Far Cry | JJK x OC

Chapter 47 // Reason

Leah opened her eyes slowly, the fulminating headache hitting her like a lightning bolt so strongly she could barely open her eyes. She released a deep breath, assessing her state to the smallest of crevices inside her — she was drained. She was just waking up, the moonlight was entering the hut through the window, and yet she was so tired she could barely move.

She meant to let herself sink into the mattress, but she fell into a warm firm body instead. His masculine fragrance instantly calmed her, she was in her safe place. A sob raised her chest, but she kept quiet not to wake him. He stayed. He stayed through her incongruent thoughts, her desperation, and her inability to share or explain what was going on.

She remembered him asking, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

She was shaking in his arms as they lay in bed. He had gotten everyone else out, comforted her, tried to get her to eat something, then drink something, then agreed when she just denied everything aside from his arms around her. She realized how selfish that was now, but at the time all she could think about was feeling safe. She was safe with him and if he was with her, then she'd know he was safe too.

She didn't want to keep him in the dark though, so she tried to explain it to him. "It's like quicksand, and if I let it, it will swallow me and I will disappear."

She hid in his neck and stayed there, trying to manage her overflowing soul. The sand was pressing so hard she couldn't breathe, if something touched her stomach she would puke it out. The only thing keeping her from panicking was his presence, his gentle voice, his tender touch, his firm embrace keeping her pieces together as she tried to make sense of them.

Jungkook grunted mutely and pulled her tighter against his chest. He batted his eyelashes slowly, he had a headache. He drew in a forced breath when he realized he hadn't just closed his eyes for a second, but actually fallen asleep. His anxiety was quickly soothed however, she was right there in his arms, looking at him.

He caught his breath for a moment, just staring back at her. She looked pale and tired under the moonlight coming through the window. She looked both a second away from crying and too exhausted to. He heaved a sigh, closing his eyes for a second. How could she not be exhausted?

Though she had been asleep, it was terrible. She kept shaking through her nightmares. It took him a long time to calm her down. He hugged her, lulled her, talked to her, sang to her. He found that his voice worked the best, so he did not mind singing quietly every song he could think of. Sometimes his voice died under his sorrow, but he quickly picked it back up. For her.

It never crossed his mind to leave because she never let go of him, gripping his shirt and hiding in his neck. If she could find comfort in his presence, no matter how small, then he wouldn't ever move a millimeter until she asked it herself.

For the first time in so many hours, he saw the shine in her eyes that he knew and loved. The back of his fingers brushed her soft cheek in the lightest touch and she blinked, and he teared up. He quickly sucked in a breath and kept his fears and emotions out of the equation; he didn't want to pressure her or make her feel bad in any way. But he had missed that shine in her eyes and it gave him hope that the worst had passed.

But then she pursed her lips and looked away, and a glacial shiver crossed his spine. He was scared of what kind of ideas she could be having. Ideas like leaving. Like leaving without him.

"Tell me," he asked.

"I should leave," she whispered.

He took a deep breath. "No, you shouldn't. There's no reason for you to."