The Last Night

Geek and Delinquent

Chapter Eleven

"The last night I was this confused was when Luke started being nice to me even though he had no reason or obligation to do so."

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I woke up to a sharp pain going through my shoulder. Where am I? What happened? I sat up and looked around. The room was dark. I could make out a sleeping figure in a chair next to the bed I was in.

I looked closer and recognized the short, disheveled, dark hair that could only belong to Erik. He was leaning on his arm. Saving my sorry excuse for a life must've worn him out.

Today's earlier events flashed through my mind-going the beach, those masked men coming after us, getting shot (that explains the pain), falling off that cliff, seeing Ghost Mom which was probably my overreactive imagination, then Erik doing all that medical stuff.

How did he even learn all that? He seemed experienced.

I cleared my mind of that thought as I dangled my legs off the bed then stood up. Well, tried to, anyway. I ended up getting unbalanced due to the rocking of the boat and falling, which made my shoulder hurt even more. If I could compare the pain to anything, it would be the first time Angie used the knife on me. Except this wound went way deeper.

The noise of me falling was apparently enough to wake Erik because he suddenly jolted up in his seat. He looked around before spotting me. He rushed to help me up. "Ame, are you okay? Why are you on the floor?" Worry was evident in his eyes.

"Lost my balance and fell. Nothing big. I'm fine," I replied.

"I'm guessing the anesthetic has worn off since you're clutching your shoulder. It hurts, right?"

"Not really," I lied, not wanting Erik to worry too much. "I'm fine."

"Sure, you are," he said sarcastically as he made me sit on the bed again. "You should take it easy okay? The Medical Team just put stitches in your shoulder. You don't want the wound to reopen."

"Yes, sir," I said. "What time is it?"

He checked his phone, "6:58. Why?"

"We missed the bus to go back to the hotel. It was supposed to leave at five. We're gonna have to find a way to get back."

"Don't worry. Kate said she'd take us back when I asked. We should probably get back now. Can you walk?"

"Yeah," I said, getting up.

I was able to stand for a couple of seconds before the boat rocked again, and I found myself falling forward. I shut my eyes, bracing myself for the pain that would come with the fall, but, surprisingly, it didn't come. I opened my eyes to find myself in Erik's arms.

"Careful," he warned, putting my arm around his shoulders for support. "Come on. Let's go above deck," he said, not even giving me a chance to respond. He led me out the door, up some stairs, and into the slightly dimming light known as the outside world where Kate was waiting. The sun had just set but wasn't completely gone yet.

"You guy ready to return to your class trip?"

"I guess," I answered.

"Sorta. Don't really want to go back and deal with annoying cake faces," Erik said with the slightest hints of annoyance and disgust in his expression.

"Well, you don't really have a choice, do you?" Kate said, smiling and shaking her head at him.

"Guess not," he said.

"Then let's get going," she said, signaling the captain to start moving toward the mainland.

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