Little Bird

Chapter Forty-One

Eve

            When Draco woke up the next day, I was half slumped on the side of his bed with my eyes drooping shut, the entire hospital wing empty except for the two of us. He shifted underneath me and I automatically opened my eyes, sitting up quickly and forgetting all about being tired. Draco's eyes were bleary as he struggled to sit up, reaching up with one hand to feel the bandages wrapped around his chest that seemed to be constricting him.

            I quickly grabbed his arm to keep him from touching them, using my other hand to try and gently push him back against the bed. "Don't get up, you'll hurt yourself—"

            Draco swallowed hard as he looked up at me leaning over him, asking in a hoarse voice, "Are...are you okay?"

            I stared at him in shock; he'd nearly died yesterday, and the first thing he does is ask me if I'm okay? But I knew he wouldn't relax until I answered, so I told him hastily, "Yeah, I'm fine. Are you alright? How do you feel?"

            "Like shit," he said, and it was then that I realized how completely pale he was.

            "Should I get Pomfrey?" I asked, worried he was going to pass out again from losing so much blood. "She just went down to eat breakfast, I can—"

            "No, stay here," Draco interrupted, his voice cracking and sounding as though it hadn't been used for days. He reached out for me and I grabbed his hand, looking him over with wide eyes.

            Pomfrey had just changed the bandages before she'd left, so there wasn't any blood staining through yet. She'd had to throw away his torn shirt when Snape had first brought Draco up to the hospital wing, and I shivered as I remembered seeing the deep cuts gouged into his skin. I still wasn't sure how Snape had managed to stop the bleeding—I felt sick as I remembered how bad it had been.

            "Hey," Draco said in a quiet voice, reaching his left hand out from under the covers to hold my hand with both of his. He could see how upset I was by the tears brimming in my eyes, blurring my vision because I refused to let them fall. I didn't want to cry in front of him for what would probably be the twentieth time.

            "Do you—do you remember everything?" I choked out, sniffling and wiping the back of my hand against my lips. I'd told myself not to get upset when he finally woke up.

            Draco blinked, looking up at the ceiling and exhaling hard. His voice was tight as he replied, "I remember that Potter is a twat."

            For the first time, I agreed with him. Angrily I told him, "I wanted to kill him yesterday. When Snape brought you up here, he just left. He didn't even say anything to me."

            "I told you, he's a twat. Tell me he got suspended."

            I shrugged, telling Draco, "I dunno. I haven't heard anything."

            He glanced over at me then, shifting on the bed despite my protests. "You—you didn't stay here all night, did you?"

            I uneasily looked down at the bed sheets to avoid his hard gaze, because I knew he'd be upset if he knew I hadn't left his side since it happened. And he'd definitely lose his shit if he found out I hadn't slept once all night.

            "Eve," he snapped when I didn't answer right away. "You stayed here all night?"

            "Yeah, but so what?" I said angrily, the tears still forming in my eyes. "You think I was going to just leave you here alone? I was scared. When I saw you lying there in the bathroom, I thought you were dead. I didn't know what happened, and I thought—I thought—"