Freak

20.

"She needs to get dry and warm, I suggest you stay near her until she's asleep, maybe till she wakes even."

"Thank you Charles, I... I couldn't help her, didn't know what to do..." Arthur was crestfallen.

"You did enough my friend." With that the mean left father and daughter.

"Come on kid, let's get you dry."

***

When Blue awoke her body ached all over. Her memories were foggy and she ad a hard time making out what had happened and why she felt so... so dead.

There was a light snoring coming from somewhere close, looking down at the ground by the bed she inhabited she found Arthur. Arm slung over his face, mouth slightly ajar. She giggled. The feeling of Déjà vu flooding her mind.

Reaching out towards him she ran the back on a finger over his prickly jaw, watching it twitch under her touch. He mumbled something, turned on his side, face away from her. He had no blanket on and she realized he'd given her his own. Sighing, she stood up on shaky legs, stepped over him and laid down in front of him, face to face, bringing the thick blanket over them both. It didn't take long until he pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin.

It was as she pressed he forehead to his collarbone that she felt the sting of the scratches on her face. Piece by piece the memories came back to her. The look in Micha's eyes when he realized he'd been found out, the sound of a gun, the distant voices and the feeling of blood on her skin, the panic building and bubbling over drowning her in stifling heat and darkness.

She felt, once again, the quickening of her breath, the pressure behind her eyes, but this time there was someone there, her father's calm breathing, his exhale hitting the top of her head and the steady rhythm of his heart let her keep whatever control she still possessed.

Sleep tugged at her, even though she felt like she'd been asleep forever, and she let it consume her.

When she came to the next time she was warm and comfortable, achy, but comfortable. Arthur wasn't asleep anymore but had stayed with her, rubbing soothing circles on her back, obviously deep in thought.

"Is he gone?" she asked. Arthur jumped at her sudden question. Rolling onto his back he motioned for her to lay on his shoulder, she didn't need much convincing. "Did they bury him?"

"Yeh, unmarked grave, more than he deserved."

"Who... shot?"

"Dutch... never seen his eyes so black, sumthin' snaped Blue, he ain't been the same since..." he talked like eternities had passed since that night, how long had it been?

"What day is it?"

"Eh, dunno'... you know I ain't all that good at keepin' track of the days, but you came back two days ago, been sleeping since, since it all happened, scared me half to death you know."

"I'm sorry"

"Don't be, he shouldn't have done it like that, wasn't right. I'm surprised you didn't go deaf." To be honest Blue's ears were still ringing, though she could still hear him perfectly well and because of that she didn't bother telling him of the constant sound.

"I- I don't know if I should yell at him or thank him." Blue admitted, confused beyond belief. He had killed the very man responsible for her years of captivity, killed the man who tormented her for so long. But was it right to shoot him just like that? Blue didn't know the answer, all she knew was that she still cared for Dutch and that she felt like if he changed because of the shooting, then it was in a way her fault.