━━━━━━━━━

8. Running From The Truth

━━━━━━━━━

(POV) Bree

"Chase." I whispered. He closed his eyes tighter and flipped over. I laughed quietly and silently gave up. I had been poking him for about twenty minutes now. Apparently, he didn't want to wake up. I stood up quietly. I needed some fresh air. We had been up here all night, and I was bored. To be honest, I couldn't sleep. I was worried to say the least. Chase and I were now, kind of, a couple. Adam would never catch on of course, but what if someone else found out? What if someone already found out? There was that hole in the wall. Someone could be watching us from there.

That hole in the wall was creeping me out. Every time I looked over there, I felt like someone was watching us. I didn't like it. But who could be watching us? I knew that we had been watched in the lab before, and it felt about the same this time. The only difference, I knew for a fact someone was watching. Before, I just got a weird feeling when I went into the lab.

I walked over to the front door and turned back to look at the apartment. We wouldn't be able to stay here forever, but for now, it would work. I nodded to myself before opening the door, and making my way into the hall. I shut the door quietly and turned to see someone walking down the hall towards me.

My heart stopped. He was wearing a black hoodie. This could be it. Someone was going to catch us. I tried to act calm as I attempted to walk by him. He held his head low as he got closer. He ended up checking me in the shoulder and dropping his bag on my foot.

"Hey! Watch where you're going." I hissed. His head shot up as he heard me speak. His hood flew back to reveal the one person I never thought I would see again.

"Marcus?" I screeched. His eyes widened before he used his speed to run back down the hall. I sighed and ran after him. I needed to talk with him.

"Marcus!" I called. I ran over to him as he stopped at the entrance to the woods. I had no idea he was this fast. But, knowing that Douglas had created him, and the fact that he was a robot, he would of course be fast. He began to run again as he heard my voice. I ran after him until he stopped at the Hollywood sign. He raced around the side of the H, thinking he had lost me. I smiled at the boy. I was quick, too.

I walked quietly forward, listening for any sign he knew I was there.

"God! Why did I have to run into her?" Marcus spoke quietly. I smiled at his worry. He really hasn't changed since the last time we saw him.

That thought made me stop dead in my tracks.

He hasn't changed. He would hurt me again, and maybe this time, get farther than I ever wanted to even imagine. Marcus turned as he heard me.

"Bree?" He asked worriedly. I nodded and stepped forward.

"We need to talk. About everything." I started. I tried to sound confident, but on the inside, I was shaking. I was terrified. The sight of him brought back everything I had reminded Chase of last night. No one even knew I was out here with him. Before, at least they knew I was at school with him.

"No, we don't." He hissed. I shook my head. I needed answers. And I would only get them by talking with him. I needed to know why he thought I wanted... that. Why he assumed, instead of asking me in the first place. I needed to know why he wasn't dead. I thought we had killed him. I thought that when we faced off, we had left a dead android behind.

And most of all, I needed to know if he knew where Douglas was. If both he, and Mr. Davenport were searching for us, this, our plan to save them all, could become much harder. I was Douglas' real daughter, and Adam was his nephew. He would want to see us. He would want some kind of connection with us. But I knew for a fact, that I wanted no part of that.

"Marcus, please." I whispered, feeling the tears rise in my eyes. I couldn't stand here in front of him, and wonder what kind of person was behind that mangled face of his. I knew what he had done. But I also needed to know if he was still the same person he was the day, that, happened. The day that we had to face off. The day that Adam and I had to save Chase from him. I needed to know if I could have a friend on the opposite side. I needed this.

"Bree, don't. You don't want any part of me. All you want is answers. I can tell by your voice. You don't want me, you want the textbook on what is going to happen. You want something clean cut. Something that will spell everything of for you. But we're not human, we're bionic. Nothing is set in stone for us." Marcus explained. I sighed and took a step forward.

"I forgive you." I said simply. He glanced up from the ground and over to me. I smiled slightly, trying to show I was telling the truth.

"No, you don't." He whispered, barely loud enough for me to hear. I rolled my eyes and stomped forward, getting sick of the back and forth.

"Marcus! Stop! I know that what I did was bad. I should have told you how it was, instead of breaking your arm. I should have warned you that the ceiling was crashing in, like Chase had. But that isn't the point. I said I was sorry, and what you did, wasn't exactly commendable either! If we can just get the awkward part over with, can we at least try to go back to being friends?" I ranted. He sighed and leaned against the Hollywood sign. He took in slow, deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Trying to deal with what I had just said. I knew it was a lot. I knew I had thrown everything I had at him. But I needed to. I couldn't keep pretending that our lives, our twisted family, wasn't there. I had to deal with it head on. And so did he.

"Fine. I am sorry. I haven't stopped regretting that day since it happened. When I saw the hurt in your eyes, something snapped in me. I hated that you loved him. I hated that you would actually fall for someone, fall for your brother, or who was raised to be your brother. I hated that I couldn't be the one that you looked at like that. But when I saw what I had done, I hated myself more." Marcus started. I stood in silence as I waited for him to continue. He need to talk now, and I respected him for doing that.

"When Douglas finally went along with his plan to capture Donald Davenport, I took it as an advantage. I thought maybe you and I could talk. But seeing how upset you still were, seeing your hate for me every time we looked at each other, I took it too far. I wanted to kill Chase. I thought it might give me a chance. With him gone, you would be left with me. But then you fought so hard to save him. It changed. Everything did. You guys won, and it left me under a pile of crap. Wondering what I really was." Marcus finished quietly. I frowned in sympathy as he held his hand out in front of him. His hand had been ripped apart to where you could see his mechanic inside. His skeleton was metal. His thoughts, weren't really supposed to be there. He was a glorified machine.

"I'm sorry." I squeaked. He shook his head and took a step towards me.

"I know. But I'm even more sorry. I did mean it at the time. I can never take that back. But I mean it now, when I say that I wish I could take that back. I wish I could have simply helped you with your love for Chase. I wish I could have been a friend instead of your enemy. I wish I could have gotten over you, before I hurt you." Marcus whispered. I frowned.

"So you are over me?" I asked. He nodded.

"I am. But it's too late. We couldn't even be friends." Marcus whispered.

"You can be my friend now." I said. He smiled happily and nodded.

"I'd like that." He replied. I laughed and stepped forward, bringing him into a hug. He laughed quietly as he brought me closer. I pulled away to get a better look at him. I had known that he was crushed by the rubble. That he wouldn't look the same. But seeing him close up, was another story. It looked as though he had practically sewn himself back together.

"Are you okay? Really." I asked. He sighed and shook his head.

"No, I'm not. I had to find out on my own what I am. My supposed dad, wasn't there when I got out. So I had to rebuild myself. The worst part is, he really doesn't care about me. He wanted me dead that day. He just needed me to get his real treasure back. He needed me to get you three back. The only thing he will ever thank me for, if he ever does, is getting him out of that block of ice." Marcus rambled. My eyes widened as I realized what he had said.

"You got Douglas out of there! Chase froze him for a reason, Marcus!" I yelled as I back away from him. He nodded slowly.

"I'm not proud of it. But I needed to. I need my revenge." Marcus stated simply. I shook my head.

"You are putting all of us in danger! I can not believe we left!" I groaned as I remembered we had left the Dooley-Davenport family, alone, helpless. We were supposed to protect them. And now, we were miles upon miles away. Unable to do anything.

"They're safe, Bree. Don't worry. But you three aren't. You're practically chess pieces in a twisted game between the Davenport brothers. You need to be careful." Marcus warned. I formed in confusion. What was he talking about.

"I already know that Douglas wants Adam, Chase, and I. He thinks we'll be his bionic soldiers or something. But I don't want him to hurt my family in the process." I yelled. Marcus held up his hands in defense.

"I don't want him to hurt them either-"

"You almost killed Leo! Many times!" I countered. Marcus laughed.

"But he didn't die. The kid's got something special. Bree, you can't keep going back to what I've done. You even said yourself, that you forgave me. We have to fix what's happening now, what's about to happen." Marcus said. I nodded slowly.

"Alright. What is happening? What's going to happen? Since you're working with Douglas." I asked. He sighed.

"He's got something planned. I won't know what it is until it happens. He doesn't trust me, and I don't trust him. We're just existing in the same room." Marcus explained.

"What can we do? Adam, Chase, and I." I asked.

"Stay safe. Watch your backs. And never, let your guard down. Trust no one." Marcus instructed. I nodded.

"We can do that." I agreed. Marcus smiled slyly.

"So, are we friends? Allies? People who talk behind everyone's back?" Marcus asked teasingly.

"Yes. But if the three of us are going to make it, if you want us to help you in then end, I'm going to need all your help." I argued.

"I'll make you a deal." Marcus started. I felt my eyebrows raise.

"What kind of deal?" I asked warily.

"If I help you three take down Douglas, and get home safely, along with your family... I need you to help me. I need to be a real person. I need Davenport to make me human." Marcus asked. I smiled. This could work.

"Okay. You've got yourself a deal."

━━━━━━━━━

Thanks for reading!

Vote, Comment, or Follow either me or music501 when you can!

~Shay