Pirate City

Chapter 9 Luna

ANGELO'S POV:

The air felt cold and clammy around me, as I slowly woke up from one of the worst dreams I'd had in weeks, I was used to the dreams that kept you up for days; but this had felt so real, I'd felt the pain of Stephano throwing me against the door and the click of a gun. I remember someone yelling. Luna. Shit. She'd probably been shot trying to save me. It's a dream, Jesus. 

I felt around to try to get back into the warmth of the furnace room, god it was cold out here. When my hands met the floor, I was surprised to find it was wet. There was blood. Lots of it. I looked around to try to figure out where I was, god my head hurt. Ok maybe not a dream. I played the whole thing over again in my head, trying to figure out if anyone else could have been affected. Anyone else being her of course. I felt around frantically, panic setting in as I rushed my fingers along the blood-soaked carpet. 

My hands ran into something soft and warm; a familiar body lay next to me, her body curled into a ball and her arms draped over her knees. Despite it being painfully cold and the floor being unnecessarily hard, she looked comfortable, there was something disturbed in her expression, but she looked comfortable. Maybe a little too comfortable.

I grimaced when I moved over to touch her neck, I needed to feel her pulse at my fingertips before I did anything else. She could be dead and I would be responsible. My ribs burned as the skin around them stretched. I hesitated with my hand hovering over her face. I was scared to touch her; she looked fragile, so delicate that her skin could shatter with my touch. 

Don't be dead. I prayed as my fingers brushed her skin, small goosebumps rising on my arms both from the cold and the suspense. My hand followed down her long brown hair and found her face. I wanted to touch her, but didn't want to wake her. My eyes followed the line of her jaw, the curve of her cheeks, the outline of her lips, down her chin, over to her neck. My vision swam and my hands trembled as I placed my two fingers at the top of her throat and pressed lightly. There was no pulse.

"Fuck," I cursed quietly, quickly scrambling to my knees. My head pounded and my ribs felt like they were piercing through my skin but I really didn't care.  There was no pulse. I pushed harder into her neck. no nonononono a small whimper escaped my lips as I frantically tried to find a pulse. I felt my lips go tingly and my hands go numb as the panic worsened, she was the only person I felt like I could protect on this ship. I had failed. 

I sank back on my haunches and stared at her. I hadn't noticed what she looked like before. I mean really noticed. Sure, I'd seen her brown- gold eyes, the way they shimmered with the sun. I'd noticed the way she carried herself; defiant, but somehow also terrified. I'd noticed how she played with her hands when she was nervous, or bit her cheek when she was on the verge of tears.

But I'd never really seen her. I saw her better than I ever had in the dark.

"What are you doing?" Luna mumbled sleepily, her voice raspy and strained. 

"What the fuck? I thought you were dead?" I replied tightly. She opened her eyes and grinned.

"Why would I be dead?" She said, barely lucid. I was confused; why was she here? She couldn't be in the men's quarters. Why was she alive? She didn't have a heartbeat.

"Your pulse- there was no pulse." I stuttered dumbly, wiping my nose with the collar of my shirt.

"Maybe because you're doing it wro- were you crying?" her smile broadened and she sat up, amused by my emotion. She cleared her throat and apologized. An awkward stillness fell over us. I sat back down. She reached towards my forehead, a wet bandage fell just above my eyes. "It doesn't hurt too much, does it?" 

"No." I said firmly, pushing her away and wiping the back of my neck with my palm. I turned and moved away from her, gingerly lying back down. 

"If you put your hand higher and press a little lighter you can feel it." She said, leaning back on her elbows. She lifted my hand to her neck and placed my fingers where they were meant to be, I relaxed a little when I could feel the gentle beat. She smiled softly when she saw my jaw unclench and my shoulders release. Her smile brought relief, it felt like so long since I'd seen something reassuring. I couldn't let myself fall for her though. She was not one of us.

"Why are you here?" I asked once I had calmed a little more.

"Would you like me to leave?" she offered, looking back at me.

"No." I turned to look at her face, hoping I hadn't offended her. "But why are you here? Did someone send you?" I watched her expression sadden for less than a second, if I wasn't studying her so closely I wouldn't have noticed.

"Never mind that, you need to rest. I'll wake you for breakfast in the morning," Her accent came out as she spoke, tinting the sentence with a motherly tone. The idea of her sleeping next to me was comforting in a way; I still had someone to protect. God, how I loved this woman.

As I drifted into sleep, only one thought occupied my mind; I had to get Luna out of this slaughterhouse, even if it killed me.

Y'all really thought I was gonna kill one of them off? Not yet.

See u next chapter  <3