Desi
I burst through the front door of my suite, my eyes sweeping across the empty living room. I slammed the door behind me and ran through the room, my feet pounding into the wooden floor.
"Cody?!" My voice was frantic as I yelled his name, my head constantly spinning around. I glanced to the open bedroom door, knowing that I had closed it when I'd left earlier. My heart beat nervously in my chest as I walked to the bedroom, stopping completely as my arms braced the door frame, trying to hold myself up.
There he was, sitting on the bed, his hands bracing his legs, his eyes already looking towards the door before I'd been there. His eyes were wet with tears, filling more and more as our gaze stayed locked.
"Desi..." Cody whispered, his voice slightly shaking.
My legs quivered underneath me when his voice touched my ears, sending chills down my spine. My face contorted as a sob escaped from my chest.
"I can't believe it's you," I said, trying to see him clearly through the tears that blurred my vision. "How?" My mouth stayed open, wanting to form more words, but my voice broke.
"Nothing could ever keep me from getting to you Desi." His voice was still quiet, as if he was finding trouble speaking too. "I knew I'd find you."
My eyes trailed over his silver ones, down to the stubble that now grew along his jaw. Scratches lined his neck and his hands, the rest of him covered with black, the same uniform the guards wear.
"Wait," I said, my eyes rising back to meet his. "Why are you dressed--"
"I told you," Cody said cutting me off. "Nothing could stop me. Especially not the guard I took this uniform from."
Slowly he stood up off of the bed never taking his eyes from mine. I was paralyzed in the doorway, my hands still bracing the cool wooden frame, unable to move as he stepped towards me.
My lungs struggled for air as Cody stood in front of me, our teary eyes both staring into each other's. Slowly, as if I might disappear, he brought his hand up to my face, his fingertips grazing my cheek, avoiding the stitches.
"What have they done to you?" Cody asked, his quiet voice filled with emotion.
"Everything," I whispered in defeat, my head dropping down, letting a tear drop onto the floor.
Cody's fingers touched my chin, lightly pulling my face up to look at him. His eyes were even closer than before, his breath hot on my face. His lips lightly touched mine before pulling back to look at me. His eyes quickly scanned my face taking a quick breath before speaking.
"God, I've missed you so much," Cody whispered, crashing his lips hard into mine again.
My arms wrapped around his neck as his wrapped around my waist, pulling me close to him, not letting anything separate us anymore. His fire spread through my lips, seeping into my bones, every part of my body wanting more and more of him. Tears streamed down both of our faces, drenching our cheeks.
I pressed my body closer to his, making him step backwards towards the bed. As soon as his foot hit the floor, Cody doubled back in pain, lurching away from me, his hands wrapping around his calf.
"Cody?" I asked frantically, bending down to his level, my hand resting on his shoulder. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
Cody lifted his head up to look at me, his face flushed. "I'm fine," He glanced quickly away from me, trying to hide his lie. Slowly, as if it was hard to do, he straightened his body holding his hands out for me to grab.
My fingers laced with his, my eyes filled with fretful tears as I took in the pain sketched across his face. He pulled me back to him, his face burrowing down into my hair, taking deep breaths in and out of his nose.
The click of the front door, made me tear away from Cody, my head spinning to look behind me. As the door began to creak open I clenched Cody's shirt in my fists, whispering as urgently as I could.
"Get in the closet, now," I told him, hoping my eyes would tell him that he was in danger.
Tightening his jaw, he limped as quickly as he could towards the closet, trying to contain his scream of pain.
As the closet door slid shut, I could smell her perfume, stinging my nose, making me feel sick to my stomach.
"Desiree," Vivian said behind me. I looked over my shoulder, eying her standing in the doorway, her fiery red hair shining back at me.
"Vivian," I replied, turning around to face her. The red of her dress was only a shade darker than her hair, making her seem more demonic than usual.
"You know that if I had my way you would be dead right?" Vivian asked, her head cocking to the side.
"Yes," I said through my teeth. "The same goes for me, you know that right?"
Vivian's eyes narrowed at me as she leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms over her chest. "As much as it pain's me to say this.." Her voice trailed off, trying to hold off whatever she was going to say. "Turner wanted me to tell you that you did a great job tonight."
I snorted, blown away by their audacity. "Well gee," I said sarcastically. "Thanks."
Vivian's eyes rolled as she stepped back on one heel, turning to walk towards the living room and hopefully through the front door. "Remember though," She said, her voice singing. "I'm watching you."
A shiver swept down my spine as I glanced at the closet out of the corner of my eye. My heart was so focused on the door behind those sliding doors, I could practically see him behind them, not even hearing the door as it clicked shut and Vivian left the suite.
When I knew I was alone I stepped towards Cody's hiding spot, ready to tear him out of the closet and fold myself into his arms again, letting me know that this was all real, that he wasn't dead. Feeling like I was in a dream, I took another step, stopping short as the front door slammed open, banging against the wall.
"Desiree," A voice said loudly, as quick footsteps made their way to the bedroom. My terror ceased when I recognized the voice of my new visitor.
"Ryder," I said as he stepped through the doorway, his eyes searching the room for me. The usual calm I had felt when seeing him, turned into a big bundle of nerves boiling inside of me.
"You scared the hell out of me," He said, closing the distance between us and wrapping me up in his arms. "What were you looking at? Why'd you stop? Why'd you run?" Ryder's questions babbled in my ear, leaving no gap for me to actually answer them before he went on to the next one.
Over the stream of questions, I heard the sliding of the closet door. My body jerked and my head spun to glance at the door, waiting for him to step into the light.
Ryder's arms fell limply away from my body as his head slowly turned to follow mine. Cody stepped out, his eyes finding mine immediately, my heart fluttering at the sight of him. I could feel Ryder's gaze fall back onto me for a moment before turning his attention back to Cody.
Ryder's body tensed next to me, his fists clenching at his sides. My eyes locked onto his, glaring at Cody, taking in the clothes he was wearing. His sudden tension clicked together in my mind and I recognized the hostile look in his eyes.
"No, Ryder," I pleaded, grasping his arm with both of my hands, trying to hold him back but he just shrugged his arm away. I scrambled as he stepped forward, knowing I wouldn't be able to stop him, just like I wouldn't have been able to stop him the night he killed that guard.
"Stop!" I screamed as he stepped forward again, his arms bowing out to his sides.
I spared a glance towards Cody who was still standing in the same spot, his expression filled with anger, with malice, a look I had never seen from him before.
Everything seemed to flow in slow motion as Ryder continued to make his way towards Cody, his arms raising to grab him, my feet stumbling on the floor as I tried to follow and interfere. Cody raised his fist bringing time back to speed as his knuckles connected with Ryder's jaw, snapping his head backwards.
Ryder brought his hand to face, rubbing his jaw, his other hand tightened into a fist, ready to return Cody's blow. I stepped in front of him, my hands resting on his chest, my eyes looking deeply into his.
"Ryder," I said quietly. "It's Cody. It's Cody." I put emphasis on his name, hoping to convey my message.
Ryder's eyes widened, glancing from me to Cody with shock on his face. His mouth opened to speak but he snapped it shut as he looked back down at me. A wave of disappointment rushed over his features, his eyes suddenly looking sad as he understood what this meant for him and I.
A yell filled with pain sounded in my ear and I spun my head around to see Cody grasping his calf again. Dropping my hands from Ryder's chest I went to Cody's side, my arm wrapping around his shoulders. I could feel Ryder's eyes watching us as I helped Cody to the bed and rolled up the hem of his pants.
My eyes bulged out of my head and my stomach felt queasy as I looked at Cody's bare calf. A ring of red stood inflamed on his skin, dripping with blood and puss.
"Cody," I whispered, struggling to speak. "This bite... it's severely infected."
Cody, taking deep breaths through his nose now, nodded his head. "I know," He said, his words cracking as he spoke. "The pain has been getting worse. But I couldn't let myself stop. I had to keep going. I had to find you, no matter what the cost." His eyes were locked with mine, looking down at me while I knelt below him.
I raised myself up, kissing him lightly on the lips before turning to look at Ryder, who was lost in his thoughts, staring out the window.
"Ryder," I said, snapping him out of it. He glanced towards me, his eyes glistening. "We need to get him to Doc."
Without saying a word he nodded his head and walked towards the bed. Cody stood up on his good leg, letting his right one dangle underneath him. When Ryder grabbed Cody's arm to drape it over his shoulder, Cody tensed, his head snapping to glare at him.
"It's cool man," Ryder said calmly. "I'm only helping you."
Cody's body relaxed as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, my hand reaching up to lace my fingers with his, my other arm wrapping around his waist.
As we hobbled to the bedroom door and out into the suite Cody stopped.
"Durbin," He said, looking at me. "We have to get him."
"Durbin?" Ryder and I both asked at the same time.
"He's alive," Cody replied. "He helped me get here."
"I'm not sure I--" I started to say.
"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him," Cody interrupted me. "I would be dead."
That was all he needed to say, letting us continue our way to Doc's. Ryder volunteered to go get him and Cody described what he looked like.
"I left him guarding the front doors of the hotel," Cody said as we stopped at Doc's door.
Ryder nodded his head, turning the doorknob and leading us inside. As soon as we got him to the cot in the corner of the room, Ryder shoved his hands into his pockets and walked back out the door, my eyes watching him the entire time even though my life was back and sitting right in front of me.