This Rose Bleeds

Chapter ~Eight~

I felt...safe.

The feeling was so foreign it was frightening.

My chest was burning and I was vaguely aware of my moist face. There was a soft light ready to greet me when my eyes opened, and it was warm, almost hot. I couldn't remember falling asleep last night. My fever had gotten worse and I could barely stay on my feet. Where was I now?

I forced my eyes to open. It seemed sealed shut from the tears that spilled over during the nightmare. Gosh, the nightmare. Sometimes it would last the entire night. I pushed it out of my mind for the moment, as I always did.

I felt something around me and I was confused. I opened my eyes completely.

What the heck?

I was curled up in a ball, with Ryder's arm holding me close. What was he doing? I began shaking. He was too close. Did he do something?

He groaned at my movement and began waking up. I squeezed my eyes shut so he would think I hadn't woken up yet. That would be awkward.

"Oh shit." I heard him mutter as he came to his senses. But for a moment he didn't move. I felt his eyes trained on the top of my head. His hand brushed the hair that had fallen in my face away.

I jumped and the trembles got worse.

"Fuck! I thought he stopped..."

He maneuvered so I rested on the pillows and scooted away. I relaxed a bit, but then he began shaking me lightly.

"Hey, wake up." He nudged my shoulder and I pretended to wake up.

I blinked my eyes open again. The light burst through the window on the side of the room, but Ryder's face filled my vision. Wait, I was still in his room? Had I fallen asleep?

"Where..." I whispered hoarsely. He seemed to relax slightly.

I felt a tickle in my chest and began coughing harshly. His faced crumpled with concern.

"Come on, you need medicine."

"I'm," A cough betrayed my words, "Fine."

"Fine my ass." I shuddered. "Shit, sorry. Aw, fuck...Geez!" He rambled and ruffled his hair. I pushed myself in a sitting position, getting as far as I could without falling off the bed. He seemed to notice and backed up.

"Sorry. You collapsed yesterday." He mumbled, trying to change the subject.

"I did?" I asked in disbelief. I've never collapsed before.

"You had a really high fever, nothing to worry about." He tried to reassure me. Why was he trying to help me? "But you do need medicine."

"No." I groaned and held my head in my hands. It hurt.

"Right, like you have a choice." He muttered. He pulled me off of the bed by my hand and I jumped away as soon as I was standing. I was being extra edgy this morning. The fever made me feel out of it and weak. Add last night's nightmare, and I was a wreck.

I followed him down the stairs and through the big house, knowing full well I couldn't really do anything else. He led me to a big kitchen and walked over to one of the cabinets. He found a pill bottle and popped the lid, shaking out a pill. He readied a glass of water and held it out. I looked at it doubtfully.

"Take it, you'll feel better." I took it carefully and dismissed the thought he was trying to poison me. "You can take another tonight, and you should start to feel better by tomorrow with rest."

Rest, sounds easy enough...wait, what?

"What time is it?" I jumped awake. He looked at his watch and said, "Half past one."

My eyes widened. "I missed school!"

"Yeah," He said annoyed, "Because of a 105 degree fever. I think you had the right to skip."

"That's nothing." I whispered to myself. Work started in about two hours. I can probably stop by home and take a shower before then.

I turned and left the kitchen. He followed asking, "Where are you going?"

"Home, I need to get ready for work." Where was his room with my bag?

He grabbed my hand in my haste. Honestly, I had no idea where I was going. "You are not going work. What if you collapse and are holding plates?"

"Not like I haven't fallen before." I muttered under my breath.

Apparently he heard because he pulled me to face him and said, "I'm sorry, I hadn't meant to bring those two to you, and certainly not to get you hurt. I also hadn't known about what they did to you at school. If I knew sooner, I would have stopped it."

I frowned. What did he mean? That he cared whether or not I was hurt?

"Why?" I asked. He shrugged and looked down, obviously showing he wasn't going to answer. Fine. I began walking through the house trying to find the stairs. Finally I found it near the front door and took it quickly.

"I'm not letting you go to work." He called as I found his room.

"I have to."

"No, you don't. Look at yourself!" I grabbed my bag and turned to leave but as soon as I turned he blocked my way and held my shoulders. "Stay here for the day and get rest and relax. I'm sure you can miss a couple days of work."

"No." My voice broke and my frame quivered. He noticed and looked at me worriedly. "I need the money. I'm more afraid of what will happen if I miss work than if I get a little sick."

He stared at me then dropped his hands. "Why do you need the money?"

I looked away.

"You're hiding something Nate."

Nate?

"Look at me."

I looked at my hand and began playing with my sleeve.

"You know what? You're not going to like it, but here it is. Inn going to take care of you. I'm going to listen to you and get you what you need. I'm going to help you, and you're going to trust me."