Pages of You

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Please, please, please –"

"Hey, man, she's okay," I heard voices reaching my ears. "The car stopped just in time –"

"She's not waking! You said she's fine!" Large, soft hands cupped my cheeks, caressing my skin. "Why didn't you stop her –"

"I tried to! And let her rest, dude. She's fine, stop crowding her!"

Ugh, why are they yelling? That sounded like Ethan...

"Open your eyes for me, ma chérie d'amour, please..."

That sounded like Chiron... The sound of despair in his tone hurt me. I tried to say something, but only a pathetic moan came out.

I heard a sharp breath intake and a relieved "Rose," followed by what I swear felt like the softest pair of lips peppering across my face, "You're okay. You're okay."

I opened my eyes slowly, a pounding headache hammering against my skull as I let my eyes sweep around me. Ethan was standing behind the couch, a relieved look on his face.

"Shit, Rosie." Ethan chuckled, raising his hands and running his fingers through his hair. "I think you just made Chiron and me age by ten years with the stress you put us through."

I lifted my chin to see Chiron hovering above me. His hands cupped my face as he continued caressing my cheeks. I quickly realized my head was on his lap, and we were covered in blankets with the heater on.

I tried to sit up, but Chiron gently kept me in place, "No. Rest."

I blinked up at him, noticing how tight his expression suddenly became. Why does he look both pissed off and terrified at the same time? I'm the one with the raging headache. I frowned and turned my attention to Ethan, "What happened?"

He looked at Chiron, who just kept staring down at me. His thumb continued to caress my face while his other hand ran his fingers through my head, lightly massaging it.

I nearly purred.

Ethan sighed, "You ran after Chiron in the damn rainstorm and almost got yourself killed."

The fingers running through my hair stilled for a second before resuming.

"What?" I croaked, "What do you mean?"

I only remembered running to Chiron, and then it was just a blur. I blinked, trying to sort through my memory. As soon as everything flooded back to it, I felt my body slump and my head lifting to Chiron. He was looking all over me but not my eyes.

"You're incredibly fortunate the car didn't hit you," Ethan remarked, raising an eyebrow to recapture my attention. I forgot he's a paramedic, so he must have checked for any possible injuries to me. I must be good if he lets me lie on the couch. "But when you stepped off the sidewalk, you twisted your ankle, tumbled, and hit your head."

Of course I did.

Where is Adeline? She would be laughing right about now. I could feel a hysterical chuckle threatening to leave my lips, but I tried to stifle it because of how crazy it would make me seem.

I failed. I closed my eyes, a small laughter escaping me, and I tried to reel it back in. I felt Chiron stiffen against me.

"For fucks sake, Rose," Chiron muttered softly, forcing my eyes to open. "You think this is funny?" He said, his tone very low with an edge of anger. I don't know why, but his voice still hugged me, regardless of how angry he sounded. Ugh, I must have hit my head way harder than they thought.