I'll stay

The person under Sorcha stiffened, obviously shocked after being pushed down suddenly. He didn't make any noise, because although he wasn't able to see properly who did this, he felt extreme familiarity towards her.

Getting out from his thoughts, he looked carefully at the face which is only a few inches away from him. His cheeks turned beet red upon finally recognizing her.

'Why is Sorcha here?' he wondered.

She isn't looking at him, like what he's doing. Instead, she warily looks on the other side, waiting for someone to appear.

He could feel her steady heartbeat and her warm breath tickles his face, making him distracted and not think carefully.

"Edmund." She whispered. Then she looked at him with strictness in her eyes.

Because of the unusual serious face Sorcha wore, Edmund finally realized that something is wrong. He also nervously looked on where sorcha was looking at a moment ago.

"What's happening?" He whispered back.

"Why are you here?" Instead of answering, she returned him a question.

"I.. I'm with someone." He said, not knowing what to answer her.

When she heard that he's with someone, Sorcha's face brightened up.

"Good. Look for him." She instructed.

"What about you?" He said worriedly.

"I'll stay. You have to leave, so you can ask for help." Sorcha isn't confident about facing those guys. Nor is she confident about whether the help would arrive timely. But because her friend is here, she didn't want him to get involved. She only said that to Edmund so she could convince him to escape.

"No." Edmund said firmly. Sorcha stopped thinking and looked carefully at him.

"I.. I will help you." Losing his initial confidence, he stuttered once again upon seeing her look at him.

"You can only help me by leaving." She said with a warning tone.

His heart fell upon hearing her words. 'Am I really useless?' he thought. He felt really dejected upon thinking like that.

Sorcha was thinking of what to say next to make him leave, when she saw his heartbroken face. The next words she was about to say were immediately swallowed back. Her face softened and she once again called his name.

"Edmund."

He stared back at her, wearing the same sad face.

"It's dangerous here. We can't win against them even if we fight together. It's better if one of us can leave to ask for help. Don't worry about me. Those people only want to capture me, so they won't hurt me." She added. "If you see the person you came here with, ask him to call the military and look for Anthony Barrons. Tell him that I'm in danger. Do you understand?"

Edmund finally sobered up. He understood now why Sorcha said those words. She didn't mean that he isn't useful. She is only thinking what's good for the both of them. He felt embarassed about thinking wrongly about her.

He nodded his head, having cleared up his mind.

Sorcha moved her body away, enough for him to move properly. She smiled at him and said, "run!"