Fracture Me

TEN

I’m almost too overcome to speak.

James is standing in front of me, sobbing, and I don’t know if I’m dreaming.

“James?” I hear Kenji say. I look back to see almost everyone has gotten out of the tank now. “Is that you, buddy?”

“Addie, I’m s-sorry,” he hiccups. “I know you s-said—you s-said I wasn’t supposed to fight, but I couldn’t stay behind and I had to l-leave—”

I pull him into my arms, clutching him tight, hardly able to breathe.

“I wanted to f-fight with you,” he stammers. “I didn’t w-want to be a baby. I wanted t-to h-help—”

“Shhhh,” I say to him. “It’s okay, James. It’s okay. We’re okay. It’s going to be okay.”

“But Addie,” he says, “you don’t know what h-happened—I’d only been gone a little while and then I saw the p-planes—”

I shush him again and tell him it’s okay. That we know what happened. That he’s safe now.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t h-help you,” he says, pulling back to look me in the eye, his cheeks a splotchy red and streaked with tears. “I know you said I shouldn’t, but I really w-wanted to h-help—”

I pick him up, cradling his body in my arms as I carry him back to the tank, and only then realize that the wet stain down the front of his pants isn’t from the rain.

James must’ve been terrified. He must’ve been scared out of his mind and still, he snuck out of Omega Point because he wanted to help. Because he wanted to fight alongside us.

I could kill him for it.

But damn if he’s not one of the bravest people I’ve ever known.