It's Odd...

About two hours have passed since I woke up, and I am currently sitting at the desk trying to get some of my school work done. But, I could barely make any progress. It wasn’t because the questions were hard or because I couldn’t understand the material… I just couldn’t properly read the book, and I couldn’t properly conduct calculations… I just couldn’t focus.

Many things were clogging my mind — many thoughts weren’t letting me think clearly… Ever since I woke up, I’ve been burdened with questions about last night. Why did Ren look so pained when I told him my past?

And recently, a text added to my puzzlement. A few minutes ago, Bailey texted me that we would be leaving at around noon. It’s not like I desperately want to stay in this city, it just confuses me as to why the schedule was changed. I mean, I was told that Bailey and Ren had a lot of work to complete that would take them three days to complete. But it was condensed by that much? Hm…

And I can’t help but wonder what he thinks of me now… Does he pity me? Does he feel sad? Does he feel fear? I don’t know… But the feeling that stands out the most and makes the most sense to me is hatred…

Ren hates me… I did something bad — I committed a crime… Rebelling by running away from my home… No one likes people like me who can’t follow simple rules.

And I wouldn’t blame him — even though I’m happy, I still hate myself for being so awful…

…

A couple of hours passed and I heard the doorbell ring. Are Ren and Bailey back from work? It’s about an hour after they said they’d finish, but whatever. I opened the door.

And there he was — Ren Morales… I haven’t seen him since last night, but he still looks the same. The same, except he looked… distressed. His sluggish look of black circles under his red eyes contributed to it, but something else radiated that type of vibe.

“Oh… G-Good morning, Ren… Or I guess I should say good afternoon now…”

“Yeah… Good afternoon…”

And then, he walked past me to get to his suitcase. I turned around to look at him, and…

He seemed different. On top of being distressed about something, he’s… different. But his walk and tone of voice are all the same… Is he mad? I’m not entirely sure… But he does seem to be ignoring me…

As I was thinking, someone gently slapped me on my shoulder. I turned my head.

“Bailey?”

“Hey, Camryn!”

She was different from how she was in the morning. Instead of being sombre, she seemed more enthusiastic and energetic. Was it just because of fatigue?

“We managed to finish early, and we’re heading home now!”

“Yeah… But you were supposed to finish tomorrow. How did you manage to cut down that amount of work?”

“O-Oh…”

She shrugged.

“W-Well, we got some help from other employees here… You know, some people were either free to help or they decided to pick up the slack. But honestly, it would have been better if they did that in the first place!..”

Her voice sounded proud… But at the same time, it sounded weird — as if it were forced or hesitant.

“A-Anyway, your things are all packed up, right?”

“Y-Yeah… Well, most of it is.”

“Okay then! Then we’ll be leaving real soon.”

She sounded avid about that. Though, I guess that makes sense. After a long time of work, I’d also want to go home and relax.

She then walked up to Ren who was packing his suitcase. She put her hand on his shoulder.

“Um, R-Ren… I’ll drive, okay?”

Why were they speaking in low voices? It was only barely audible to me.

“It is okay, I can drive.”

“Yeah? Hell nah. Look, I’m not risking my life…”

Bailey leaned closer to Ren’s ear.

“I insist… After all you’ve done, it’s the least I can do. Besides, driving the way you are will be risky…Please?”

Ren looked down as if he were surrendering to something.

“Is that so? Well… Okay then…”

“Okay!”

So, we have another five-hour drive ahead of us… Hm… I wonder how it will go? We will get back around the evening if we don’t stop or are stopped in traffic… Bailey’s driving… That means the person that I will be with the most is Ren.

Ren… I don’t want him to hate me — I really don’t…