Never in a Million Years |N.R|

|37| Healing on the inside and out.

It was two days before Nat was strong enough to get out of bed. Two days of carrying her to the bathroom when she needed it, being at her every beck and call when she needed food or something to drink, watching the clock for when it was time for more painkillers.

It was two days of no sleep for me. None at all.

If I wasn't helping Nat with something I was watching her sleep. And when I wasn't watching her sleep I was scrutinising our surroundings out of every window or doing some research on the laptop. I fell deep into the web when searching for answers about the red vials, but it was to no avail. As far as I could tell, they were the first of their kind. And someone was after them.

That truth meant that I was always on high alert, listening into every slight noise outside and jumping at every small movement.

But after two days there was no sign of anyone at all, and Nat was finally well enough to leave our bed. The bed that my mind and body yearned for, but my soul refused to let me have. Not until I knew we were safe enough for me to put my guard down, even if only for a couple of hours.

"Morning baby" I whispered as her heavy eyes peeled open to meet mine. She'd risen at the very tail end of morning, 11:52 am, but it was the earliest she'd woken up so far.

At the sound of my voice she smiled weakly, and I was glad that she hadn't caught on to the tiredness in my tone or the yawn that quickly followed.

"Morning" she rasped, rubbing at her eyes lightly to help them focus in the bright sun.

"How are you feeling?" I questioned whilst simultaneously getting up to grab her fresh glass of water that I'd poured about seven times. I changed it every hour, partly out of worries for its freshness, but mostly to feel like I was doing something to help her. I'd been overwhelmed with a feeling of uselessness in the wake of her injuries so I found comfort and purpose in the most mundane of things.

She groaned slightly as she pushed herself up into a sit, "good." Her response wasn't fooling anyone, least of all me. Her pain was plain as day and no courage on her part would be enough to hide it. Especially since I'd seen her injuries first hand and I knew from experience the kind of relentless and throbbing pain she'd been experiencing.

"I was wondering if you'd want to come and sit with me in the kitchen today. We could put a film on and relax. It'll only be for a little while, since you need your rest, but I thought it might be nice for you to have a change of scenery. No pressure of course."

Her reply was delayed for a moment as she gratefully took the water from my grasp and sipped at it lightly. Once she was finished I took it from her before she could even try to put it down. I didn't want her doing anymore than she needed to.

"I'd like that" she eventually offered, smiling at me reassuringly as she no doubt saw the worry etched in my face that had sustained for days. I couldn't help it. She got hurt so badly doing something as innocent as going to get fuel. It's like it wasn't safe for us to breathe too loud in this world.

"Okay. I'll grab some pants for you to wear so that you don't get cold, then we can go and sit at the table. Do you need to use the bathroom before then?" I was already up on my feet before my question was finished, grabbing her jogging bottoms off of the chair in the corner.

"No, I'll be okay. Thank you." I put the piece of clothing down on the bed beside her so that I could help her turn round and drop her legs over the edge. I first pulled the covers back, regrettably sending a shiver through her body as she was touched by the cold in the air. I hadn't gone to get more fuel yet so there was still no electricity to power the heaters. I was too scared to leave her, but she didn't need to know that.