Playing the Game

Chapter 11: Don't Watch

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Evander was taken to a separate room to be looked after. I didn't follow, still angry about his actions, but I heard that he woke up soon after the battle and was on the mend. Instead, I followed the scruffy man to another physician's room to keep an eye on his progress. The man tending to him said that his bitten shoulder would recover with rest and time. Unfortunately he would not be getting much of that in the upcoming week, so it wasn't the worst thing to have him unconscious for the time being.

It wasn't until the following morning, just shy of the crack of dawn that the scruffy man finally woke up.

He began to stir, lifting his body off the wooden slab of a bed that was provided. One false move of his shoulder and he thought better of it, letting gravity take him back down.

Grunting, he spat out through gritted teeth, "Hannibal's mercy, that hurts!"

"Don't move!"

He tried again, "Shit!"

"Just lie still!"

"I don't want to lie still. I want to sit up! Ow, shit!"

I moved to assist him, "Stubborn ass..."

After minutes of rearrangement, leaving him propped against the wall adjacent to the bed, he let out a huge sigh of relief as his bones adjusted to the new position.

I stood over him with my hands on my waist. "Better?"

"Much."

A thunderous smack echoed throughout the room after I abruptly slapped the scruffy man across the face. Surprised by my attack, he let slip another cry of pain.

"What was that for!?"

I was looming over him, trying to match his scowl with one of my own. I was so furious that I was almost shrieking. "FOR NEARLY GETTING YOURSELF KILLED!" I began to wave my arms about, frustrated by his actions in the arena. "What were you thinking?! Since when is jumping in front of a tiger a good idea?! You're not invincible, no matter how much your ego wishes you to be! That was the stupidest thing you've ever done!"

"I've done worse."

"Well after that display I'm not surprised!"

"I was just doing what you asked-"

"I never asked you to kill yourself!"

"You asked me to keep Evander safe."

"Not at the expense of your life!"

He rolled his eyes at my tantrum, and then sarcastically retorted, "Well, you should have been a bit clearer about that."

"I thought it was obvious!" I shot back, "I didn't think I had to worry about you! You're not supposed to die; you're not allowed to die! But clearly, I was wrong! Now I have to keep an eye on you too-"

"You don't have to keep an eye on anybody, Candra-"

"YES I DO!"

"No, you don't! We are gladiators. We can take care of ourselves. It's part of the job."

"But he said I would get you all killed-"

"Who said?" He tried to lean forward to catch my wandering eyes.

I refused to meet his gaze, pacing in front of him as I deflected the question. "That beast almost killed you! I thought it did kill you!"

"Well it didn't, alright? I'll be fine. And look on the bright side; I'm walking away from this with the greatest scar ever." He chuckled as he gestured to the patched teeth marks circling his shoulder.