My eyes wouldn't open.
I was awake, but so fatigued that my eyelids were sealed shut. It felt like one of those terrible dreams where no matter how hard you try, you can't move a single muscle. What had happened to me? And where was I?
I could feel myself in someone's arms - my shoulder and side that rested against the chest were warm, while the other side was drizzled by light freezing rain. Was I being kidnapped?
The person carrying me was quickly walking which caused my head to bobble against their shoulder and neck. I heard them deeply gasping for air as if they couldn't catch their breath. Their heart was beating rapidly and they carried a strong metallic scent. Based on the sounds of traffic and talking voices rushing by, I assumed I was on a busy street.
After applying all my strength, my eyes finally popped open.
Red.
Through my blurred vision, I saw blood dripping from Felix's nose, streaming past his lips and chin, and onto to me. I felt sick to my stomach. Why was he bleeding?
The last thing I remembered, Felix was on the ground and we were both in the closet. He must have woken up before me and taken me. How long were we unconscious? Was it still the same day? Most importantly, what the heck had happened?
"Felix," I whispered as I reached up to grasp his loosened tie. I had intended for my voice to come out louder.
He shot me a wide glance as he tilted his head downward. This only caused more blood to spill onto me. Chilling. Those raging blue eyes filled with relief, as he quickly tipped his head back.
"Thank God, you're awake," he muttered. I felt the vibration of his voice in my side.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
"I've ruined your dress," he said with the slightest slur.
The baby blue fabric on my chest and stomach was stained with a pool of red. It was indeed ruined. How much blood had he lost?
"What happened?" I asked, becoming overly aware of all the attention we were attracting. It seemed that we turned every umbrella-covered head. Thankfully, the gloomy sky helped hide the severity of our circumstance, but those who managed to see past the thick fog wore disturbed expressions.
Meanwhile, Felix's gaze was fixated on the foggy horizon illuminated with car headlights.
"Where are we going?"
"Away from them," he said with an edge.
"Who's 'them'?"
His complexion was growing paler by the minute, as the steady river trickled from his nose. I didn't have any spare fabric nor the strength to rip my dress to create a handkerchief.
"Put me down. I can walk by myself," I said.
To my surprise, he immediately followed suit. Truth be told, I didn't think he had any more strength left to carry me. I could feel his arms shaking the entire time. If he had carried me all the way from Agreste Inc. then that would have been a solid two and a half miles.
He stabilized me with his hand, as I secured my weight on my wobbly feet. My knees and legs felt so weak and shaky - the kind of feeling that came with high fevers.
With his hands now freed up, he covered his nose. Liquid still managed to seep through and his white collared shirt under his blazer was completely soaked. Had he seriously been bleeding for two miles? This was bad.
"I'm taking you to the hospital," I said, grasping his wrist.
The rain began to fall harder, pelting against the reflective sidewalk and slowly turning the walkway into one big shallow puddle.
"No," he said firmly.
"What, do you want me to let you bleed to death on the street?" I said, raising my voice just to speak over the sound of rain and passing cars. When I tugged his arm, he nearly collapsed.
He was clearly not in his right mind with his glazed eyes and white lips. The blood loss had inhibited his thinking. Usually, he was sharp and ahead of the game. Instead, he seemed to be losing energy and strength. Even more concerning, it sounded as if he was struggling to breathe.
"Okay, fine. I'm taking you to my house then," I said, tightening my grip.
He gave into my force and let me guide him. Thankfully we weren't too far and I knew both my parents were catering an event. So, I wouldn't have to deal with all the questions that came with bringing home a dying man.
When we made it to the bakery (aka my home), I felt around a nearby potted plant for the spare key. It was buried deep within the mushy soil. After unlocking the door, I guided Felix up the staircase. We left behind trails of water, mud, and blood. I'd have the clean that up before my parents came home.
I suddenly stopped in from of my door. He ran into my back. Wait. My room was a disaster! I hadn't cleaned it in forever! I had at least three weeks' worth of dirty shirts, underwear, and socks blanketing my floor, along with all my 'fashion projects' draped over my desk and couch.
But Felix was getting worse and I couldn't keep him out here any longer. I needed to get him sitting down and stop the bleeding. I'd rather take him to our personal kitchen (or even the bakery's kitchen) to avoid my room altogether, but since blood was a biohazard, I thought it'd be best to keep it away from the bread and desserts. If one part of the house was going to be contaminated, it might as well be my room.
As I hesitantly opened the door, the smell of a day-old pizza filled the hallway. That's right. I had forgotten to throw away last night's dinner and let it sit on a paper plate. Hopefully, he wouldn't notice.
Well. My room was actually worse than I remembered. Especially considering that I had left a pile of bras in the middle of my unmade bed, on the couch, and on the back of my desk's chair (let's just say it was a rough morning).
I shot Felix a nervous glance to see how he was responding. His eyes were open, but his gaze looked hallow as if his body was merely an empty shell. He was like a dying wet puppy - his hair stuck to his forehead and neck, his lungs still rattled, and his teeth and gums were seething with blood.
If I were cruel, I would tell him that he looked pitiful. Something he once told me. My, how the tables had turned.
"Let's sit you down," I said, guiding him by his broad shoulders to the hot pink couch. Scooping all the bras in one arm, and tossing them onto my bed with the other, I sat Felix down, completely aware that this couch would be permanently stained after this.
Then I rushed to my room's bathroom and grabbed a tissue box, Vaseline, and a hand full of cue-tips. Positioning myself right next to him, I gripped his defined jaw and lined his nostrils with Vaseline that I had placed on a cue-tip. Next, I pressed a tissue against his tipped up nose and secured the back of his head with my hand. His hair was so damp and smooth from the rain and felt so good between my fingers.
Focus, I told myself. Don't think about how close we are on this very small couch.
If his hair was this wet, the poor guy must be freezing. Worst of all, I knew he was already struggling to breathe and these tissues over his nose weren't helping. Occasionally, the blood would accumulate in his mouth causing him to cough it out. I felt terrible for him. It all sounded so painful.
He took deep steady breaths (in between coughing fits) which helped calm that strange rattling noise in his chest. After an entire box of tissues, his bleeding slowed - almost ceasing.
"Keep your head back and hold the tissue to your nose. I'm going to get you some water and maybe even a little snack."
He stared into empty space, his head slightly drooping forward in the absence of my support. It made me afraid to leave him alone even for a minute.
I quickly returned with a large glass of water and three clementines, since I knew how much he loved those. I drew the cup to his lips and he drank all of it in a few gulps.
For the next ten minutes, I sat at his side with another tissue box, waiting to catch any remaining droplets. I felt my muscles loosen at the realization that he was no longer on the verge of dying.
Seeing him in this helpless state had evoked a strong sense of sympathy and tapped into my maternal nature. It was kind of refreshing to see him powerless. Honestly, I liked caring for him and that he for once was depending on me (even if it wasn't much of his choice).
My thoughts were interrupted when Felix grasped my hand as I was wiping away the final streams. I let out a yelp and lowered the tissue. He kept our hands clasped together. Quite tightly. His hand was so thick and smooth and made mine feel so small. It was comforting for me. We should hold hands more often. Honestly, I wasn't sure if he was even aware. I knew he wasn't fully himself, so I avoided drawing attention to it.
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng," he said in a weak voice. His face was still exceedingly pale and covered in smeared dried blood.
"You feel a little better now?" I asked.
He shot me a puzzled look that indicated he didn't remember coming into my room. I was about to explain before he abruptly broke his hand free from mine, closed his eyes, and pressed his fingers into his temples as he leaned forward. He must be dizzy from losing so much blood.
I was tempted to ask all my pending questions! Things I was dying to know. But the man had just lost a lot of blood. I didn't want to overwhelm him. And his world was obviously spinning.
Instead, I rubbed his muscular back with slow and tender strokes, hoping that would make a difference. I wouldn't have the confidence to do something that bold under normal circumstances, but I took comfort in knowing he probably wouldn't remember.
It was completely inappropriate of me and I inwardly scolded myself for it, but I couldn't help notice just how wonderful the muscles in his back felt...and that was with the suit jacket on. I don't think I'd be able to handle rubbing a shirtless Felix's back.
Bad Marinette! Don't take advantage of his vertigo.
I had to rip my hand away from his back since it impossible for me not to think of him like that. We sat in silence for at least fifteen minutes as he kept his eyes closed and took deep breaths. Why did his breathing still sound like he was in pain? I'd wished he'd tell me what was wrong so I could help him better. Instead, he bore it all in silence.
Finally, he opened his eyes and turned towards me, his hair curling as it dried and eyes traced with dark circles. His lips had turned from sickly white to the color of normal skin.
Then he cocked his head and made a confused face as if he had noticed something uncomfortable. He leaned back and pulled up something he had been sitting on this entire time.
Please, no.
It was my extra padded zebra striped bra. Mortifying.
He held it up by the silky lace strap and stared at it blankly - as if it was nothing more than a sock. Wow. He was really off. Any normal Felix would totally make some insulting comment about 'false advertising' or something.
I ripped it from him and hurled it onto the bed with the rest of my clothes, as I nervously laughed. That was a mistake because it only drew his attention to the mountain of bras.
Again, a blank stare. Either that or Felix was just extremely mature about this whole thing. But I doubt even he would resist the urge to tease me.
He glanced down at his shoes as if thinking. After a pause, he met my gaze once more.
"I -," he inhaled, " I regret it - that I frightened you. My behavior in the closet. Off-putting."
He let out a laborer sigh as his face was slowly filling with a little more color. However, his eyes still seemed clouded, as if there was still a piece of his consciousness missing.
"Oh. No worries. I'm sure you had your reasons," I said, trying to speak in the most soothing voice possible.
"Worst possible time. I had just found out. When you found me," he said slurring through a couple of his words.
"Found out? What do you mean?" I spoke slow and clear.
"I didn't want to burden. You. Ignorance is bliss," He inhaled sharply, "They say. And they are right."
"I don't want to be ignorant, Felix," I swallowed.
"You won't be. You've inherited all my curses. Unfortunately," he said in what I thought was a sarcastic tone, but I couldn't quite tell due to how low he spoke.
"I don't know what that means."
"It means there are no..." His eyes slowly swept over me as he lost his train of thought.
"No what?" I probed.
He lingered on my mid-section, his clouded gaze extremely focused. It was very noticeable and made me feel awkward as I couldn't quite tell where he was looking. Yes, Felix had a habit of scanning me every morning, but it was only once a day and never focused on one part of my body.
"Please change," he said suddenly averting his gaze as if I was indecently dressed.
I felt paranoid! Oh no! Was my underwear showing? Had my dress become too tight from the rain?
"Why?" I asked frantically.
He grimaced, peaking at my frame in disgust before peeling his gaze away again, "I don't like seeing you drenched in blood. Even if it's mine. It's not natural."
Relief. Oh, thank God. If that was the only reason, then I didn't care to change...I just wanted the answers right now!
"I mean, we kind of almost died. Don't you think we should talk about what happened right now? Who cares about our clothes?"
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng, it's disturbing," He sighed deeply as if his words wearied him, "Our coming conversation. We need fresh bodies and minds before," He paused and stared at my gut, "Besides, I can't stomach that anymore."
I glanced down. It appeared like I had been shot in the stomach and was slowly bleeding out. I looked as if I had walked out of a horror movie. He was right - the dress was damp and I had been shivering. My nerves were so intense that I didn't even notice.
"Okay," I said lowering my head.
"I'm taking a shower," he said, carefully rising from the couch with cracking knees and making his way towards my bathroom door with slow steps. Well, okay then. Make yourself at home, why don't you? I stared down at his bloodied, wet suit. He needed some new clothes to change into if he really was going to stay.
"I'll get you some of my dad's clothes," I said.
He merely nodded, as he leaned against the doorway.
I was lost in thought as I rushed into my parent's room and dug through my father's clothes. Felix was going to tell me something disturbing. Something that had obviously caused him so much harm. Was it related to what happened to us in the closet? It had to be! Finally, I'd get my answers.
Just as I had finished selecting his outfit (which consisted of a black T-shirt and some sweat pants), I caught a glimpse of my reflection in my parent's full-body mirror. The image was enough for me to stop and examine my overall appearance. I moved in closer to get a better view of my stained dress.
It was all over me. More than I had thought. A thick layer of scarlet soaked my body - the substance that had been pumped through Felix's heart.
It was disgusting and sticky and such a biohazard.
It was also kind of romantic.
In a morbid way.