Chapter 40

Dawn was breaking over the camp when Francesco woke up with a groan. He pressed his fingers against his temples, trying to fight off the grogginess. Sure enough, he regretted drinking so much of that concoction made by Mouse. It was true what the redhead had said about it knocking you hard because his headache was something of epic proportions.

He turned slowly, aware of not waking up Karl, but the place by his side was empty. So, somebody either woke up to take a leak, or Karl hadn’t been that badly knocked off as he had been in the end. With some difficulty, Francesco pushed himself to his feet and wobbled outside.

The entire camp was still sleeping, and not one single soul was in sight. For a moment, Francesco took his time to breathe in the morning air. Soon, they would be out of here. They would be free.

But hadn’t they been the freest here? Away from everyone they knew, they had found each other and as a group. Francesco realized that he loved everyone, not only Karl and Mouse. He loved Leon and Ollie, Ty and Anya, too. They had been the best friends he had ever had. Of course, once back, each of them would see about their business and they’d probably prefer to forget that this place ever existed in their lives.

Except for he and Mouse. They would be together. Francesco couldn’t deny that he felt a heart squeeze. Karl, he would have to forget about him, and that no longer seemed as simple as he had felt before. No, he would remember him forever. Karl didn’t have to worry about Francesco ever forgetting him because that wasn’t going to happen.

He walked out of the camp for a bit of stroll that would clear his head and maybe find Karl and Mouse while at it. He wanted to hold them again before they got into that chopper and went back home.

He had been walking for a while, taking in the beauty of the place, as wild and unforgiving as it was. When he stopped by a large bush, decided to take a leak, the sound of faraway voices drew his attention. He put his dick back into his pants and walked slowly, hoping that he could see who was there without getting noticed.

Not as far as he had thought, but at a distance, Mouse and Karl seemed to be caught in a heated argument. Both of them held their fists tightly closed, and Mouse appeared to be up for a beating, the way he pushed himself into Karl’s face, lips pursed and saying something through his teeth.

Francesco tensed but something inside him told him not to intervene. He couldn’t get too close or he would be seen. The scene in front of him made him tremble for the future he had imagined, for reasons he couldn’t name.

Mouse turned on his heels and flipped the bird at Karl. For a moment, Francesco thought that Karl would hit Mouse when he grabbed him by a shoulder and forced him to face him. But no, Karl only held him and put one finger in front of his face, as he seemed to explain something.

Their voices, however, were only low murmurs, and Francesco couldn’t make out any distinct words. Whatever that was about, it seemed fucking serious and intense. They couldn’t be fighting over him again, could they? Francesco didn’t think so. This was something deeper, something much more important than a dude they enjoyed fucking.

Mouse pushed Karl’s arm away and then pressed his hands against the other’s chest, making him stumble a few steps back. If they got into a fight, Francesco was determined to intervene. Yet, nothing of the kind happened. Instead, Mouse stormed off, and Karl didn’t follow.

“It’s all on you now, you fucking asshole!” Karl’s voice was strangely loud after all that whispered angry conversation. “Don’t expect me to come searching for you!”

Francesco froze. What the fuck? Was Mouse running away? It seemed like it. But why? They were so close to going back home. It wasn’t possible that he preferred to be stranded on the island forever to a life together. Francesco couldn’t, wouldn’t believe such a thing.

Karl walked away, too, and Francesco remained hidden, barely waiting to go rushing after Mouse and find out what the hell that was all about.

If someone knew how to disappear without a trace, that had to be Mouse. Francesco wasn’t even sure where he was anymore. Damn, he had waited far too long for Karl to be at a fair distance to move, and now he had no idea if he could find Mouse. The worst thing was that he was kind of lost. As much as he had moved around to explore their surroundings, he had walked too far, farther than usual, and now that the sun was starting to set, he realized that he had walked for an entire day, without break.

The only fuel he had relied on was his own desire to find Mouse, but now he felt the toll of not having anything to eat or drink all day long. In retrospect, it had been completely stupid of him to just go after Mouse without a plan. He would have been better talking to Karl and finding from him what had happened between him and Mouse, but he had sensed that Karl was mad at Mouse, so he hadn’t wanted to complicate things.

Things were complicated enough now. Francesco perked his ears, in hope that the sound of water would reach him. He needed a drop of water so badly. How much he had depended on Mouse and his skills to keep everyone fed and taken care of, and on Karl for protection, he felt it all the more acutely now that he had neither.

What he needed was to rest a little, so he sat on the ground, his back against a tree.

When he woke up again, he realized that it was because of a loud sound. At first, he didn’t understand what he was hearing. But as the sand of sleep cleared from his eyes, he recognized the sound for what it was.

The chopper. It was coming to take them home, and he had somehow slept through the night like a log, and now it was dawn again. But he couldn’t reach that chopper, and Mouse wouldn’t be on it, either, so he stood and took only mere seconds to shake off the night stiffness from his bones. Fuck, he needed to find Mouse and fast.

“What the hell are you doing, Kekko?”

He started at the sound of Mouse’s voice. The redhead was holding a small wooden cup to his lips, pushing water into his mouth. Francesco drank greedily.

“The chopper is coming. We need to go back,” he said with determination and grabbed a hold of Mouse’s hand.

“You need to go back,” Mouse hissed at him. “I’m not coming.” He shook off Francesco’s grip on his hand.

“What? Are you fucking mental? Why? Just because you don’t like Karl?”

Mouse snorted. “Really? You think that’s it?”

“I don’t know what to think. Why don’t you tell me? Karl promised --”

“That I’ll come with you, right?” Mouse stood and crossed his arms after stashing the wooden cup in an improvised bag made from vines.

Francesco blinked hard. “He promised,” he said through his teeth. “He wouldn’t lie to me.”

Mouse scoffed. “He wouldn’t and he didn’t. But I guess he left out some details, didn’t he?”

“What?” The chopper above them was louder and louder. “What details?”

Mouse looked up and pursed his lips. “Shit. I need to get out of here. Kekko, don’t follow me. I mean it.”