A/N: Sorry for the wait! Uni has kept me busy, I bet you know what it's like. But yes, another chapter (still unedited, unfortunately) closer to the end. Only about 2 more chapters left after this one :D Happy Reading!!
Two seconds, maybe three, that's how long it took me to turn on my heel and make a beeline for Kieran's room. Once I was inside, I closed the door faster than I imagined possible.
Done.
That was exactly how I felt. Finished with having a head filled with questions no one ever wanted to give me answers to.
With my back against the door, I quietly repeated the words I just shouted. Over and over, because I couldn't quite believe I actually spoke them out loud. Was Don aware I didn't really mean them? Was he going to be done with me now? Was this how families worked?
One hand balled in a fist by my side, I pressed the palm of my other hand against my forehead to push back the beginning of a headache. Why did everything in my life have to be so complicated?
The sound of a hitched breath drew my attention to the bed, to Kieran. At first, I didn't dare move a muscle, afraid I'd wake him. Afraid of what I would say. Afraid of the pulsing ache in my chest and what it meant. But then I shrugged off all the fear, because none of it mattered. Kieran was hurt. And despite his still form, he looked like he might have been in a lot of pain.
The cotton sheet reached only to his abdomen, showing where he was injured. A piece of gauze was taped on his chest, and I spotted more gauze below his ribs on the left and also even lower, on his side. His left arm was bandaged from wrist to neck. The exposed skin was swollen, black and blue. And Kieran's face...
"Oh God," I muttered, tiptoeing to his side. My hand hovered over his head, wanting to touch it but too afraid even the softest of brushes would be too painful for his overly bruised skin. The picture was wrong, all wrong. Kieran was a lively, energetic and charismatic person. Not this motionless body with labored breathing. He shouldn't look so hurt and fragile, beaten in all the senses of the word... and I couldn't help but feel that I was to blame.
Anna entered the room without knocking several hours later. Or maybe it were minutes. She didn't say anything at first as she rounded the bed and lifted the sheet on Kieran's good side.
"Come on."
"I-I can't."
"Yes you do, sweetheart. You have to stay strong. This is what it all comes down to, you to be there for him when he needs you." Anna swallowed loudly. "And right now, he needs you."
"But I'll only hurt him. He looks like he's in so much pain already."
She shook her head. "He's heavily sedated and he probably has more painkillers in him than he has blood left rushing through his veins."
Yet, I didn't move, even though there was nothing I wanted to do more than to crawl in bed with him, have him wrap his arms around me and listen to him as he assured me that everything was going to turn out just fine.
"This is all very new to you, still, and I know you don't understand the mechanics and why physical contact influences the healing process at all, but trust me on this. He needs you now, more than ever, and it would mean a lot to him if you would do this. You'll find that it'll help you too, in a way. Give it a try, at least, and if you haven't noticed any change in a few hours, you're free to go."
'But I don't want to go' is what I wanted to say, yet I didn't. Nodding, I did as Anna asked and I moved to her side. As I bent down to remove my shoes, I was shocked to realize I wasn't wearing any. Kieran had been my only focus when I left the house and I never even noticed I crossed town on my socks. With one knee on the mattress, I hesitated.
"It's okay, Seda. Just get comfortable and don't worry, I promise, he won't feel a thing. You won't be able to hurt him."
So I did as I was told. Trying to rock the bed as little as possible, I lay down and held my breath. Kieran didn't even flinch. Even though I made sure our bodies didn't touch, the heat of his body still radiated strong enough to calm the shivers that ran all over me.
Anna's face wore a contented smile as she lowered the sheet and tucked us in. Instead of checking on Kieran, she ran a hand through my hair and placed a kiss on my forehead before she turned and left the room, quietly closing the door behind her.
In silence and stiff as a board, I lay next to Kieran. The skin on my face felt tight from tears I didn't know I had shed, but that didn't keep more tears from running down my cheeks, slowly filling my ears.
The touch of fingers, brushing my cheekbones lighter than if a butterfly were to land on my face, is what caused my eyes -- eyes that were itchy with dried tears -- to flutter open. As I came back to, the second thing I noticed was Kieran's body and his warmth. The space between our bodies no longer existed, in fact, at some point during my slumber, I must have wrapped my body around Kieran's to get as close to him as physically possible.
Looking up from his shoulder, I found his eyes open -- or as far as he was able to open them in their swollen condition -- and already on me.
"Hey," I whispered, feeling my throat close up again. "You're awake."
Kieran smiled at me -- or was it a grimace caused by pain?
"How long?"
He slowly bent his head to place a gentle kiss on my forehead before he replied with a hoarse voice. "A while. An hour?"
"Has your mom been in yet? To check on you?"
"She just left."
"What did she say?"
Kieran tried to shrug but quickly gave up when it seemed to be too painful. "Looking good, she said."
"Good?" I leaned back to have a better look at his face. Not much good to see there, and as my eyes drifted down to his chest and fell on all the gauze and bruises, one of my eyebrows shot up. "She thinks you're looking good? Kieran, I've never seen anyone in worse shape than you right now."
"Ouch!" Kieran smiled, and this time I was sure it was an amused smile and not one caused by pain because it was accompanied by a chuckle that vibrated against my hand where it rested on his chest, between two giant bruises and far away from gauze. "You're hurting my ego."
"Well, to be honest, when I look at you, your ego seems to be the only part of you that isn't hurting already."
This earned me another half-attempted shrug and a smile that squeezed his swollen eyes entirely shut.
Blowing out a deep breath, I gently lifted my hand from his chest and brought it to his face, where I oh-so-carefully cupped his face. Our gazes locked and I was unable to look away. "How bad is the pain?"
"Probably looks worse than it is."
"Doubtful."
"But true."
"I still don't believe you, but I'll pretend I do."
His thumb copied my fingers as they brushed between the worst bruising on his face, slowly mapping the skin that wasn't scraped raw, black, or swollen. The touch of his warm skin against my cheek sent tingles all the way to my toes, and I almost became oblivious to Kieran's injuries and why I was here, in his bed, eager to touch him. Almost. But not completely.
"What happened to you?" I breathed against his skin, his own breath fanning my face as he just stared back at me. Not speaking, just staring. So I repeated my question, even softer this time. "What happened?"
"You shouldn't --"
A knock interrupted Kieran and before either of us had the time to invite the visitor in, the door opened.
"Your mom told us you're awake," Kieran's dad said, waltzing into the room like he owned it -- which he probably did -- followed by Eric. Another shadow lingered outside the door but didn't enter so I didn't know who it was, not that it mattered much.
The two brothers crowded the room, but Kieran didn't seem to mind. Although, he did try to sit up.
"Hey!" I put light pressure against Kieran's shoulder to get him to give up and lie down again. The way he clenched his jaws together would cost him several teeth if he didn't stop fighting to hide the pain he was in. "Lie down, you'll hurt yourself."
Kieran's eyes met mine and in them, I found something I didn't want to find at the moment. Determination. Stubborn determination to not show weakness in front of his father and uncle. Boys were idiots. Period. Although, they could be crazy sweet as well. The gentle way Kieran had held and caressed my face while he was the one hurting, proved as much. So, I figured, there was something that trumped male pride, and I knew just what to do.
Leaning on my elbow, I moved closer to Kieran's ear and whispered. "Please? Lie back down so I can stay close to you?"
Ah yes. The female pout. It beat male pride every single time.
The corners of my lips sprung up when Kieran touched his lips to my forehead and gave in. When he lay down again, I felt his body relax and my grin grew even bigger. A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I slipped my arm over Kieran's chest and snuggled closer. This was good... but then I remembered we weren't alone and my eyes snapped back open. Before I could start wondering why Kieran's dad and uncle were fighting back smiles, the laughter disappeared from their eyes and a seriousness took over.
"Do you remember what happened?" Kieran's dad asked, looking to his son. Unlike what I was sure Kieran expected, his dad, nor uncle, looked like they thought any less of Kieran because he was injured and hadn't been able to sit up without showing the pain he felt.
Next to me, Kieran sighed. "Some of it. Well, most of it. Up to a certain moment, that is."
"Good," his dad said, nodding his head once. "Why don't you tell us what you remember and we'll figure out the rest."
Kieran looked down at me. "Are you sure you want to stay for this?"
"Of course! I'm a big girl."
"Fine, but if it gets too much, I won't think any less of you for going downstairs or something. I'm sure Mom would love to get you something to eat, or something."
"Thanks, but I'm staying. Now, go on and tell your dad and your uncle..." and me "...what happened."
"She's right, Son. The faster we know what happened, the faster we can deal with it."
"Okay, so... this evening when I was on my way back home, I decided to go for a run first. You know, to tire myself out because... well, uhm... that doesn't matter. Thinking it wouldn't hurt if I ran the perimeter and double-checked everything was clear, I entered the woods at the end of Don's street. You know, run full circle, start and end near Don's place before I went home. The second I passed the tree line, something came at me from the side. I didn't have enough time to move to keep him from crashing into me full force."
Eric uncrossed his feet and took a step away from the wall he had been leaning against. "Who was it?"
Kieran didn't have to answer that for me to know who was behind his injuries.
"Samuel."
My gut-feeling had been right after all. Kieran had gotten hurt because of me. It was my fault that Kieran was in pain. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from asking questions and to keep the guilty tears at bay.
Kieran's dad shook his head. "Are you sure?"
"Yes. It was the same guy from the photos you showed us during our last meeting. Samuel was hiding in the woods, just outside Don's house. He could have gotten to her at any moment and we never would have seen it coming."
"You gave him as good as you got?" Eric wanted to know, clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly.
Kieran hesitated before he answered his uncle in a somewhat defeated tone. "Not quite. Unlike him, I didn't carry a knife and I didn't have the element of surprise."
Knife? I bit my cheek harder.
"He jumped me, but I fought back. He didn't walk away unscratched, that's for sure. He shifted back and forth while I hadn't even been able to do it once. He's damn fast, I'll tell you that."
"Did he say anything?"
I felt Kieran nod. "Seda's his, or so the bastard thinks. He must have been watching from the shadows for a while because he knew Seda and I had gone out for a walk this afternoon. He wasn't exactly happy. Even accused me of tainting her. But he didn't care, he said. He didn't care about any of it and once he had Seda, he would make her his and she'd never look twice at me again. He'd make sure of that."
"Psycho," Kieran's dad grunted trough his teeth before he shook his head once and focused on his son again. "What else did he say? Or what happened next? Do you remember anything else, anything at all?"
"In order to get him to spill his plans, I played weak. Like he'd beaten me up worse than he actually had at that point. Only problem with that tactic? He kept beating me and a few of his hits and punches landed damned hard. At some point, I think I hit my head on a rock or a branch because everything got hazy and I had trouble thinking straight."
A metallic taste spread in my mouth, but I didn't say a word.
"When he mentioned Seda's name one last time and shifted back to wolf, the fog cleared in my head and I hit back with the first solid thing I could get my hands on. Whatever it was, it knocked him out, I think, so that's when I knew I had to act while I was ahead of him."
Tears pooled in my eyes but I refused to let them spill. Instead I gazed up and in my blurry vision, I saw how Eric nodded. "You turned and ran to Seda, to make sure she was safe."
It wasn't a question.
"Not so much ran as limped and stumbled, but yeah, I had to make sure she was safe. Not to mention, I had to warn Don about Samuel. I don't remember much else, it's all pretty hazy. I don't even remember making it to Don's place."
"That's because I found you bleeding out on Don's front lawn." Eric explained, pacing the length of the room. "By the time Don opened the door and we carried you inside, you were fading in and out of consciousness. The moment you really opened your eyes and saw us, you must've still been in fight mode and considered us a threat because you shifted faster than I've ever seen you shift before. We struggled to get you out back before you wrecked Don's living room and he'd have to redecorate...again. The twins showed up and helped to keep you from harming yourself even worse. You just wouldn't calm down. You're damned strong if you want to be, Kid. At one point, you fought off the twins and Don, and from the force, you hurled yourself right through the backdoor, smack into Seda so it--"
At this news, Kieran sucked in a breath and turned to me. "I hurt you?"
I shook my head, partially to keep the tears from falling, but also because compared to the extant of his injuries, mine were nothing to worry about. For real, I barely felt my hip, and my cheek, well, was only like a mosquito bite compared to Kieran's eyes.
Swollen eyes or not, he looked right through me. "Where? Where did I hurt you?"
"My hip, but I barely feel it anymore. You knocked me to the floor, that's all. Barely worth mentioning." And then as an afterthought, I lifted my face and turned away to show him the left side. "And my cheek. The door, I guess, hit me here but it doesn't hurt."
"It's bruising. How did I not notice earlier? I'm so sorry, gosh, I'm sorry I hurt you."
Shifting closer into his embrace again, to keep him from freaking out, I craned my neck to meet his eyes. "Don't worry about me. It was only a bump. You were the one who fought of a psycho with a knife."
Kieran didn't say anything in return, but his expression was pained, and I was pretty sure it didn't have anything to do with his physical injuries. The warmth of his breath as it brushed over my skin, the intensity of his eyes as they held me captivated, the touch of his skin as he traced two fingers up and down the side of my face... it made me want him to close the small space between us...it was enough to make me forget where I was and who else was in the room with us. So when the sound of voices trickled into my awareness, I wanted to move back, create some space between Kieran and myself. He, however, disagreed. With a grunt, he kept my face in place. When I wanted to tell him we weren't alone, his thumb moved to my lips and put soft pressure on them before I could utter a single word.
As I lay there in Kieran's arms, not allowed to move or speak -- not that I was going to complain -- I listened to Kieran's mom ordering his dad and uncle out of the room. When she had joined us, I couldn't tell. Kieran's dad and uncle complied with little arguing and before Kieran's mom followed them out the door, she paused and faced us.
"Didn't I tell you, Seda, to believe in the power of the Entwined Fates?"
Entwined Fates?
But before I had the chance to ask her what she was talking about, she'd already left the room and closed the door behind her. Yes, she mentioned something about being near to Kieran and how that would help him and maybe myself...but what was she going on about now?
"Kieran? What does your mom mean? What are these Fates? Why are they--"
"I was so afraid I wouldn't get to you in time -- I've never been so afraid in my life."
"I'm fine, really. But what does your mom mean with Fates?"
Perhaps he was too far gone in his own mind, but he didn't seem to hear my question. Instead of replying, he moved his face even closer -- our foreheads and noses now touching.
"Couldn't lose you..." he murmured and brushed his lips against mine -- he did it swift and soft and it didn't last nearly long enough. A kiss that only lasted a heartbeat was enough to silence the voices in my head, the questions that swirled around my mind. And just like that, his breathing grew slow and even, and Kieran's hand slowly slid from my cheek to my shoulder.
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