Branded

Chapter 6

I can feel a cool cloth on my forehead. My whole body is throbbing with pain. I open my eyes and nearly jump out of my skin. Michael is sitting on my bedside watching over me. I start to sit up.

"No, stay down." He says getting me to lie down again. He wears a placid face, but his eyes are filled with worry.

"What happened? Where's Lee? Is she okay?" I say sitting up against his wishes. My head starts to hurt so badly I nearly black out.

Michael pulls my arms out from underneath me and lies me down gently, "She's fine. I gave her something so she would sleep. She's got a couple of bruises and a cut or two, but she'll live."

"What do you mean you 'gave her something to sleep'?"

"Don't worry about it. Are you alright?" he says starting to look over my body.

"I think I'm alright. What happened?" I ask again.

"Some assholes jumped you two." he says as he grabs peroxide and pours it on a tissue. He presses it against my forehead and I can feel the sting. I draw back a little, but Michael just holds my head in place, "You were lucky I was nearby or you'd be someone's sex toy or dead by now."

"You saved me?" I ask confused.

He looks me in the eyes and I get chills. He puts the tissue in the trash and lightly caresses my cheek, "Yeah, I guess I did."

He places his hand against my face and lightly rubs my cheekbone with his thumb. I feel my face warm even though chills are running through me with each brush from his thumb. He smiles slightly at me, "Only Americans would be stupid enough to get themselves jumped by that group of thugs. They're nothing compared to other gangs."

"Why were you over here? You don't live nearby, do you?"

"I was looking for you. Why weren't you at the diner today?"

"Oh, um, because I had to help Lee with something for dance."

"Oh." he pauses for a while, "I missed you."

I purse my lips a little as I try to hide my embarrassment and happiness. We sit there in silence for a while as he continues to absentmindedly caress my face. I try to read his face to see what he's thinking, but he's a bit of a mystery to me.

"Um.. Michael.. can I ask you for a favor?" I say swallowing hard. I don't know what I'm doing, but I can't stop myself.

"Depends. What is it?"

My heart is racing. 'Stop, don't do it!' my head screams, but my heart speaks, "Will you hold me? Not to be weird or anything, its just, I'm a little traumatized and you make me feel safe."

"If you knew the real me, you wouldn't feel safe." he says softly.

I figure he's going to say no because of the comment. But, he simply picks me up, moves me over slightly and then pulls me close to him. I rest my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me. My whole being is on fire and my stomach is tying itself in a knot. I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. I pray he doesn't feel it.

"Sleep now, alright?" he says softly. I can feel him run his fingers through my hair to calm me. I nod and hold onto him as I drift off to sleep.

When I awaken, Michael isn't here. I look around the room and find a note near my open window. It reads:

"Hey Nick,

Had to run. I hope you're feeling better when you're awake.
See you at 6:17.

~M.C"