Redesigning Fate (Revive #1) - A. M. Wilson Page 0,47
here. I won’t let anybody hurt you. Open your eyes for me.”
Someone is placing a cool cloth on my forehead. I crack my eyes open slightly, a blurred face directly above me. It’s too bright, so I close my eyes again.
Someone starts wiping my face with the cloth. I feel his lips resting on my ear. “It’s okay to be afraid, but I will keep you safe. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you.”
Surrendering to his gentle voice caressing me, I squeeze the hand that is holding mine. I open my eyes to peer up at him.
“Hey,” he says gently, stroking my cheek, “welcome back.”
“My head hurts,” I groan. I don’t want to talk about what just happened. I want to go home.
“Let’s sit you up,” he says, while reaching under my armpits to pull me forward. I feel a little woozy and cradle my head in my hands. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I just got hit in the head by a baseball bat.”
Elias grimaces. “I caught you before you hit the floor, but you smacked your head on the doorframe.”
“It’s okay,” I reply weakly, trying to sooth the concern on his face. It’s not his fault I’m a nutcase who can’t even properly deal with her issues without passing out like a wimp. Leaning forward, I place my palms on the rough brown carpet, struggling to get my feet underneath me to stand.
Instead of helping me to my feet, Elias swoops down sliding one arm beneath my knees, the other beneath my back. He lifts me up and starts down the hallway.
“Hey, what the hell? I can walk!” I protest, feebly kicking my feet.
“Shush. Let me take care of you.”
“Elias, I—”
“No.”
“Elias!”
“Babe. No. You just fainted and hit your head. The only place you are going is to lie down. And I will gladly carry you there so you don’t faint again.” He pushes the door open with his back, walking us both smoothly out of the building. He doesn’t set me down until he loads me in the truck. “I’m taking you back to my apartment for the afternoon. In case he shows up at your place again.”
I give him that, too tired to argue.
My head rests against the window the entire ride back to his apartment. I don’t want to talk about what just happened. I haven’t had a panic attack that severe in years and have never fully passed out from one before. We haven’t spoken much since we left the police station, and I know he is going to have questions for me. However, I have no desire to answer them.
Elias pulls into the parking garage of his apartment, and I can feel my heart racing again.
“Wait here,” he commands as he steps out of the truck.
What is he doing? I watch him round the hood, coming to stop beside my door. He wrenches it open and scoops down to unbuckle me.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you inside,” he replies, and before I can step out of the truck, he scoops me into his strong arms despite my protests.
“Stop, seriously. I can walk!”
“You can, but you don’t need to.” Elias storms off towards the elevator, unrelenting to my pleas.
“Put me down. I’m not an invalid.”
“Will you stop?” He chastises. “Let me take care of you.”
His moody behavior confuses me. I haven’t done anything to upset him but maybe he’s sick of dealing with me. Not only have I shared with him a load of emotional baggage, but now, my ex-boyfriend is stalking me. Maybe he’s realized I’m more work than I’m worth.
How depressing.
Since the day I met him, Elias has been slowly working his way into all the cracks and crevasses of my broken, abused heart, and if he were to leave me now, I know I’d feel a pain I’m not ready to feel again so soon. I can only hope something other than me has caused his enigmatic mood shift.
He lets us inside his apartment, kicking the door shut behind him. Elias sets me down gently on the sofa and removes my shoes for me. His hands are a whisper of wings against the sensitive skin on my ankle.
“Are you thirsty?”
“Yes. Water is fine, please,” I reply.
As he heads to the kitchen, I close my eyes once more, trying to gather myself before the inevitable conversation. Elias returns with my water, lifts my legs, then sits down and arranges them in his lap. He starts massaging my calves and feet.