Chapter 6 Secrets

"Where are we going?" Michelle asked as Paige led her through the cave entrance.

"You'll see," Paige said without trouble. They walked through the dark cave for a few steps when suddenly Paige turned right, facing a blank wall.

"Um..." Michelle began. Paige ignored her and bent down to some rocks. Michelle could barely see what she was doing in the dark. Suddenly there was a grinding noise and the wall slid to one side, revealing a cave opening, large enough for two cars to go through together. It was much larger than the cave leading out into the desert.

"There's a lever in the rocks here and another one in the wall a few meters inside. You can use it to open and close the wall." Paige said.

"Okay, but why are you showing me this?" Michelle asked in confusion.

"You looked bored. I figured you needed a bit of excitement. And I know Soriano's keeping you trapped in there for your protection. If it were me, I would've lost my mind. I actually did, the first time I came here. That's when I wandered around and found this cave. It's a good place to hide or take a walk alone."

"Okay..." Michelle still didn't understand what Paige intended. Paige turned to her in exasperation.

"You wanna stretch your legs or not? This is the only way you can go for a long walk without leaving the base. This cave ends somewhere within the base so you'll be safe."

"Um, thank you, but why are you doing this for me?" Paige threw her head back and scoffed.

"Pft, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for me. The less I see your sorry face the better." Paige was about to walk away when she stopped.

"I almost forgot." She took out a remote from her jacket pocket and pressed a button. Immediately white spotlights that dotted the cave's ceiling every dozen meters came on.

"There are lights in the other cave too but not all of them work. You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" Paige asked with a wicked grin.

"Not at all." Michelle retorted. Paige smirked.

"Good. Have fun on your own. Take your time. REALLY." She said.

"Paige?" Michelle called. She turned to Michelle.

"Thanks," Michelle said.

"Whatever," Paige said and walked back up to the base. Michelle turned to the cave opening and walked through them. This was just what she'd been craving – a nice long undisturbed walk to sort through her thoughts.

The silence of the cave almost echoed off the walls creating a hollow sound; it was like listening to the inside of a seashell. Michelle closed her eyes letting the stillness play in her brain. It stimulated her. She felt the beginning of a new tune in her head and thought about how it should play out. She was so focused on her tune that she hadn't noticed how far deep into the cave she had gone. Or that the lights weren't working and she walked in darkness. It wasn't until she heard a small clinking sound did she realize her surroundings. She looked around, wondering where the sound came from. There was no one but her. A slight shiver of fear crept up her spine.

"H-hello? Is anyone there?" she asked, her voice high with nervousness. She walked forward hoping to reach the other side of the cave – it was better than walking back the whole way. She felt her foot knock on something – a rock maybe?

"Hey, watch it." a voice said in the darkness. Michelle squealed. She briefly wondered if it was a ghost. Hands trembling, she pulled out her phone and turned it on, the light flooding her with relief. She pointed it down and gasped when she saw two legs lying flat on the ground. She shone her phone upwards and saw that it was Payton. He was sitting on the ground with his legs stretched out, leaning against the cave wall. In his hand was a bottle. He squinted his eyes shielding his face with his hand against the light.

"Payton? Is that you?" Michelle asked, her voice shaking.

"Put that thing away, it's blinding me," he said. Michelle turned the phone away from him but didn't turn off the light.

"What are you doing here? I thought only Paige knew about this cave." Michelle said. She sat down next to him, glad he was not a ghost.

"Paige doesn't own this place." He said. He took a gulp from his bottle.

"Is this how you unwind?" Michelle asked.

"It's one way."

"Each to his own," Michelle mumbled.

"What was that?" Payton asked, turning to her.

"Nothing. Don't you mind the dark?" She asked. Payton spoke after a thought.

"No. When you want to hide, the dark can be just what you need. It lets you keep your secrets secret."

"Secrets?"

"Don't tell me a girl like you doesn't have secrets."

"I wouldn't call them secrets..."

"Everybody has secrets. Dark disturbing pasts that they want to hide." Payton's eyes fell on Michelle.

"I guess a girl like you wouldn't understand. You're too innocent."

"What makes you think that?" Michelle asked, a little annoyed. She was starting to hate being thought of as fragile and 'innocent'. She didn't think she was as weak as all that.

"Want me to show you?" he asked, his tone making her hair stand on end. He leaned over her; she automatically leaned back against the cave wall. He trailed his fingers down her cheek to her neck, causing her breath to hitch.

"You're so nervous... you're not even breathing." He whispered his voice low and provoking. His fingers slid down her arm which shivered under her shirt sleeve. His hand shifted off her sleeve onto her bare wrist and held on to it.

"What are you doing?" Michelle asked, trying to sound relaxed but failing terribly. Payton gave a low chuckle.

"Proving my point, Sweetheart." His nickname for her made her wince.

"You're so innocent it could get you killed." He said in her ear. His hand tightened over her wrist and pulled her hand up against the wall.

"A word of advice: Don't let anyone get near you. Don't trust anyone." He said. This time he sounded serious and Michelle relaxed. He was only trying to teach her a lesson; not that she liked it but she understood the message. She steeled her expression.

"I won't," she replied loud and clear. He gave a fake smile.

"You will. You just don't know how to protect yourself. You're too trusting. You're defenseless." Michelle tried to pull her hand away from his grasp but couldn't; his grip was no joke. He felt her tug and smirked.

"Told you." his hand slid off her wrist and caught her fingers. He suddenly pried her phone out of her hand and stood up.

"You shouldn't have one of these." He said holding it up. Michelle stood up.

"Give it back!" she said angrily. This was the second time today someone had taken her phone. Why were these people so obsessed about not having phones?

"Try to take it from me," Payton said. He started walking backward, waving her phone in one hand, his bottle in the other. Michelle sighed in irritation and walked after him.

"Look, I know not to turn it on okay? So just give it back."

"Yet you turned it on." Michelle had to run to catch up with him.

"Only for a bit of light! You scared me in the dark!" Michelle heard him laugh sardonically.

"Is that so?" he asked, his voice almost caressing like he won the round. Michelle realized her words proved his point even more.

"This way Sweetheart." His voice grew distant and Michelle hurried on; she didn't want to be left behind in the cave.

"Wait where-" she began, but stopped when she saw a bright light through a door at the end of the cave. She stepped through it and found herself in what appeared to be an arcade. Then she remembered Leslie telling her about a game room.

"Is this the game room? The tunnel ends here?" Michelle asked Payton. She turned around and saw that the door was actually a panel part of the wall.

"Looks like you discovered one of my secrets," Payton said his eyes contemplative.

"Can I have my phone back now?" Michelle asked him.

"No. For now, this goes in the safe." Payton walked out of the room.

"Wait!" Michelle followed him out and bumped into someone – she looked up and saw Brook's face.

"Michelle? What are you – where were you?" he asked. Michelle glanced at Payton over Brook's shoulder.

"She almost compromised our position," Payton said to Brook. Brook turned around and saw him holding her phone.

"Michelle, did you turn it on? You promised!" Brook looked at her with a stern frown.

"I – I didn't have a choice! I needed light and..." she glared at Payton. Soriano came into the living room and noticed the tension.

"What's going on?" he asked. Payton dropped the phone in his hand.

"Here chief. Our guest had this turned on." Soriano frowned at Brook instead of Michelle.

"I thought you said you'd keep an eye on her. Brook, you can't make a mistake like this." Soriano admonished him. Michelle looked at Brook in surprise.

"Keep an eye on me?" she asked. Brook turned away from her.

"It won't happen again." He said to Soriano. He took Michelle's hand and pulled her away from the room.

"Brook! What is he talking about?" Michelle asked him as he dragged her to a private corner.

"Look, I'm in charge of you. It's better for you that it's me than one of the others. But you're gonna get hurt and get me in trouble if you don't cooperate. I told you not to turn on that phone." Brook said his voice hard. Michelle stared back at him, no words able to come out of her mouth.

"Michelle, answer me."

"I don't have to. You won't understand anyway so forget it. Anyway, my phone's gone so you don't have to worry about it." Michelle said. She felt her eyes prick and turned away. She didn't want him to see her cry. She ran off leaving Brook standing dumbfounded. She went to the girls' bedroom and shut the door. She really wanted to be alone now.

"Go easy on the poor girl Brook. You hurt her feelings." Leslie said as she walked up to Brook. He sighed.

"I'm trying to protect her." He said.

"Don't hurt her in the process." She warned. Brook walked off to his car, got in, and locked the doors. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat, the image of Michelle's face flashing in his mind. The moment they had shared alone in his car replayed in his memory; he had felt the electricity between them earlier. He was drawn to her like a magnet and he had not wanted to pull away. He swallowed heavily and tried to banish her face from his mind. But her eyes wouldn't fade from his memory; her soft round brown eyes which were so full of emotion and life. He had seen them tear up before she ran away and knew he had caused it. And he hated himself for it.

"Michelle..." he sighed.

The next couple of weeks passed in an irregular pattern of confinement. Michelle avoided Brook as much as she could partly because she was mad at him and partly because she was afraid of him seeing her feelings. She dreaded blushing from just one of his piercing stares. She kept to herself although it meant staying put without much exercise. She hoped it wouldn't last long; once her wounds were healed she intended to take a stand. She couldn't stay there forever after all.

Brook on the other hand searched for every opportunity to be near Michelle. He knew he shouldn't; he couldn't afford to get close to her. His life was not one that could get entwined with hers. Eventually, she would leave, and go back to her home, her life. He couldn't form an attachment to her. But he couldn't fight his desire; he wanted to see her, be around her, and even more than anything, touch her. She wasn't the only one who felt electricity when their hands made contact.

He was annoyed to see that she kept avoiding him. He knew she was mad at him and had every right to be. But she wouldn't even let him make it up to her or give him so much as a chance to talk to her. Not that he knew what to say to her... every time he saw her his thoughts raced like a tornado. He'd walk off before he could say something he would regret. But he wanted to talk to her; even if he couldn't afford to show her his feelings. It wasn't until Friday evening when did he find her alone and intended to talk to her one way or another.

Everyone was still out for the day, even Jett who had gone with Leslie to pick up groceries from town. They'd be more than a couple of hours, Brook knew. And the others wouldn't be back till eight. He stayed back being in charge of Michelle. It was the perfect opportunity to talk to her.

He'd been cleaning his car in the afternoon and decided to talk to Michelle afterward. When he went to the living room he saw her sprawled over the couch asleep. On her lap was a book and a pen dangled from her hand. Her lips were slightly parted as she slept and she looked peaceful. Brook smiled with longing; Michelle didn't know the effect she had on him, drawing him closer. He vaguely wondered how soft her lips were – what they would feel like under his thumb.

He sat down quietly, glancing at the book. She wasn't writing music. It looked like a journal. He read a few lines of the page she had been writing.

I've always felt trapped, but this is a whole new level. Being trapped with my own feelings is killing me. And it's ten times worse being around him. I can't breathe every time he looks at me. It feels like he's going to say something to me but then he just walks away. Am I paranoid? Maybe I am... maybe that day meant nothing. Maybe it was just a fleeting moment. He probably doesn't even feel that way about me. But I know what I felt; I just don't know if I should trust these feelings. And I know it doesn't have a chance to last long but... what if? The longer I stay here the more conflicted I feel. Even though I'm physically trapped I can't help not fighting it because it means I get to see him more. I don't know what to do... I've never felt like this in my life. Is this just a passing phase or... something more? I know in my heart I want it to be more... if only...

Here she stopped. Brook guessed she fell asleep. Her words made his heart race. Was this really what she wanted? What she felt? Did she already do the very thing he had been trying to avoid? Did she – fall for him?

She moaned softly in her sleep and turned her head towards him. the diary slipped off her lap to the ground. He picked it up and laid it on the table. He watched her up close, taking in her features, memorizing her face. He didn't know what the future held but he knew one thing; he never wanted to forget this girl. This girl who came into his life out of nowhere and inconceivably roused him out of his apathetic existence. She made his heart beat harder than when he was on the road doing a hundred and eighty; she made his blood rush more than the adrenaline from the thrill of the speed. She made his skin burn with just one touch more than the heat from a tool grinder.

He touched his chest hoping to quiet his wild heart and forced himself to breathe normally. He listened to her slow even breaths and followed her pattern. Soon he felt more in control – for now.

Michelle slowly opened her eyes and saw Brook's face hovering over hers. She blinked wondering if it was a dream.

"Hey," Brook said with a soft smile.

"Brook? Oh!" she sat up with a jolt, edging away from him. How long had he been watching her? She felt her cheeks burn and turned away.

"Did I fall asleep? How long was I out?"

"Don't know. I came in here a few minutes ago and found you like that." Michelle looked around the couch for her diary.

"On the table," Brook said watching her. She saw it and picked it up.

"I should – go." She got up but Brook caught her hand and stood up.

"Michelle, wait – we need to talk." She turned her head towards him.

"I wanted to say – I'm sorry about your phone. About that day." He said.

"Why now?" Michelle asked. Brook looked taken aback.

"It was overdue. Anyway, can we start over?" Brook asked. Michelle saw the sincerity in his eyes and nodded. Brook smiled.

"Good. Because I made you a promise." Michelle looked confused.

"I said I'd teach you how to drive like you mean it, remember?"

"Oh, right."

"Well come on." Michelle's eyes widened.

"Wait, you mean now?"

"No better time."

"But... I thought I was supposed to stay indoors. Your chief said I wasn't supposed to get out."

"He's not here now. If we get back before dark, no one will know. It'll be our little secret." Michelle saw the spark in his eyes and heard the invitation in his voice – and she couldn't resist it. Her palms tingled with anticipation. She wanted to go, to get out there. But more than that, she wanted to drive and feel the rush that she only saw in Brook's eyes so far – and she wanted to do it all with him.

What are we waiting for?" she said her lips tugging up. Brook responded by grabbing her hand and leading her to his Bugatti.

"I'll drive us to a spot where no one will find us. Then I'll teach you the tricks. You're gonna need a lot of leeway to cut loose." She sensed his exhilaration under his cool expression and it stimulated her. She was gonna look forward to this.