Chapter 9 - Asher
Her hand felt warm under mine, pressed against my shoulder.
I felt my head was pounding, and my shoulder hurt even fucking more.
I didn’t think it was that bad. I knew I would heal, so I didn’t see the point of going to the healing center.
My plan was to get home and crawl into bed.
I knew it would be a long night, but I’d be fine.
I had hardly made it through the front door before the pain was becoming too much. I felt my vision blur, and the pain was becoming scalding, like someone was trying to rip my arm off.
Hazel pulled her hand free as she moved out of the living room. She pulled a small box out of her purse, and I watched the needle sparkle under the light. My stomach dropped.
I could handle needles just fine, but with how weak I was feeling right now, I might pass out.
“Why didn’t you go to the healing center?” she asked as she moved closer. She opened the cabinet and started pulling out paper towels and hydrogen peroxide. She dumped the peroxide over the needle.
I closed my eyes, leaning onto the counter. I took a slow breath in. “Because it’s late and I’m fine. I figured I’d just sleep it off.”
“You’re not fine. You can hardly stand, Asher. You know better than to just brush something like this off.”
I took a deep breath in, pressing my forehead against the counter now as I leaned over. I felt my legs shaking. I knew I couldn’t argue with her because she was right.
“This might hurt. I don’t have anything to give you for the pain.” I felt her fingers press lightly against my shoulder, the poke of the needle following.
“I’m fine,” I said again, not sure who I was trying to convince.
I felt the needle pierce my skin, and I inhaled sharply. I tried to focus on my breathing rather than the pain. But as she stitched, I felt my world starting to tilt.
“Asher?” I felt her hand rest on my other shoulder. “Are you good? Are you going to pass out?”
I nodded slowly. I felt her hand reach for my forehead, pulling my head up. I looked into her eyes and watched the way she scanned me. She frowned. “Jesus, Christ. You’re fucking hot, Asher.”
I smirked. “You think so?” Was I really telling a joke?
Her frown deepened. “Now is not the time for a joke.”
“I wondered if you thought I was attractive. You’re very hard to read sometimes.”
She scuffed as she grabbed gauze, pressing it against my shoulder. “Of course, you’re attractive, Asher. Have you looked in a mirror?” I felt her starting to wrap my arm.
“Let’s move you to your bed. You look like you’re going to pass out on me. I don’t have the strength to move you all the way myself.”
I nodded in agreement, but I felt my vision starting to blur again. My legs wouldn’t move. I watched as black dots spotted my vision, and the room seemed to spin.
“Asher?” Her voice softened, sounding worried now. “Hey, look at me.”
I watched her move in front of me, her hands reaching up as she cupped my face. They felt cold against my skin. Maybe I was burning up.
I blinked, trying to stay there. I could see her worried expression, her voice gentle. But the more I tried, the harder it became.
“Deep breaths.”
“Stay with me, Asher.”
“Hold onto me.”
I knew I was moving, or at least I thought I was. I remembered the hallway. I remembered pressing my hand against the wall to steady myself. But that was it. Everything went black afterward.
I slept hard, or at least I think I was sleeping. I woke up feeling sore. My entire upper body ached. I pulled my hand up, rubbing at my forehead. My headache was minor now.
I blinked and turned to look at my shoulder.
It was wrapped up, but what caught my attention more was Hazel lying asleep next to me.
Her face looked peaceful as she rested on a pillow just a few inches from me.
She was breathing slowly, her hair falling behind her.
Her hand was still holding onto my shoulder.
I stared at her, not realizing how beautiful she looked. I always thought Hazel was cute, but seeing her like this was different. Her guard was down, and she looked more herself. Her skin looked soft, and I even noticed she had long, curly eyelashes.
I moved to slide myself out of the bed, but her legs were wrapped around mine. Her one arm was holding on to my arm, like she was trying to keep me still, so I didn’t roll in my sleep. I wondered how long she had been there. When did she fall asleep?
I wasn’t even sure what time I got back. We were running late on our return. The few hours I was supposed to be gone turned into an entire day trip.
I looked back down at her, seeing how comfortable she was against me. She smelled like vanilla, and so did the sheets. The room felt warm, and having her pressed against me seemed normal. We’d never done this, never even sat on the couch together, but this felt right.
I suddenly felt myself harden, knowing it was because of her. I groaned at how bad this timing was. If she moved even just a little toward me, she would feel it. I reached for her arm, slowly pulling her free. I needed to move at least a little. I needed to get the smell of her off of me.
Her body jerked, and her eyes snapped open. She stared at me, almost like she was looking through me. It took her a moment to realize I was awake.
“How do you feel?” she asked, blinking as she slowly slid up. “Are you okay?” She looked at my shoulder, her fingers grazing over it. My dick jerked.
I shifted slightly. “I’m sore, but I’m okay.”
She slowly nodded, pulling herself up to a sitting position. I pulled the sheets closer, hiding my hard-on. Or at least, I was trying to.
She then frowned and crossed her arms. “What the hell were you thinking coming home in a state like that? You should have gone to the healing center.”
I hadn’t thought it was that bad. “I was fine.”
“No, you weren’t, Asher! You fucking passed out on me in the hallway. You were not fine. You needed ten stitches. And you were clearly at the end of your stick because of how hot your fever was. You were not fine.”
I frowned. “I’m sorry. I knew that my healing ability would kick in. So I figured I would just come home. I didn’t think it was that bad.”
She frowned. “And what if I wasn’t here? Hmmm? What do you think would have happened?”
I didn’t want to think about it. I hadn’t realized how bad it was until I got home. I had no idea how it would have turned out if she weren’t here.
“I’m sorry. Next time I’ll go to the healing center.”
She relaxed a little at my words, her eyes looking toward my shoulder. “Can I look at your stitches?”
I nodded, watching as she slowly pulled the wrap free.
The stitches were already starting to heal.
I took in the gash, not realizing how large it was.
It started at the top of my shoulder, going all the way down my collarbone.
It was a light pink, and the skin was already starting to sew itself back together.
I knew it was going to hurt for the next couple of days, though.
“It looks good,” she said, before rewrapping it back up. “It’s healing nicely.” Her fingers felt hot against my skin, and I tried hard to ignore my cock that was pulsing now.
I tried to focus on anything else. “When did you fall asleep?”
She shrugged. “I honestly don’t know. I was trying to break your fever and keep your stitches in place. You kept moving, which didn’t help.”
She pulled some free hair behind her ear. She looked tired.
“Thank you.” I gave her a smile. “It means a lot.”
She gave me a half smile in return. “So, what happened? You said you guys were thrown last night. What threw you guys off?”
My mind traveled back. The trip where I was supposed to only join for a few hours. We had trekked into the woods where I spent endless hours. But we ran into tracks. We followed them, finding nothing. They just ended.
“We were trekking and came across nothing. It seemed we were just walking forever. So, we turned back. We were tired from walking all day when the hybrid came out of nowhere. It was like it had been tracking us the entire time. Then suddenly there were three of them. They divided us up, and we all were just trying to survive.”
She swallowed. “Was anyone else hurt?”
I shook my head. “I took the biggest hit, and we managed to get away.” I frowned, thinking of how bad it could have turned. “We know they are growing in numbers, but they also seem to be planning things out. It’s not going to be as easy as we thought.”
The space fell quiet, and she crawled off my bed. “Well, I’m going to let you rest. I need a shower and food.”
I was tempted to tell her she should rest. That she clearly needed more sleep. But I didn’t want to overstep. We were just starting to get along, and I didn’t want her to think I was trying to be controlling.
“Thanks for last night.”
She gave me another soft smile before she slipped out. I sighed and could still smell her.
I was going to need to clean my sheets.