When they finally came in sight of houses, both teenagers were relieved. Alex was sweating heavily, arms aching with the effort of holding up the girl. Even though she was tiny, he’d been carrying most of her weight for ages, and he was panting as he pushed open his own gate and hauled her up the steps of the house.
“Hasn’t changed much” Bree muttered, her skin was a faint green colour. She collapsed. Alex caught her, gasping as his biceps strained, he tried to steady her, but her legs couldn’t seem to straighten, so he wrapped his arm behind her knees, another around her waist. He hoisted her into his arms, gritting his teeth at the protesting of his tired body.
Her head lolled onto his shoulder, breathing ragged and heavy, her lips parted, cheeks flushed and eyes closed. Her face was the only thing that got him moving in a mechanical fashion.
He managed to get her into the living room, where he laid her gently on the sofa, sliding a cushion under her head as he did. He fell onto the floor beside her, wincing as his knees connected with the wood.
“Bree” he laid his hand on her cheek, stroking gently, he couldn’t help himself. Her eyes fluttered open, her chest rising and falling quicker than it should.
“Pansy” she wheezed.
He stood, giving her cheek another stroke before rushing into the kitchen, he wrung a clean cloth under the tap and got a glass of water, then moved quickly back into the living, swashing water onto the floor as he did.
He arranged the cloth on her forehead after running it over her flushed cheeks.
“Here, drink this” he tipped the glass against her lips, and she willingly chugged down a few mouthfuls, but after three or four swigs, she gagged. He hastily pulled it away, and rubbed her back as she sat up, heaving. With some effort she seemed to keep it down, and slumped back against the pillows again.
“What can I do?” Alex urged. Her eyes opened again to stare at him, a light frown lighting her face. But Alex was clearly panicking. Her wounds were far beyond his healing ability, the best he could do was aspirin. “I’ll have to call my mum” he muttered, resigning himself to it. If he didn’t, Bree would die for sure. But then if he did, she could go back to Crickly. As soon as he said it however, her eyes surged open.
Her hand shot out and latched around his collar, pulling him forward. It wasn’t a yank, more a tug. But still, he buckled under her hold.
“Don’t” she gasped “You cant. She’ll hand me in, Pansy” Bree rushed, eyes wide and, Alex thought… even scared.
“But you’ll die” Alex whimpered. Bree shook her head, her hand slipping from his clothes to his cheek, and he leaned into it, almost automatically.
“There’s someone you can take me to” she whispered. Alex’s eyes widened, and he was shaking his head before her lips stopped moving. “Listen!” she ordered, eyes hardening “His name is Kieran Bishop.”
“I know him” Alex muttered, nodding.
“He was a friend of my mother. He was like an uncle to me when I was younger. And he wrote to me while I was at Crickly. He told me if I ever got out, he’d look after me. That’s who I would of gone to if I was ever released” Bree’s words were slipping in and out of volume. She was getting worse and Alex was scared.
He didn’t really know why. He’d only found the girl yesterday and in that time she’d attacked him, hit him and basically just scared the shit out of him. But even so, he was still holding out hope. He needed to believe that Bree Treven, the girl and not the murderess, was still in there. He’d seen glimpses of her so far, but not much, not enough. And he wasn’t willing to give up yet.
“Okay” he mumbled. She smiled.
He helped her into a sitting position, then he went to the window, checking that the car was in the driveway, it was. He remembered his mother telling him she was getting a lift to work, and silently thanked whoever had offered to take her in.
He got the keys from the small table in the hallway, and then he went back to retrieve Bree.
“You cant carry me out” she told him quietly as they got to the door, he was holding her up, steadying her.
“You cant walk” he scoffed.
“Check the street” she ordered, he nodded and propped her up against the nearest wall, then he hurried out, sweeping the street quickly, no sign of people, but then, his neighbours were some of the nosiest, his mother said all the time. He couldn’t trust the fact that no one was watching, even if no one was on the street.
“Clear” he told her when he retreated back indoors.
She nodded, and allowed him to pull her back into a vertical position, he manoeuvred her outside and then he froze.
In the house directly opposite, his neighbour, who his mother called ‘The Old Bat Betty’ had just exited her house, and had now taken a seat on her front porch, a glass of what looked suspiciously like brandy in her withered hand. Her aged grey eyes turned on them.
Alex’s heart thumped unevenly in his chest, but Bree’s face remained smooth as she stepped away and took his hand instead, Alex was so shocked he froze yet again, but she tugged on his hand, and finally resorted to digging her jagged nails into his flesh to get him moving again.
“Talk to me” Bree hissed as they paused to lock the door, Alex had barely started talking when she let out a laugh, it was loud, a girlish giggle that had Alex glancing at her and grinning.
“Kiss me” she hissed again.
“What?” he squawked, she rolled her eyes at him, then she reached up, her hand snaking around his neck. He pulled in a sharp breath as she pulled him down, their lips met. Alex’s heart thumped uneasily, and he hardly felt his hands find her waist, resting gently on the curves of her hips. Bree did the kissing, moving her lips moving smoothly with his, disconnecting and then reconnecting again and again. Alex felt his stomach lurch as her fingers teased the skin at the back of his neck.
Then she was pulling away, twisting from his grip, Alex felt himself lean forward, searching for more. There was the faintest of chuckles as she stepped back, she took his hand again and he shook off the trance-like state she’d put him in. He helped her down the stairs, The Old Bat Betty had diverted her eyes, although they kept flickering to the two of them. Two minutes later though they were in the car and on their way.
“What was that about?” Alex asked, breathlessly. Bree had untangled her hand as soon as she was in the car, and he couldn’t help the slithering of rejection that gripping his ribcage, even though he knew it was stupid.
“People don’t like looking at intimate situations.” Bree stated, but her voice sounded faint, Alex hoped desperately that it was just the roar of the truck beneath them, but he wasn’t stupid, and he felt his chest hurting. “She was looking, so I made her look away” Bree continued, she turned to Alex with a small smile that made his chest swell.
“Well, could you… warn me, the next time?” he threw her a glance, and quickly looked away when he met her knowing emerald stare.
“Next time?” she quirked a brow at him, and Alex felt heat rising in his cheeks, he didn’t reply, and he heard the same patronizing chuckle emit from her when she came to the conclusion he wouldn’t speak.
They arrived at their destination not too long later, and Bree winced as Alex parked the car shakily. She was bleeding, Alex could see the black leggings darkening around her thigh.
“Shall I carry you?” Alex asked uncertainly as he parked in the doctor’s driveway, he felt bad, intruding, but he couldn’t drag the injured girl across the street.
“No, go to him first-” she’d just started to mumble, voice weak, when the house to the door opened, and the doctor stepped out.
He was a young man. Good looking Alex supposed, with chin length golden hair, pale skin and hazel eyes that were cool and calculating. He approached the truck with a weary expression and Alex felt himself gulping. He may have been a doctor, but Mr Bishop wasn’t a small man, not exactly the nerdy type with glasses. He was well built and had an air of authority about him.
Alex slid out of the car, making sure to block the view of Bree as the doctor approached.
“May I be of service?” Kieran Bishop asked, his voice calm, but his eyes were narrowed in suspicion. Alex realised he must have been in his twenties, surely. Maybe early thirties.
“I-…” Alex stuttered, trying to find the right words. The doctor rose an eyebrow. “You knew Bree Treven, didn’t you?” Alex found himself blurting, and fought the urge to clamp a hand to his mouth.
Mr Bishop didn’t respond right away, but then his fists clenched, his hazel eyes flashing with anger.
“Yes I knew her.” Mr Bishop snapped through gritted teeth “And if you’re wondering if I know where she is, I don’t. Did your father send you? Trying to hunt her down?” he glared at Alex.
“No!” the goth exclaimed, horrified at the concept “I don’t know my father” he stuttered out.
“Boo hoo” the man glowered at the younger boy, his tone far from sympathetic “Get off my property” Mr Bishop jerked his head towards the open road.
“I cant do that, sir” Alex mumbled, dragging a hand through his hair.
“Excuse me?” Mr Bishop growled, eyes alight with anger as he took a threatening step forward.
“You’d help her, wouldn’t you?” Alex stammered, quickly, trying to get the words out “You’d help her if she needed you?” he demanded, the doctor paused, intrigued.
“I would” was his firm reply.
“And you’d protect her? From everyone?” Alex asked, voice stronger as he realised, he would. Alex knew then that he would do just that, protect her, help her, do anything for her.
“I would” was the same reply.
“She needs help, sir” Alex said, his voice desperate as he moved his body to the side ever so slightly, giving the doctor a glimpse of the girl inside.
“Is that-?” the doctor gasped, lurching forward, Alex moved instantly, blocking his path to Bree.
“It is” Alex said, his voice hard. “She’s injured, and she needs help. But I need to know you wont do anything, call the police, for instance” he stared at the doctor, young and handsome, his face a mask of bewildered disbelief.
“I wouldn’t” Mr Bishop shook his head, in a daze, then he looked up at Alex, and his eyes emptied of the dizzy look they had contained a moment before. “I’ll help her as best I can. And I’ll hide her too” he nodded his head, voice set and firm once more.
Alex studied him for a moment, torn. What if Kieran Bishop decided to call the police? If he decided to go out of his way and let her die while trying to heal her? Alex felt sick at the concept, but Bree was hurting, and Alex’s chest constricted as he thought of her in pain. She needed to be fixed, and she seemed to think Kieran Bishop was the only one to do it.
Alex sighed as he moved out of the way, the doctor surged forwards, yanking open the door and leaning into the interior of the car.
“Bree?” he gasped, his hands going to her face, littered with scratches and bruises.
“Kieran” she smiled at him, and Alex felt a pang of something in his chest, it took him a moment to realise what it was, because he felt it so little, but when he identified it, he felt his face go blank. It was jealousy. He frowned. Why would he feel that?
But he already knew the answer. He was jealous at the way her face broke into a grin, even if it was a painful one, when she laid eyes on the young man. She didn’t instantly smile when she saw Alex. He scowled.
“What did they do to you?” Kieran was demanding, his hands on her thigh and at the patch of darkened material.
“Just shot, no big deal” she said dryly. The doctor gave a snort of disgust.
“Come on, lets get you inside” he helped her from the car and then he guided her arm around his shoulders, taking on most of her body weight.
They had taken a few shuddering steps before Bree paused, looking back, a frown creasing her brow as her eyes came to rest on Alex, the vivid green confused.
“Pansy?” she questioned, and her hand twitched at her side, then it lifted, reaching towards him, silently.
He slammed the car door before approaching her, she inspected him as he slouched forward, and when he reached her, her hand came out to clamp on a fistful of his shirt, she tugged it a little, then her hand dropped again. She nodded at the doctor to start moving again.
Alex watched tensely as she hissed and groaned every time she was moved, and he couldn’t help thinking he could have moved her gentler. He would have just picked her up, even if it had hurt him he would have. She would have protested, he guessed, but still.
They entered the doctor’s home, not small, but not overly large either. Comfortable, but it looked barely lived in. Clean, too clean to belong to a young man. Alex sniffed as he looked around, unimpressed.
The doctor awkwardly manoeuvred the girl into the living room, arranging her on the couch in what looked like an uncomfortable heap. Alex moved forward then, frustrated at how he’d positioned her.
Alex’s hands brushed over her skin lightly, arranging her quickly but more efficiently, Bree watched him through half closed eyes, and Alex tried to ignore the eyes of Kieran he could feel on his back.
Alex moved her so she was laid straight, her legs propped on the couch cushions, and he lifted her gently to pile cushions beneath her back, so she could at least see what was going on.
“Thank you” the girl murmured when he stepped back, looking down as she sighed in relief, finally comfortable. Her hand searched, and closed around the hem of his shirt, she tugged on it, then let her hand fall onto her stomach. Alex smiled, a normal person would have squeezed his hand when they wanted to show emotion towards him, but not Bree, of course. She just pulled on his clothes. He let out a low chuckle, only audible to his ears. So he thought anyway, because a second after, her closed eyelids fluttered open and found his face.
She frowned at him, silently asking the question of what was so funny. He shook his head, a warm smile on his lips. She scowled at him, probably annoyed at his reply. His smirk widened, so she introduced him to her middle finger. He let out a bark of a laugh. She rolled her eyes, and settled back into the pillows, eyelids sliding shut. But as he watched her chest evening, her breathing becoming shallower, more peaceful, he noted the small, tender smile on her lips.
************
Meep that was kind of cute. Thanks for reading :3