Crazy In Love | Buggy

e i g h t y - e i g h t

When I awoke, it was to the most excruciating pain that I had ever experienced in my life. Which was saying a lot considering how many times I had gotten seriously injured on my journey with Buggy. I groaned, trying to move my body but it refused to answer any of my calls for movement. I was completely limp, against the hard cold rock ground of the cave.

At first, I had zero sense of hearing. Then, as moments passed, some noises came flooding into my ears. There was the ringing, the same one I had heard as I was passing out. Although this time it wasn't quite as deafening, nor was it the only sound I could hear.

I heard the sound of voices yelling, screaming and arguing. I couldn't quite make out exactly what was being said, which was frustrating. It was as if it was all jumbled. Focusing all of my energy on my hearing, I tried to search for a coherent sentence in the mess. For a minute or so, I had no such luck.

That is, until I heard Buggy's voice. In all of the chaos, I could so easily catch the sound of his voice. "She has nothing to do with this!"

Usually, Buggy was so charismatic and collected. Right now, however, his voice was full of panic and fear. If the roles were reversed, I would feel the exact same. Seeing someone you love getting hurt like this was horrible.

Sanra spoke next. "You didn't have to hit her quite as hard, Stede. I mean, I don't even know if she's alive."

With how bad my pain was in this moment, I wished I wasn't. I found myself missing being unconscious because at least it was a break from the horrific pain I was experiencing.

"She isn't dead. Look, her eyes her open."

It was then that I noticed that I was crying. I felt hot tears fill my eyes, spilling free and falling to the ground. I mumbled out some words, desperate pleas. What exactly I said, I wasn't sure. My brain was too jumbled, too incoherent.

I heard laughter, a lot of laughter. "I think you gave her brain damage."

"Yeah, she's speaking a whole other language."

"Her hair even has blood in it. I think you cracked her skull clean open."

I felt sick. How could they be getting such joy out of my suffering? I felt certain that I was going to die. Minutes had passed, and I still couldn't move an inch, and the pain was only getting worse and worse. All I wanted was for Buggy to be safe though, so when I heard him speak again, I felt a wave of relief hit me.

"Please, just let me make sure she's okay."

"Bu..." I mumbled out, tasting blood in my mouth as I spoke. "B...uh..."

"Betty, stay awake. I think you might have a concusion. Don't fall asleep."

Sleep. That sounded really good at this moment. Although, with how much pain I was in, I knew sleep wouldn't come easily. Then, it hit me what Buggy had meant when he said that. If I had a conclusion, I could die if I fell asleep. As much as I wanted an escape from the pain, I didn't want to leave Buggy.

We didn't deserve to die. Not over some stupid treasure, not after everything else we had survived. Plus, what about my family? The thought of never seeing them ever again killed me. I felt myself involuntarily cry out, which only got me more laughter.

"Betty, it's okay. We're going to be okay," Buggy urged out.

I noticed then the sound of his voice. He sounded absolutely exhausted, like he had no energy whatsoever. What was the salt sea water doing to his body? I knew it would drain his energy, but would it kill him after too long? I wasn't sure.