Left Behind -Gally-

Chapter 12

"I think so." Gally had seen her fall. There wasn't any possible way she didn't hit her head. "I'm going to take her to the Med-Jack hut."

"Gally, I-" Alby was cut off by Gally picking the girl up. Emma wasn't expecting the sudden movement and gasped. She winced from the pain in her ankle, clutching his shirt tightly. "Okay, then." They watched Gally march toward the hut with the girl in his arms.

Emma rested her head against his chest, biting her lip tightly. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to appear weak. Gally was the toughest person in the Glade. He already thought negatively of her. She didn't want to add any more fuel to the fire. "You okay?" His gentle tone surprised her.

"Fine," she breathed through the pain.

"What were you even doing up there?" He didn't understand.

"Just wanted to help," was her lame response.

Gally shook his head, knowing Dmitri hadn't filled her in on how unsteady the ladder was. He was going to have him thrown in the Pit later. "Okay." That was all he said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma sat on the bed. Her bottom lip was pressed between her teeth tightly. Any tighter, and she would draw blood. Jeff was messing with her ankle, trying to see if it was broken, bruised, or sprained. It hurt. There was already bruising. "It's sprained, possibly broken."

"Possibly?" That wasn't good enough for Gally. After bringing her to the hut, he didn't leave. Emma was surprised, as were the others. Yet, nobody commented. They let him stay even after they left to find Dmitri.

Jeff ignored the Builder. "I'm going to wrap it in order to let it heal. This might hurt."

"Okay," she whispered.

Jeff knew it would hurt. It wasn't going to feel good. Taking a deep breath, he began wrapping her ankle. Emma closed her eyes tightly. The pain was awful. It bounced off every nerve in her body. A single tear escaped, rolling down her cheek. Without realizing it, her hands clutched the closet thing to her. Her left hand held the edge of the bed, while her right hand held someone. That someone was Gally. She was clutching his hand tightly. Opening her eyes, she realized her mistake. Before she could pull away, he closed his hand, securing her fingers against his palm. He never objected, never protested. He let her hold his hand.

Emma let out a shaky breath. Jeff worked quickly, wanting to secure her ankle. "Okay," he stopped. "Done. Ankle secure."

She nodded, "thank you." Her short replies were odd. Jeff was used to her talking in sentences.

He moved to his feet, grabbing her jaw gently. Gally tensed at the action, clutching her hand. Jeff's eyes examined her head. "You could have a concussion. I'm not sure."

"Are you sure about anything?"

Jeff glared at Gally, letting go of Emma. "Bed rest," he said. "That I am sure of. I don't want you walking on this ankle for a while."

"Okay." She could do that. No walking around unless needed. Seemed easy enough.

"I'm worried about your head. I'll have someone monitor you tonight." Her shoulders dropped. That was the last thing she wanted. "Just to be safe."

"Okay."

Jeff clapped his hands together. "I'll go find someone-"

"I'll do it," Gally volunteered.

Emma's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "You don't have to."

"I know I don't." Gally knew he could have left her, but he didn't. He wouldn't. "I'll do it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma lay on the bed. She had fallen asleep for a few minutes but had woken up when she moved her leg. The pain shot through her body. Opening her eyes, she noticed that Gally was still there. That surprised her. "I thought you would have left."

Gally glanced at her, surprised she was awake. "Why would I do that?"

She shrugged. "Because you hate me."

His expression remained the same. "Who said that?"

"It's sort of obvious." Gally always gave her the cold shoulder. "You barely even talk or look at me."

Without hesitation, he said. "I'm looking at you now."

Her eyes remained locked on his. The dim light made his eyes appear darker than they actually were. However, she could see something she had never seen before. The uncertainty in his eyes. The uneasiness. Usually, his eyes looked distant. They weren't distant right now. "I'm sorry."

His expression changed. That wasn't what he was expecting her to say. "Sorry about what?"

"I didn't get the screws."

His lips pulled upward into a faint smile. The breathy laugh that escaped him felt foreign. Emma rarely saw him without a scowl. "I don't care about the screws." That was the truth. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"I'm okay," she promised with a convincing smile. "If I had known falling off a ladder would get you to finally talk to me, I would have done it weeks ago." It was a joke and a lame attempt to diffuse the tension.

This laugh was louder than the last. His eyes crinkled slightly. It was nice to see this side of him. Emma hoped she would see more of it. For weeks she had wanted to get on Gally's good side. He didn't have a lot of friends in the Glade, but he was very well respected, and everyone depended on him. He was always willing to lend a helping hand when needed. He was a good person. The rough exterior he had made it hard to get to know him. It didn't help he was stubborn.

There was a lazy smile on her face. The head injury she sustained probably aided her confidence. Emma wasn't complaining. "How are you feeling?" He didn't bother to respond to her last comment.

"Like I fell off a ladder." He playfully glared at her. "Better now. Thank you." He hummed, satisfied with that response. "You don't have to stay here. I'm fine."

"I'm not going anywhere." Gally crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. He was showing her that he wasn't leaving.

Emma snorted, rolling her eyes, but it hurt. "So dramatic." The two went from not talking to friends in a matter of hours. She wasn't complaining. In fact, she was grateful. Maybe falling off the ladder was a good thing. She had no idea why it would change anything but didn't care enough to think about it. Her head still hurt too much to think.

Her blinks had started to get longer. She was exhausted but tried to hide it. Gally leaned closer, dropping his arms. "Get some rest. You've had a long day."

She wanted to argue, but a yawn cut her off. "Fine." Emma moved onto her back, brushing the hair out of her face. She failed. A few strands were still bothering her, but she was too lazy to fix them. "Night," she muttered, eyes closed.

Gally watched her. "Night," he responded in a whisper. Her head dropped to the side, body relaxing as she fell victim to sleep. However, she felt the coarse fingers of Gally gently brush the hair out of her face.