make me stay.

twentyeight

♜

i would never get used to the glaring. 

even now, dressed as any other person would be in the town of aeston, i still stood out. every eyeball had been steered in my direction as i sat down on the sidewalk, patting down my leggings. 

at different spots the flickers of wood had burned through the thick material, leaving a black ring around the hole. the skin beneath was flaming red, stinging like was it boiling. 

my hair was black at the ends, the rest of the strands crispy from the intense heat it had endured. i had removed it, pulling it back into a low bun to get it away from my face, as i waited for hayden. 

he had been laying on the floor in the exact room his sister had mentioned, and his father had carried him out. his clothes had been untouched, indicating he hadn't attempted to escape the house, but perhaps passed out before he could. 

two men, guards, were wrapping him in blankets on my instruction, as i calmed my thoughts enough to focus back on him. he was breathing, but barely. 

hayden millans was my age, having just turned eighteen as well. his father was kneeling by his side, a concerned expression washed across his dark face. his cheeks and nose were red, overheated from inside of the house, and his breathing was deep, like were he struggling to inhale anything useful. 

"he is supposed to join the army when i leave for the summer training," the father, spoke, running a hand over his son's cheek. 

i glanced upwards, pausing my check on his son. physically, he was unharmed, my only concern would be his breathing. inhaling smoke for longer periods of time did, in some way, burn you from the inside. 

my mother was the only physician of norbery, and when i had been younger, i had been on many home visits with her, to check on her patients. i had always been interested in medicine, and i had remembered quite a bit from back then. 

"commander millans, correct?" i ask, frowning for a moment. "aziel millans,"

"yes," the commander nods respectfully, almost as if being reminded of his title makes the years of training stir inside of him. he corrects his posture, his tone goes a foot deeper, and he seems to pull himself together.  "half-year commander, however." he corrects. 

"i understand," i say. "and i hope, you understand that your son should be dead," 

"i do," the commander nods, taking in a shaky breath, as he takes back his hands, distancing himself from the boy laying before him. "my position in the army has sacrificed too much for my family over the last years, but i never thought it would end here."

as he speaks, i run over the boy, before pressing two fingers into the depth of his throat. only, slightly. suddenly, he gasps, as if having held his breath for days. 

as a pure instinct he pushes himself up, trying to get up from the ground, but i quickly place a palm on the middle of his chest, pushing him back down in one motion that slams him directly back into the ground. this blow to his back, empties his lungs completely, as he coughs violently. 

"roll him onto his side," i order, and the commander obeys, rolling him towards me.

hayden millans continues coughing as he shakes, finally, spitting out the grey mass that was obstructing his airways prior. the mass, mixed with spit and some blood, runs out of his mouth as he coughs, attempting to spit it out.