From Grief We grew (Only On Wattpad)

Chapter 54 Teagan

The lights come on and we find ourselves surrounded by mirrors. There are narrow passages between some of them. “You can’t walk through that while carrying me like this,” I point at the maze. He hesitates. “I’m fine Lucah,” I assure him. He nods and puts me down. I smile holding his hand as I lead the way. I find myself looking at Lucah's reflection in the mirror. Why do you still care for me after everything? Distracted by my thoughts, I don’t see where I’m walking. I end up bumping into a mirror. “Ouch.”
 
   “Shit! Are you okay?” Lucah grabs my face and examines it. His face looks so serious that I burst out laughing. He frowns. I place my hands on top of his and look at him dearly. “There is no room for pain in my heart right now,” I whisper as I feel light-hearted. He stares at me blankly for a moment but then nods and lets go.
 
   Finding our way doesn’t turn out to be easy. Lucah points out that we might be going in circles so we use the marker to write on the mirrors. This helps us reach the end of the room but the end turns out to be a dead end. “Are you kidding me!?” Lucah throws his hands in frustration. I examine the brick wall in front of us. Some of the bricks are jutting out sort of forming a staircase. My eyes travel up and I see an open door. I shake his shoulder in excitement. “Lucah look!”  
 
   Lucah holds onto one of the bricks and shakes his head. “Our foot would barely fit. Climbing this is dangerous.”
 
   I shake my head and hold onto a brick. Lucah tugs on my top. “Teagan…” I ignore him and pull myself onto the first brick. I slowly try to climb it. I grin as I find myself getting closer to the door but then my leg slips. My hands reach out for grip but it’s no use. I fall back. Luckily Lucah catches me and I don’t hurt myself for the second time today. He gives me an I told you so look. “Okay fine. We have a problem,” I agree as he puts me down.
 
   Wait we have a rope. Why do we have a rope? I look up trying to find something useful. Then I see it. An iron rode juts out just above the door frame. At the edge, it’s curved upwards like a hook. I look back at Lucah as I grab the rope. “Carry me as high as you can.” He nods and bends down. Wrapping his arms a little above my knees, he lifts me.  
 
   I try flinging the rope but it doesn’t get on the hook. “Teagan, what are you doing?” Lucah asks as I lung forward to grab the falling rope.
 
  On the 3rd try, I manage to get the rope on the hook. I nudge Lucah and he puts me down. Both ends of the rope dangle down. I hand Lucah one end and tell him, “Hold this and pull me up.” I start tying the other end around my waist. “The rode will work as a lever. Once I go up, you tie that end around you and I'll pull you up.”
 
   “Teagan there must be another way. Is this rope even strong enough?”
 
   I tug on the rope as hard as I can to show him it is. “Trust me on this. We can do this,” I assure him. He doesn’t nod still in hesitation. Then it dawns on me. I’m asking him for his trust when all I did was break it with all the secrets I’ve been keeping…
 
   I open my mouth to explain my plan but he speaks first, “Okay. Be careful.”
 
   I smile gratefully and nod. I start climbing the wall again. This time the rope is extra support. I keep the rope wrapped around my wrist so I can balance between being pulled and climbing. Successfully I manage to get to the door and I crawl into the empty room. I notice a big red buzzer standing in the center. I ignore it and turn around. “Ready?” I ask looking down at him. He tugs on the rope and shows me a thumbs up.
 
   I start walking backwards as I pull on the rope. I hear him cursing and my heart skips a beat. “Are you okay?” I yell. Silence. “Lucah?!”
 
   “Yes. Yes,” his voice is barely audible. “Pull,” I grunt and pull harder. Lucah's weight suddenly feels heavier for a minute but then it becomes easier. Was he hanging? I notice his head and pull harder. He crawls into the room and he pants heavily. An alarm sound startles me. I look at the clock and the countdown goes from ten. I quickly slam the buzzer and the alarm stops. Then I fall on my knees in front of Lucah and cling onto him as he still remains on the floor. I hug him dearly to my chest as I cry in joy, “We did it! We did it.”
 
   “Heights… I hate heights,” he mutters. Oh. OH! That’s why hesitated!?
 
    I chuckle and squeeze him. “You are safe. It’s over. I’m here.” I run my hand over his back hoping to comfort him.

***

   By the time we get back our things and go to the parking lot, it’s already 7 o’clock. Unlike the reception that’s now crowded, the parking area is rather deserted. Only the rows of cars show signs of people. I notice a silhouette walking in the distance. I look at Lucah and say, “Today was fun.”
 
   “Yes. Nerve wrecking but it was good. We should do this again.”
 
   We. There’s still a we? The thought makes me smile and I nod. In the corner of my eyes, I notice someone walk by and bump into Lucah. “Watch where you are going!” a voice growls. I look at the man whose face is covered with a mask. Only his hazel eyes are seen. Even his hair is hidden in a scarf. Something about his mysterious identity makes me uncomfortable. “I'm sorry,” I quickly apologize and try to drag Lucah
 
   He scoffs, “You Canadians really think sorry fixes everything uh?”
 
   “You bumped into me, man. What’s your problem?” Lucah asks.
 
   “Oh so now it’s my fault uh? Who do you think you are?” the guy scuffs Lucah's shoulders. Taken back by the sudden attack, Lucah stumbles back. I hold onto his arm. “Lucah let’s go,” I whisper.
 
   “Yeah listen to your hoe, Wimp,” the guy taunts.
 
   “What the fuck did you just say!?” Lucah growls and leaps forward grabbing the guy by his collar. The stranger is much taller than Lucah but that doesn’t faze him.
 
   “Aw does the truth hurt?”
 
   “Lucah let him go,” I beg.
 
   “Go to your hoe.” This ticks him off. Lucah throws the first blow and the guy dodges. I take a step forward to intervene but something wraps around my stomach and my mouth at the same time. My voice gets muffled into the person's big hand. Lucah is too busy fighting to notice what’s happening. I throw my hands behind me and struggle to get free. I feel a sharp pain in the right side of my stomach and I look down. I see blood and gasp in horror. The person's grip loosens around me. I let out a piercing cry in pain, “LUCAHHHH.” My hand finds their hair and I grip it with all my strength and pull. My eyes fixed on Lucah as he turns around and gaps. The guy fighting him takes the opportunity to push him off of him and Lucah falls down.
 
   “Leave me bitch!” my attacker growls and he tries prying my hand off of him. The other guy comes to the rescue and pulls me back. I end up stumbling and falling on my back. They start running and Lucah chases behind them. I feel something in my hand and I faintly smile proud of my instincts. I push my hand into my pocket while my other hand presses against my wound. “L-lucah,” I manage to breathe out. He makes a swift turn and runs back to me.
 
   “Fu*k. Fu*k.” he places his hand on my hand. “Stay with me okay?” he carries me and runs to my car. I feel a little lightheaded but try to not give in to it. Lucah tries making me sit in the front seat and I hiss in pain immediately. “Bare with me please.” He removes his shirt and then reaches for my hand. I can feel his hand tremble as he holds mine. He removes my hand carefully and then quickly ties his shirt around my wound. Tears roll down his cheeks as he whispers, “Stay with me please.” He holds my head and kisses it.
 
   Jumping into the driver's seat, he starts the car. I lean back as I groan in pain. “The hospital is nearby. Hang on.” I feel him squeeze my hand. I can barely keep my eyes open but I try to. “Please. I need you. Stay with me.” I can hear the concern in his voice. It makes me wonder, Am I going to die? The thought makes me shiver. What if I do? I have no clue how deep the wound is. I feel my calm slowly deflating but I try not to cry.
 
   The car stops. Lucah rushes to me and carries me out. My body begs to give up. Tears roll down my cheeks. No. No. I want to live. I need to for him. I place my hand on his cheek. I frown seeing blood on my hand that’s now also on his cheeks. I think of the last time I saw blood. My heart tightens. I open my mouth but nothing comes out.
 
   “Shhh. You will be okay,” he assures.
 
  I shake my head and finally manage to whisper, “ I-I love you.” He stops walking and looks at me or maybe I’m imagining it. My vision starts getting blurry. His voice becomes distant as I slowly slip away from reality.