Havoc of Betrayal

CHAPTER 35 - Justice

Chapter 35

Axel was groggy as his mind slowly sobered up, eyes still closed. He felt cold, but his back felt as if it caught aflame. He tried to move before pain assaulted him, making him grunt before his blurry mind remembered what happened. He opened his eyes, and the moment he did, he felt his body relax against the bed.

Mathias was there, so close, yet not close enough to touch him. Which made him wonder if he was afraid to hurt him, as they never slept in the same bed without holding each other.

He bit his lip as he looked at his peaceful, sleeping face. His cheeks and nose red, face blotched as if he'd been crying for a while, maybe even fell asleep while he was in tears which made Axel's heart pinch in his chest. He hissed as he moved his hand, wanting to touch Mathias, letting out a soft breath when he caressed his hair back, hearing the soft moan that left him as he leaned into the touch.

Axel gulped back his tears at the thought of him being a second late to reach Mathias. He would've dived right after him, without a single thought in mind. He smiled softly when Mathias's eyes opened slowly, and as he thought, they were red from crying.

"Ax..." Mathias breathed.

"Are you alright?" Axel said, his voice rough from just waking up. Mathias nodded softly, feeling Axel's thumb caressing his cheek.

"What about you? Your back..." Mathias said with a frown.

"I feel it more than I did earlier." Axel said honestly.

" A day." Mathias said, making Axel frown.

"A day what?"

"You had a fever. You've been asleep for a whole day. Scared me." Mathias said, his eyes seeming tired.

"Really?" Axel asked, just then feeling the bed shift on his other side before he grimaced when someone touched his bandages, peeling them back.

"Sorry." Detrick said when he heard him grunt, adding, "I need to clean this and change the bandages. It's looking better than last night at least." Detrick said, then reached over to touch his brow saying, "You're still a little warm, but I think it should be gone by the end of the day. How are you feeling?" Detrick asked.

"Tired." Axel answered, and as Detrick started working, the painful grunts leaving Axel's lips made Mathias move closer, caressing his cheek softly. When he felt helpless, he thought maybe he could distract him, the way Axel always did when he needed it, and it worked, so he hoped it would work with him as well as he leaned in, kissing him deeply.

Detrick felt him relax as he worked, making a soft sigh leave him as he tried to finish as carefully and fast as he could.

"It's not safe for you if I stay in your room." Axel said as Detrick was finishing up.

"Don't worry about it." Mathias said, and Axel didn't like the tiredness in his eyes or voice. It was as if he didn't care about life anymore and it scared him, especially after what happened.

"Besides, you are too big to move." Detrick said, "You landed here, you stay here, big guy. And..." Detrick said as he leaned over the bed, "I got something for you. It snowed last night. Which means ice." Detrick said, Axel stiffened the second he placed a towel dipped in ice water on his back, "Cold, but give it a second. It will numb the pain. Drink this." Detrick said, reaching around him to hand him a small vail, "For pain."

"Thanks, Rick." Axel sighed after he finished the medicine as Mathias sat up to take it and place it aside, gripping his head the moment he did when he felt dizzy.

"Nothing to thank me for. It is nothing compared to what you did for me. Which I am still not done talking about." Rick said as he placed a hand over Axel's head then moved away from bed to clean up.