Code Name Shadow

Chapter 3

"Not bad at all. If I didn't know any better, I'd have guessed you were some kind of carpenter or something," I reply, returning his smirk.

He laughs, shaking his head. "I wouldn't go that far, but thanks." It's silent for a moment, both of us just staring at each other. Finally, Cody breaks the silence. "Do you mind if I use your bathroom real quick? Gotta wash my hands."

"Of course. Down the hall, second door on the right," I reply. He smiles and nods before taking off down the hallway.

Not wanting to awkwardly stand there and wait for him but not having anything else to do, I survey the room and notice my brother's toolbox still open on the coffee table. He just mounted that entire tv by himself, the least I can do is help him clean up. 

I walk over to the table and start putting everything away, making sure I didn't miss anything. Once I'm sure I don't see anything else on the table, I pick up the heavy box and start bringing it back towards the kitchen. I don't get far, though, before I feel excruciating pain radiating through my foot.

I scream and drop the box, missing my other foot by mere inches. The second the box hits the ground I see the bathroom door swing open and hear heavy footsteps sprinting towards me. Tears fill my eyes and I reach desperately for my foot, holding it close to me as I will the pain to go away. I can barely see through my tears, but I notice something small and silver stuck in the arch of my foot as I hold it.

Before I have time to think about anything that's going on, Cody is right in front of me. "What happened?" He asks frantically, his eyes wide and darting across my body to find the source of my pain. When his eyes settle on my foot, a look of anger flashes across his face. "Shit," he says. He softens his expression before looking back up at me and gently put his hands on my shoulders, slowly rubbing up and down my upper arms as he speaks.

"Looks like you stepped on a screw Brielle. Can I help you get it out?" I nod, unable to find my voice.

He gives me a small smile and moves over to my injured side. "Here, let me help you over to the couch." He bends down a little and I wrap my arm around his neck, using him as a crutch as he helps me hop over to the couch. I feel better as I sit down, but the second he moves and crouches down in front of me panic begins to set in. While not exactly the same as what had happened to me when I was held captive, my captor had often gotten down to that level and tortured me by whipping my sensitive feet after they were already raw with cuts and scrapes. I squeeze my eyes shut as hard as I can to get the image of him torturing me out of my mind, but it's proving to be difficult.

My breathing picks up and my heartrate spikes as I will the memories to leave, but something about being in this position is making it too hard right now.

"Hey, Brielle, it's okay," Cody says softly. He reaches out to rub a comforting hand up and down my calf but I flinch away, leading him to immediately hold his hands up in surrender. I can't breathe.

Noticing how uncomfortable I am Cody moves to sit next to me on the couch, his hands no longer touching me. "Brielle, look at me," he says in the most comforting voice I've ever heard. As much as I don't want to open my eyes right now, I slowly turn my head and look at him. My eyes lock on his beautiful green ones and he gives me a small smile.

"There you are. I need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to breathe. In for four seconds, hold for four, then out for four, then hold it again and repeat. We can do it together, just like this." I watch as Cody takes and exaggerated breath in, holds it, and releases it. He keeps going, encouraging me to match his breathing until I finally do.

"Good, Brielle, that's really good. You're doing great, keep going." I've done this kind of box breathing before when Beckett taught it to me after a particularly bad night, but something about the way Cody encourages me and does it with me is really helping me get back to reality. I'm so focused on my breathing that I barely register it as he moves his fingers to wrap around my wrist, checking my pulse but never breaking eye contact with me.

Once my breathing and heartrate are relatively back to normal, Cody's smile fades and the concerned look returns to his face. "Do you want to talk about what just happened?" I shake my head immediately. I don't know what, if anything, my brother told him about my past, but regardless it's not something I'm eager to dive into today with a man I just met.

"Okay," he says with a soft smile, not wanting to push me. "But we do have to get this screw out of your foot. Would it help if I sat next to you while I did it?"

I nod. "Y-yes please," I choke out. I lean forward to adjust myself so my foot is resting across my other leg on my lap, and Cody starts rubbing slow circles on my back.

"I'm going to do this as quickly and as painlessly as I can, okay?" He reaches his left hand out towards mine. "I only really need one hand to do it, so I want you to squeeze this one as hard as you can if it hurts too much." I can see the sincerity in his eyes as I look at him, and I instantly wrap my hand in his.

He slowly starts pulling the screw from my foot, and I squeeze his hand hard. It hurts, but the fear of him pulling it out is scaring me even more. He keeps his eyes on my foot as he concentrates but starts rubbing circles on my hand with his thumb to comfort me.

I whimper as I feel the nail finally free itself from my foot, and Cody looks up at me with a smile. "It's all done, I got it. You did such a good job," he says with so much pride and compassion in his voice that I'm sure I would've melted if I wasn't in so much pain. "I'll be right back."

He returns a minute later with a first aid kit in hand and sits next to me again as he wraps up my foot with gauze. I feel exhausted from the emotional toll this has taken on me, and I know Cody can tell as he looks back up at me once he's finished.

"Here, let's let you take a nap," he says as he moves to stand. He takes my arms and wraps them both around his neck before picking me up and cradling me in his arms as he walks towards my room. Under any other circumstance I would've protested, but I was too tired and was enjoying his comforting contact a little too much.

When we make it to my room he lays me down gently on my bed, propping my foot up on a throw pillow before wrapping me in a blanket. "I'll be right outside if you need anything, okay? Just say the word." He smiles and stands before making his way to the door.

"Cody?" I call out just as he opens the door. He turns around immediately and looks at me.

"Mhmm?"

"Thank you." I whisper.

He tilts his head and smiles at me. "No worries. Get some sleep."

I nod slowly and close my eyes before darkness fully takes over.

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