Closer

Chapter 15

A soft, repedative beep echoed in my ears. I felt numb, my whole body felt weightless. I pried my eyes open, only to be met with a wall of white light. Once my pupils adjusted to the level of light, I was able to make out my surroundings. I was in the infirmary. I was hooked up to all kinds of wires.

I looked over to my right to be met with a bloody Eric. His clothes were stained with blood, my blood. As soon as he noticed that I was awake he shot up out of the chair he had been sitting in and stood next to the bed I was hooked up to.

"It's about time," he sighed. There was something different about him. He seemed... troubled. His expression was far from cold, he looked concerned.

"How long was I out?" I cringed as I tried to sit up.

"Easy there..." he cautioned. "Only a few hours," he looked away from me and at his boots. "You were pretty touch and go for a while..."

"Well, I was stabbed so," I chuckled, but was met with a sharp pain in my abdomen. "That's my blood, isn't it?"

He nodded as I look at his stained clothing. It was Eric who found me. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be dead. Shit, I would be dead. "Thank you," I muttered.

"Yeah, well, you wouldn't be in this position if you retained anything we taught you first phase," he rolled his eyes. Well that moment didn't last long.

"Why are you here, Eric?" I questioned.

Once again, he looked away from me and at his hands that were folded in front of him. "'Cause," he look a deep breath before continuing. "I was worried about you."

Eric, worried about me? I found it hard to believe, but the thought made me smile slightly.

"Ha! Yeah, okay," I retorted, taking my turn to roll my eyes. By the look on his face, he seemed genuinely offended by my words. He turned to leave, but I grabbed his hand before he could get any father.

"Eric..." I pulled him back, bringing him closer. He sat down next to me on the bed, my hand still holding his. "I'm sorry." What he did next took me so off guard I wasn't sure it actually happened.

He intertwined his fingers with mine, making me smile. So it wasn't just me, he felt it too. There was this unspoken tension, feeling, between us. He looked up at me, our eyes connecting. There was something that confused me. It was this warmth that I had never seen in his eyes before.

I heard a knock at the door and Eric immediately let my hand go and stood, getting some distance between me and him. I frowned at this, craving his touch again. The door opened to reveal Four. My mouth twisted into a smile as I saw him, I never thought I would see him again.

"How you feeling, Initiate?" He asked. I was unfortunately reminded that he was my instructor, not my brother, at the moment due to Eric's presence. I could see the worry and fear spread across his features though, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

"Alive," I sighed. "Thanks to Eric." I looked over to the young leader to see his mouth twitch upwards slightly.

"You were lucky he found you," I could tell that he had to nearly force the words out. "He saved your life," he glanced over in Eric's direction.

"Do you know who did this?" Eric asked, looking at me.

"It was Seth... and Luke," I averted my eyes from them both, remembering the feeling of his hands over my eyes and mouth.

"You saw them?" Four questioned.

"Well... not exactly. They had my eyes covered...but I heard them," I admitted.