Page 40 of Guarded By Death

"Don't worry I've already told the doctor it was the flu, that's what I'll tell everyone," he assures me. "You need your mom right now; I know you do."

He’s not wrong. "Is it safe? For her to come here?" I whisper.

"Yes." He nods as he steps out of the room. I calm when I hear him talking on the phone near the door, not far away.

When he returns, I bombard him with questions, per usual.

"What do you mean by 'you told the doctor’?" I ask with air quotes. "You did it to Zack, too. He just listened to you, which was very confusing considering he was thinking of ways to kill you after he saw my back in bed." I cover my mouth realizing how awful that sounded.

Crossing his arms, his brows lift in inquiry. "Why did you not have a shirt on?" he asks, ignoring my other questions.

"When I woke up earlier and Zack flipped the light on, I wiped the sweat from my face, and he saw it..." I trail off.

"I'm sorry. It doesn't matter, can I see?" he asks but he doesn't wait for me to answer before he gently lifts me up and pulls my shirt up. His finger gently trails along my skin, and he sighs.

"I'm so sorry Scar, I never meant-"

I cut him off. "Pierce, I know that, you don't have to explain it to me. Now back to my question. What do you mean when you 'told them'?"

He nods but his eyes are glazed over. "You could say I coaxed them, I calm people and make them believe what I want them to." He shrugs.

"Do you do that to me?" I ask nervously.

"What? No, of course not." He scoffs. "Well, I did...." His tone is remorseful as he gestures into the blank air in front of us. "When you were in the state you were in... that night... When I gave you a bath. I comforted you a little, but I would never make you like... do anything," he adds.

I jump at his words. "When did you give me a bath?" I ask.

His eyes search my face and I see the green begin to gloss over; he shakes his head to steady himself. "Do you not remember what happened the other night?"

"Yes. I do, but I don't remember that," I stutter.

"Don't worry love, I had no other choice, you were in shock and I just wanted to make you more comfortable."

My mind rolls through the terrible memories, but I’m left with large gaps. "I remember what happened... And then I remember your arms around me before I fell asleep. Everything in between is a blur. But when I woke up, I was in my bed and you were gone." I start sobbing against my arm that I raise to cover my face. He gently pulls it away and crawls in the bed next to me.

"I would have never left if I knew that Scarlett, I swear, I wouldn't have. I thought when I broke the bond and I laid down next to you… and you didn't react to my touch... I thought you were disgusted by me. Then, I decided you would be better off without all of this in your life.” He gestures to himself.

I give him an incredulous look. "When you put your arm around me it was the only thing that was holding me together, I just couldn't speak or move. I was in shock," I say through tears. I'm drained, absolutely drained.

"Shh... Come here." He pulls me against him. I can feel the rapid pounding of his heart against his solid chest. What happened was violent and gruesome and it did break me but not even for one second did I blame Pierce or think less of him for what he had to do.

"Don't be ashamed of what you did for me, Pierce. You had no choice," I assure him. He holds me until I drift off in his arms.

Twenty-three

So, it’s the flu?

"No, don't move Pierce, please. She looks so comfortable." My mom's attempt to whisper wakes me, I peer up to see two unfamiliar people behind her worried face. Brian and Kayla, I'm assuming. I wipe my eyes and look over at Brian, he’s clean-cut and looks nice, non-threatening.

Short, cropped darkish blonde hair sits atop his head with blue eyes and slight stubble along his jawline. He's wearing dress slacks with a button-up. He looks to mom with a worried grin.

My eyes pan to his daughter, Kayla, who is smiling from ear to ear. Her energy makes the drab room a little more alive, she's dancing on the balls of her ballet flats, a bouquet in her hands. I give her a small smile and she dances over to me.

"I'm sorry we have to meet this way," she sings, handing me the colorful flowers. Tears well in my eyes at the kind gesture.

"Tha... Thank you," I wipe a tear from my face. The sweet gift mixed with the pure exhaustion I feel is making me emotional. She nods as she tucks her short black hair behind her ears. Her dad walks up beside her, his worried expression is gone and replaced with happiness.

"Hello, Scarlett, I'm Brian. It's so nice to meet you. I'm sorry you're not feeling well, are they treating you good?" he asks, genuine concern in his tone.