Runaway

VIII

"Bambi? Hey, Bambi! Wake up!" I slowly opened my eyes to see Dakota towering over me.

I lifted my head slightly to try and take in my surroundings but quickly laid it back down after feeling a sharp pain in my neck.

Dakota fell to his knees and fear and angst washed over his face. He carefully lifted my head up and positioned himself so my upper body rested on his lap. He placed his hands on my cheeks and gently stroked my skin with his thumbs.

"Hey, Bambi? Have some water, okay?" He tilted my head up and placed his water bottle against my dry lips. I took a huge gulp, feeling refreshed as the chilled water flowed down my throat. After chugging most of the water, he set it down on the ground next to him.

"Oh, shit. Hey, Bambi? We need to get you back. I need to take this hoodie off of you..." There was a pause. "I need to look at your wounds." He demanded quickly yet softly.

"Wounds? What are you talking about?" I asked as I moved my arms into my line of vision. There were tears and rips in the hoodie, exposing open wounds covered in both dry and fresh blood. There were quite a few on my arm so I'm only assuming they were scattered everywhere else on my body.

"Huh? What... happened?" I started shaking my head and a tear started to drip slowly down my bruised cheek. I quickly jumped up onto my feet, disregarding the fact that every time I move my body ached. I cried out in pain and Dakota rushed up to help. He started to put his arm around me but I stepped back before he could.

"No, no, no... NO! Dammit!" I cried. I gripped my head and started pacing, ignoring the excruciating pain. I noticed Dakota was staring at me, confused and worried.

As I was pacing, I conveniently tripped over a rock and face planted onto the cold, hard ground. I let out an ear-piercing scream as Dakota rushed over to me.

I tried lifting myself up but every time I moved it felt like someone or something was tearing into my cuts over and over again.

"Here, let me help." Dakota lifted me up and cradled me in his arms, making sure he wasn't putting me in any more pain than I already was.

"I'll take you back to my place." He placed a soft kiss on the top of my head.

"No. No.. no one can see me. Last time was too much of a risk, and considering I'm covered in wild animal claw marks, I don't think that's such a good idea." My voice was shaky.

He stopped to think for a moment before resting me on the ground. He pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his tan skin and toned muscles. I look away before he catches me staring.

"Help me take off your hoodie." He demands as he starts slowly and carefully trying to pull my arms out of the suffocating sleeves.

"What.. why?" I look into his eyes questioningly.

"We have two options: Haul your ass back to your tree and somehow UP the tree or change your shirt and I'll carry you home. You'll stand out less with a clean shirt that isn't covered in rips and I don't know how the hell we'd be able to get you up your tree." He explains rather quickly as I nod, assuming he'll take that as a gesture to help me change out of the hoodie.

And he does. We very slowly pull the hoodie over my head. I whimper in pain during the process of taking off the hoodie and putting his t-shirt on.

After a half an hour or so we finally make it back to where the town meets the edge of the woods. He stops and shoots me a quick glance before continuing on.

"Just look at me like we're... I don't know. Look at me like you're in love with me." He said rather quickly, trying to avoid eye contact.

"I'm sorry, what?! Just carry me back to your place. I'll be fine with keeping my head down." I pulled the hoodie over my head, hiding my face from the rest of the world.