The Corrupted (Completed - editing)

Chapter 30 - "Forgive and Forget"

He sits on a hospital bed, eyes sunken in and dangerously thin. He is bruised, a yellow hue tinting his skin. Scars plague his body, failing to heal. "Simon."

He stares back at me, eyes blank, as I rush over to him, embracing him in a hug. He sits motionless, cold and empty as I pull away.

"I'm sorry." I mumble under my breath, a tear rolling down my cheek before landing softly on the bed sheet. "I'm so sorry, Simon."

He watches me, his eyes glazed and slightly bloodshot.

"Please, say something." I say, grabbing his cold hand. His expression remains stiff, a tortured look on his face.

"I –" He coughs heavily, chest heaving uncontrollably. "I... missed you." He chokes out each word, breaths short and shaky.

I smile softly, brushing the hair from his eyes, allowing the familiarity to wash over me, my body relaxing. We sit silently, while I simply inspect his wounds as he watched intently.

"Are you -" He coughs out quietly, "Are you okay?"

I look up at him suddenly, feeling myself tense. I nod slowly, continuing to look at his cuts and bruises. "How did you get this one?" I say, pointing to a fresh large scar over his abdomen.

He brushes my fingers away quickly, pulling his shirt down. I look up at him, as his expression softens. "It's – It's me, Eve." He wheezes, struggling to say the words. "You can talk to me."

I furrow my eyebrows, wrapping my arms around his shoulders as he carefully grabbed mine.
"I don't want to talk. Not now. Okay? I just – I don't think I can handle it." I mumble into his shirt.

I feel Simon sigh, tightening his grip around me. "How are you even alive..." I pull away, glancing up at him curiously.

He stares at me, something flickering behind his eyes. Trauma, anger?

"They took me to one of their nests. I escaped." He wheezes out, "I made my way back to North Wall. They took me in."

I nod, brushing my fingers along his jaw, where a series of bruises lie. "They really got us good, huh?"

He gives me a slight nod, pulling me back down to his chest, kissing the top of my head.

"I can't believe you're alive." He mumbles into my hair, arms tightening around me.

"Neither can I." I sigh, gripping him tighter. He was safe. Simon was safe and that's all that mattered.

We sit there for a while, avoiding the words that needed to be said. Yet somehow, sitting silently in his arms, I felt safe again.

<><>

I close the door quietly behind me, stepping out into the hallway of the hospital. I stare down at my clothes, crumpled from having to sleep in them. A flash of black hair appears at my side, which I immediately identify to be Fallon's.

"How is he?" She says, leaning against the wall with me, her voice quiet and soft.

"He's okay." I say, nodding as I stared straight ahead at the white sheeted walls.

"You've been away a lot. Wouldn't kill you to say hi once in a while." I glance over at Fallon, watching as her black hair fell over her puffy red eyes.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep in there with him..." I fold my arms, staring down at the floor.

She scoffs, turning to me, "Are you kidding me? Eve, you haven't spoken to any of us since the interrogation yesterday. It's like we don't even exist to you anymore."