in my lap when we crashed into the dirt.”
“Ash, can you...you hear me?” Maverick asked. His voice was garbled somehow. It sounded wet like he was speaking with water in his mouth or swimming underwater. I still couldn’t see, but the visual confused me. What was wrong with Maverick?
“I’m okay,” I choked out, checking my voice and continuing to take inventory of my spine and shoulders. I rolled my neck, shifting my face so that I could nuzzle Huxley. “I’m tired,” I said, feeling myself falling asleep. I knew it wasn’t the right time to sleep, but exhaustion was pulling me under. I felt safe in Huxley’s arms and couldn’t connect my care for what was happening with my need to rest. “Just a few minutes,” I mumbled while slipping back to sleep.
“No, no, stay awake, little Walker,” Huxley cried out. He sounded snotty, and I felt a large, fat tear land on my cheek. “Stay here. Stay with me.” I willed my eyes to open, and the sight I saw nearly broke me. Huxley’s eyes were red, and tears filled his green eyes. I lifted my hand up and cupped his cheek. I’d never seen him so vulnerable or emotional.
“I’m okay, Hux,” I offered before sitting up completely. Tiredness was still tempting me to give up and sleep, but seeing him so distraught had me pushing through. I rolled my neck and winced when I felt how stiff it was. That was definitely going to hurt for a while. Huxley still cradled me in his lap, my legs were over his, and I blinked a few times to clear my vision as Maverick came into view. I gasped at the sight.
Blood flowed from his nose and dripped off of his lips. I quickly moved to remove my sweater to wipe it, but Huxley kept me still. “Let him check you over," Huxley growled. “Don’t move until we know you won’t cause further damage.” I knew I was okay, but since Hux was so upset, I let Maverick inspect my injuries if only to make them feel better.
I looked around the transport as Maverick checked me over. Everything kept going in and out of focus. I looked behind Maverick and gasped when I saw Jacob hunched over. "Jacob?!" I cried out, but Maverick answered my unspoken question.
"He's fine. He's knocked out but will probably wake up soon," Maverick answered.
"God, I hope so, he's leaning on my shoulder. Fucker is heavy as hell," Kemper growled, and I blinked twice to see his frame. He was clutching his stomach with one hand and holding Jacob up with the other.
I let out a sigh of relief. "Kemp?" I asked.
"Yeah, sweetheart?"
"You okay?"
"Now that you're up, I am."
A groan to my right gathered my attention, and I turned to look at Cyler. He was moaning and letting out little whimpers of pain. I gasped when my vision cleared enough for me to see that his arm was bent at an odd angle. "Don't look, Ash. He broke it. Not something you wanna see."
Bile rose up my throat with a vengeance. "Is he okay?" I asked while tearing my eyes from the white bone peeking out from his flesh. It was gruesome, and there was so much blood that it dripped to the floor of the transport in fat, wet drops. He groaned in pain, and Maverick stopped fussing over me to turn and look at him.
"I gotta help him. Stay here," Maverick said to me just as Cyler tried to garble some nonsense about sticking with me. Selfless bastard.
I turned to glance at Patrick and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that he was in one piece, just frowning at all of us and glancing outside, obviously on high alert. "Patrick?" I asked, just to double check.
"I'm fine. Just making sure no one approaches us. I don't know what caused the crash, and if it was someone, then I want to be ready. The veins in his arms were thudding with adrenaline, and I watched his fists clench and unclench. Huxley finally tore his red-rimmed eyes from me and started looking too while clutching me even tighter to his chest, like the threat would rip me from his arms if he didn't pay close attention. I watched him transition from mourning lover to an overprotective episode as I'd never seen before. His face went hard as stone while Cyler cried out in pain. Maverick had wiped up his bloody nose and was