CHAPTER FOURTEEN.
i'll be there for you.
━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━
Sage and Murphy were no longer on the shore and had moved up further towards some foliage, a strategy Sage suggested to avoid battling with the high tide when it emerged. The pair had also taken care of their injuries, with the little makeshift equipment still carried by Sage.
They laid in the foliage for a while, both resting after tending to their wounds. Murphy slept for awhile, during this peaceful time, Sage took it is a chance to braid the boy's hair, not realising how long it had grown during the past week or so.
During his slumber, Sage took the time to watch the ocean or whatever body it was before her. She gazed at it for god knows how long, awestruck at the sight of the moonlight glistening over the frightening but somehow mesmerising waves overlapping each other. It didn't matter that it was still her biggest fear, she had to admit it was stunning.
The boy stirred in her lap, causing her to sit up slightly. He gazed up at her with such admiration, Sage felt her neck involuntarily heat up.
"Hey." She greeted softly, pushing back a few pieces of hair from his forehead.
Murphy didn't say anything but simply hummed in response. His eyes fluttered shut and he manoeuvred his head so it wasn't in her lap but now pressed against her stomach, as if he needed to be closer to her.
"What time is it?" He questioned, manoeuvring his body into a more comfortable position.
"I'm not sure, around dawn though. The sun's coming up." Sage informed him, her eyes drifting to the water which was formerly graced with the moonlight but was now painted in apricot tones as the sun peeked cheekily on the horizon.
"Mmhmm."
"I'm still pissed at Jaha." Murphy muttered bitterly, still refusing to lift his head from her lap.
"Honestly I'm not surprised. I had a feeling he'd betray us." Sage shrugged, continuing to play with his oily hair.
"And you're okay with that?" He questioned, addressing her seemingly nonchalant attitude.
"I'm used to it." She shrugged again, not meeting his eyes despite being fully aware they were focused on her.
"You're used to being betrayed?" Murphy asked softly, although he already knew the response she would give.
"Betrayed, let down, forgotten. You name it." She listed sadly, fully aware how pathetic she sounded.
Murphy was silent for a moment, unsure how to approach the girl and her situation. "You don't deserve that." He muttered. Sage looked away.
"No Sage, really you don't." He continued. He pushed himself up, not longer laying in her lap, removing the warmth along with it. His hand made its way to her chin, gently lifting it in order to meet her eyes.
"I know you give more than you get. I've known for a long time and I've told you how much it annoys me. I know you deserve great things, you don't deserve to be treated like you're disposable. And yet you are. I don't know why people do it to you but I'm sick of it. So I wanna do something about it." He stated determinedly.
Sage looked down in her lap, finding the boy's bloodied hands, clasping around her own tightly.
"I want to be the person who finally gives you back everything you give to other people. I want you to feel loved and appreciated and like the things you do for other people are actually worth it. You've been through too much and deserve the world. I wish I could give you the world, I know I can't but I really, really want to try." Murphy explained all in one breath, not daring to look away from the teary eyed girl.
She didn't know why she was welling up, but her eyes brimmed with tears, still not spilling until she pulled the boy into a crushing hug. She hadn't been spoken to like that in years, not since her parents passed.
"Sage," He began.
"Yeah?" She asked softly.
"I care about you. So much." He whispered, brushing his fingers gently across her cheekbone.
"You mean so much to me Murphy, we've been through a lot together and I trust you more than anyone, you've been there and you're the only person who I really feel okay with. Thank you. I care about you more than you know." She smiled softly.
Murphy sent the girl a half smirk but Sage could tell by his eyes that her words touched him and he hadn't been told those things in a while.
"Get some sleep." Murphy advised, pushing himself up against a close tree trunk and motioning to his empty lap.
Sage remained silent but smiled gratefully. She laid herself down in his lap, apologising when her curls got tangled in his jacket zipper. At this he simply chuckled and assured her it was fine.
For a while Sage found it difficult to sleep, she didn't know why and she didn't remember the last time she slept therefore it confused her. She supposed it had something to do with the fact that she couldn't remove the image of Craig flailing overboard from her mind.
"What's wrong?" Murphy asked quietly, when the girl tossed for what felt like the millionth time.
"I don't know, I can't sleep. I can't stop thinking about Craig." She explained.
"How about I tell you a story?" Murphy suggested causing Sage to giggle.
"I think I'm a bit old for that."
"Oh c'mon, give it a try." Murphy egged on, finally convincing the girl when she muttered.
"Yeah, why not?"
"Just nothing from your childhood, I don't want you to get upset." She chuckled.
"Real nice, bringing up my childhood trauma." He snarked jokingly. Sage smiled up at him in amusement, crinkling her eyes and nose in the process.
"Well, get on with it."
"Okay, well. Once upon a time there was the girl...."
↯
When Sage and Murphy awoke again the sun was high in the sky. Sage squinted under the glaring rays of the sun, indicating to her they had slept only a couple hours. The sky was a pale blue and not a cloud in sight, she couldn't tell whether it was late morning or early afternoon.
She was still asleep in Murphy's lap although he wasn't awake yet. She was wary about getting up, in fear she would wake him. She manoeuvred herself in his lap, craning her neck in order to take in her surroundings.
Most of the area was foliage and several shrubs and trees littered the landscape. It was mostly natural, the only non natural feature being a pile of metallic plates strewn around messily. Sage gave up on her hopes to not disturb the boy and scrambled from his lap, aiming to discover where the stack had come from.
Somehow, the boy remained undisturbed while she rushed away from him. The pile of debris was certainly intriguing. The were all of boring grey colour but some were marked with red and white. She didn't know what kind of building they had come off of.
She stepped over the pieces, her eyes scanning over the foliage. It didn't make sense. Why were there these metal sheets in the middle of this much more natural environment? Her hands pushed away several strands of vine leaves, brushing off random clumps of foliage when her fingertips made contact with a hard surface.
Sage continued to pull away leaf after leaf until she was face to face with a metallic wall, much taller and wider than any of the trees in its vicinity. She gazed at it, observing every inch of its outer appearance.
A groan behind her startled her and caused her to turn around, finding Murphy staggering up from his former seated position.
"What's going on?" He asked, gently placing his arms around her so they were rested upon her hips.
"I was just investigating." She informed, pointing behind her and craning her neck to view the wall.
"I think you've found a building." Murphy stated, now turning both Sage and himself around so they were facing it.
"What kind of building would be this close to the sea?"
"I'm not sure." He shook his head.
Murphy stepped forward, bringing her along with him via their interlocked hands, and strolled over to another section of the wall. One which appeared as though it had an outline of a door shape.
"I think we found a way in." Murphy smiled slyly, a hint of amusement glimmering in his eyes.
He led her closer to the building, discovering an odd pattern upon the door.
"What is this place?" Sage questioned.
"Let's find out." Murphy proposed. He turned away from her, letting go of her hand before placing both his palms upon the presumed door.
Sage watched as he knocked but had a feeling no one was inside, with all the greenery covering it, she assumed it was abandoned. Murphy squeezed his fingers between the small gap between the door and wall, finding himself successful when it finally gave in and swung open.
The hopeful pair exchanged joyous grins as the sound of a harmonious tune filled their ears. Murphy stepped inside first, Sage close behind however as they entered the building. The lights suddenly switched on due to their arrival, indicating to the pair this place was something of great technology.
"I like this song." Murphy announced as they strolled down the stairs. They were both wary however and Sage didn't acknowledge his words. Their eyes scanned over the place with every step they took and analysed their findings.
The downstairs compartment of the building was extremely luxurious and was decorated with trinkets such as statues and artworks along with some more mediocre but still magnificent furniture such as a television and spacious lounge.
Murphy and Sage took their own paths in exploring, Murphy turning toward and somewhat garage with useless but intriguing motor vehicles along with over a hundred different bottles of wine.
Sage instead found herself waltzing into a beautifully designed kitchen complete with marble bench tops and more cupboards filled with packets and packets of food. They had hit the jackpot. Sage rummaged through countless drawers, finding everything from utensils to alcohol to even more food. She was in heaven.
She eyed out a packet of a food she had never seen in her life but was certain it was edible. It was a blue packet with something called a "Pop Tart" waiting inside. It looked sugary and full of deliciousness, meaning Sage was determined to devour the sweet as quickly as humanly possible.
Just as she was about to rip open the packet, an open door caught her eye. Judging by the sink and bath awaiting her inside she assumed it was a bathroom. She dropped the packet in her hand and rushed to the room, desperate to see what her appearance had come to. She was almost scared to see how grubby she would look. She hadn't showered or brushed her hair in longer than she could remember. The thought made her stomach feel uneasy.
"Sage, where are you?" Murphy's voice questioned loudly.
"In the bathroom." She stated, as she continued to walk towards it.
She caught sight of her appearance causing her eyes to widen so very large. The disgusting being staring back at her made her cringe. The scarves resting around her face were torn and destroyed as were the rest of her clothing. Her dark hair didn't even look dark with all the sand clustered within it and even her skin had lost some of its natural dark tone due to the layer of sand coating any exposed areas.
She had multiple injuries and her face looked so drained she barely looked alive. How could Murphy bear to see her like this?
"Oh there you are. Jeez I look like a wreck." Murphy realised, swirling the glass of whiskey in his hand. Sage knew what it was, she had smelt it before when she was in the skybox. One of her guards tended to get drunk on whiskey during his shifts, making Sage's conversations with the man all the more enjoyable.
"Please tell me we're staying here." Sage chuckled, taking the glass from his hand and sipping it.
"Obviously, free booze, food and no Jaha. Sounds like paradise." He smiled causing her to laugh before looking back at her reflection.
"I really need a shower." Sage muttered, a tone of disgust lingering in her tone.
"I'd join you but I wanna see what's on the TV." Murphy replied, almost as if he was apologising.
"I'll come watch with you later." She told him, causing him to nod before exiting the room.
Once he did so, Sage locked the door and began to strip away at her clothes, taking off every scarf, jacket and sand covered item from her worn out body.
And there she stood, in the middle of a foreign bathroom, naked, with the only coverage of her body being the sand it had acquired.
Her body was sickeningly frail and she could easily count her ribs poking through. Her bones were all mostly visible and she looked revolting. She turned side on, viewing her stomach which was so tiny it looked inverted. Suddenly sick of seeing herself look so poorly, she waltzed into the shower and left the sight of herself.
She paused for a moment, her eyes scanning over the confusing shower settings she had no idea how to use. There were knobs and buttons and it was far too advanced for the girl who was only used to bathing in a river.
A handle with two letters 'C' and 'H' caught her eye. Assuming the letters represented the shower settings Cold and Hot, Sage pulled the handle and turned it in the direction of the H. As expected, the shower head above her began to produce a heavy rainfall which fell upon her, wetting her hair in the process. Sage loved the feeling. She soon located a sponge like cleanser resting beside a bottle labelled 'Shower Gel'. Sage pumped the soap onto her fluffy sponge before furiously scrubbing her skin so hard it felt raw.
Sage didn't leave the shower until she had been there for forty five minutes. Within those three quarters of an hour, she had washed and combed her curly locks, rubbed her skin free of sand and any other natural essence. When she exited, she felt like a new person. It wasn't until she stepped out of the shower itself that she realised she didn't have any new clothes. She wasn't awfully fond of dressing herself in the clothes she had formerly worn and didn't intend to wear them again. She only hoped the newfound accommodation provided sufficient apparel.
Sage wrapped a spare towel around herself and re-combed her hair once more, assuring it was clean and free of tangles. She didn't care that the ends were dripping out onto her shoulders and rolling down her back, it was nice to have something on her body other than layers of sand.
Her eyes scanned over the array of different bottles and sprays before finally deciding on something called a 'Facial Moisturiser'. Due to the name she assumed it was beneficial to her skin and thus spread over her cheeks, forehead and nose. She tightened the towel around her body before stepping out into the living room, cool air surrounding her instantly.
Sage could tell Murphy's eyes were glued to her as she made her way across the living room. He had formerly been flicking through channels but the sight of the girl caused him to drop it into his lap.
"Stop staring Murphy, it's painfully obvious." Sage spoke as she strolled past him, momentarily catching sight of his dumbfounded expression, his jaw was slightly parted and his lustful eyes followed her until she was out of sight. Sage chuckled to herself. Oh how easy it was to dumbfound the male species.
The girl was relieved when she pulled open a random drawer, revealing stacks of folded clothes, everything from t-shirts with slogans she didn't understand to survival like outfits with combat boots and jackets.
She quickly changed into a loose grey hoodie she wasn't even sure was a women's piece and black leggings. She also slipped on a pair of socks before throwing her still wet hair into an untidy bun. She trudged out of the room before making a beeline to the kitchen.
Murphy, whose eyes were glued to the television screen sensed the girl's presence and hastily switched it off, confusing her in the process.
He had this look on his face. Sage didn't know why but he appeared deeply disturbed by something. What could have possibly happened in the five minutes she was getting dressed?
"Everything alright J?" She concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
author's note —
sup y'all, im backkkk. okay so the reason this update took so long is because I've got like some weird thing where i update only when im twelve chapters in front. so as im updating chapter 14 i've just finished writing chapter 25.
i still haven't decided if i want to change sage's fc cause i love the two so much. i find that taylor is fitting the mental image i have for sage so much more than sydney but i still love sydney so much idk fam.
but anyways here's another chapter w murphy & sage being cute as hellll i love them sm guys. i hope you've enjoyed this fluffy chapter, love y'all!
byeeeee
— clovdy