turned to leave, leaving him tongue-tied. But she stopped just in front of the door. “I’m sorry.” She whispered, before slipping out the door.

When the door shut behind her, Dylan felt as though the world had darkened and he had lost the one source of light.

Laurel stumbled towards home, her vision blurred and shimmering. Her lungs heaved with the sobs she desperately tried to contain. The world around her couldn't penetrate the fog and pain that clouded her senses. It hurt so badly.

Dylan was willing to end their friendship just because he feared she would die?! What was a friendship without risk? Without the hills and valleys of life? How else were friendships to grow strong?

Laurel swallowed down her tears and blinked them away, looking up and around. The roads between the districts were bare, save a few guards who supervised the empty place halfheartedly. The sky above had been blue minutes ago, but now a grey haze began to unfurl itself and hid the sun behind it’s ashy cloak. Fitting.

Inhaling sharply, she turned and began to make her way towards the L. D. She needed to speak with someone who still called her a friend. Someone who would be there for her, despite the fact that she could very well die if the truth about her secret work came out.

A couple minutes later, Laurel found herself underneath the seventh district in the meeting room for the resistance, the hall strangely quiet compared to times past. It was unsettling, being in this room all alone when it was usually teeming with rabbits. The room was darker than usual as well, seeing as no one had been by to hang a torch on the wall. Just as well. Laurel knew she wouldn’t find Harmony or the Tunneler in here during the day. They were probably in one of the smaller rooms she had seen in the past.

Making her way towards the hall, Laurel thought about Patrick and felt her heart sink. How was she ever going to see him? And was there any hope for getting him out of that school? She knew home wasn’t safe for either of them, really; but could she bring him here, perhaps? If there was a way of escape…

“Laurel? Is that you?”

She turned and saw Harmony at the end of the hall, a lamp in hand. The doe began to approach her, her brows furrowed with concern. “What’s the matter? Should you even be out of your house?” She asked, glancing down the adjoining hallways.

Laurel shook her head, her eyes smarting. “I just saw Dylan. He…” Her voice caught, and she bit her lip to try and keep her emotions at bay.

Harmony’s gaze sharpened. “What happened?”

For the next little while, Laurel shared with Harmony all that had transpired over the last week. From before her arrest until the meeting she had with Dylan.

Tears rolling down her face she added, “I don’t understand why now, all of the sudden, he’s withdrawing himself. We all have risks to take, so why is he pulling back? If I die, I die. That’s that.”

Harmony turned to face the dark tunnel that led deeper into the bowels of the catacombs. She didn’t speak for a few moments. “I think he fears for more than your wellbeing, Laurel. I know for a fact that he cares for you. I think with all that’s happened, it rattled him and has filled him with fear. He doesn’t want to lose you.”

He doesn’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you. You seem to be losing me either way, all because of your fear.

The memory of her words burned her throat, and she felt more tears. How could she be so harsh? She didn’t want to lose him. But she felt with anguish that she had. And it nearly killed her.