"It's been two days now." I looked up at Laurie as she moved to stand beside me. "He should have woken up by now."
“Here, let's give him some water." Alicia slipped into a room that looked like it might be a kitchen and brought us out a glass filled with cold water. It set my dry mouth aching and I licked my parched lips, but resolutely dipped my fingers into it and let the water trickle into Taylor's mouth instead. I repeated the process again and again until most of the water was gone.
Alicia moved away while I was occupied and returned with another glass of water for me. She handed it over, smiling kindly with a pitying look in her eyes. It made me want to scream and cry all at once. I drained my water instead and handed the empty glass back, thanking her.
"You look exhausted, I'll show you where you can get cleaned up and sleep," Alicia said to Laurie, obviously not sure what to do with me and looking for an excuse to escape. Laurie squeezed my shoulder on her way past and they both disappeared upstairs.
I sat and stared at Taylor, my breaths coming raggedly and a few tears managing to escape. I scrubbed the heels of my hands across my cheeks to stop them. Breaking down wouldn't do either of us any good but I just felt so helpless.
“There are plenty of beds upstairs, I'll carry him up for you. Tomorrow we can get him some help." Coal had appeared behind me whilst my attention had been fixed on Taylor's sleeping face. I didn't know how long he’d been standing there and it made me feel self conscious.
“Thank you." I let him pull me to my feet and stood before him, looking up into his dark eyes. "Not just for now, I mean for saving us. For saving me. If you hadn't knocked me out of the way back in the trials arena, I don't know what would have happened."
“You shouldn’t go thinking I’m some great man,” Coal said darkly. “I wouldn’t normally get involved in shit that isn’t my business. In all honesty, I don't know why I helped you. I was only supposed to be stealing some weapons." He shrugged and tried to cover his look of confusion with a smirk.
"So why did you?" I pressed, refusing to let him brush it off.
“I didn't intend to, I was just there hiding and I saw you two idiots sneaking along looking like you were lost. I didn't even mean to follow you. But you were standing there, and you turned to look back at something. You looked right towards me. You had blood smeared across your face and your hair was flying in the wind and I just thought not her. I was running towards you before I even decided to do it." His hand brushed along my arm and ran up to my cheek, the skin burning where he touched me.
I looked up, my gaze meeting his as my heart stuttered beneath his touch.
“You just looked so fierce and wild and yet so fragile at the same time." He was so close to me that it made my breath catch in my throat.
We looked at each other for a long moment and my gaze slid to his mouth as my heart pounded.
Coal took a deep breath and leaned back ever so slightly. "You're welcome anyway, and I'm glad I helped your friends too, for what it's worth."
“We would all be dead," I whispered.
My head was spinning with the closeness of him, I reached up and laid my hand over his on my cheek, heat flaring where our flesh met. He held my gaze for a second longer before dropping his hand from my face and stepping back. It was like a wall slid into place behind his eyes and he offered me a cocky smirk.
"It's kinda nice to play the good guy for once, that's all." Coal stooped and picked Taylor up again.
"Ladies first," he smiled but there was a false tone to it. The moment between us was over and his self-assured, cocky mask was right back in place.
There wasn’t really anything else for me to say anyway, so I turned and headed up the stairs as directed.
"Last on the left," he called from behind me as I trailed down the corridor lined with green carpet.
I headed to the appropriate door and opened it. There was a large double bed in the room and I pulled the covers back to let Coal place Taylor beneath them.
“I presume you're staying in here too," he asked in a clipped tone and I looked up at him as I tried to figure out what was bothering him.
“I'd better be with him in case he wakes up," I replied hesitantly.
“Sure. There's hot water in the shower if you want to get cleaned up.” He pointed to another door that led off from the bedroom.
"Thanks." I had to stop myself from groaning in excitement over that. A hot shower sounded like heaven.
“Okay. Good night.” He turned and left the room, clicking the door firmly shut behind him and I was left in the silence of the unfamiliar space. Coal’s footsteps thudded back down the stairs a few moments later.
I let the filth, sweat and blood of the last three days disappear slowly down the drain in the shower until I felt human again. The cut I’d gained below my eye wasn't deep but it was angry and red and stung when I touched it. I still had a lingering bruise from where Grey had punched me shadowing the left side of my face.
Apart from that, I looked almost like I had in the city, though I didn't feel the same at all.
> When I moved back into the bedroom, I found that someone had left me a fresh set of clothes and removed my filthy ones. I put on the soft tank top and pants and was relieved to find that they fit me well, although they were a little long. But my short ass always struggled with that so I just rolled them up and rocked the look.
Refreshed and smelling a damn sight better than I had in days, I crept back out onto the landing. The windows in the house were all securely shuttered from the outside and I moved to one at the end of the landing to inspect it.