Guilt (A Zero Spin-Off)

FortySeven - Ella

Kyle was being impossible, but I liked it. It was a nice break from shit hitting the fan that seemed to be never-ending. Drugged up Kyle was flirty and sweet and saying things that he definitely should not be saying. Not that I was complaining about what he said. Or maybe I was. Drugged up and sad, because I knew underneath the nice little high of the percocet, real feelings were there. Feelings that were awful. And I didn't think that was exactly the best way to tell someone you love them, or if I could even believe it.

I shook my head to myself. Who just stood there in all their naked glory, higher than a kite and accused you of loving them? I did my best to ignore it. I had to ignore it. This was really, really not the time to be doing any of this. Not that it had ever been a great time for us, but this seemed particularly bad.

Refusing to acknowledge what he'd said, I helped him get dressed because though he managed to undress just fine, the face he made when bending his injured leg let me know he needed help. It would have been a lot more awkward, helping a grown man into his boxers, had he been fully aware. But he wasn't even close and I honestly didn't think he even really knew what was going on by that point. Looking at him, I was a little surprised he made it through a full shower okay.

I helped him into his shirt, but not his pants since I left everything to wrap his wound in his room. He was decent enough to hobble back to his room though, so I wrapped my arm around him and supported what little weight I could.

When we got back everyone was back in the room. Joel must have worked some charm because Atlas was there too, and no signs of any sort of security detail. But Joel and Kyle had the trust of this place like no one else, so I imagine if they said someone was okay, they were really okay.

Joel hopped up and helped me get Kyle back down to the bed.

"Ella's my naughty nurse," Kyle attempted - and failed - to whisper to Joel. The boys all chuckled and I hung my head, unable to look at any of them.

"Let's just get your leg taken care of," I said. "Before you embarrass yourself."

"I'm not embarrassed," he said wearing a lopsided grin.

While I sanitized and wrapped his leg tightly, Kyle was barely lucid but still managing a conversation with the room. Was it wrong to be so amused by him in this state? It was like it wasn't him. A totally different Kyle that wasn't so reserved and intense. It, at least, took the weight off of the moment. And when I mentioned that I had to get back and started to stand, Kyle's fingers wrapped around my wrist and pulled (with a lot more strength and you'd expect a bedridden, drugged up man to have) me back toward him. I toppled against him and Kyle pulled me to his chest. And even Bambi smiled as she watched Kyle pin me awkwardly against his chest.

She'd been taking it hard. Even harder that she hadn't been able to see Zero all day.

And I hadn't been able to tell Zero what happened at the church. What happened to Squirrel. I knew she was close with them all, but I'd gotten the feeling that she and Squirrel were really close. She wasn't going to take it well, not at all. And, okay, part of me worried that she'd hate me for it. If I hadn't dragged her here, she would have still been at the church. She would have been able to protect her friends, or at least try. Or maybe they would have already left and found somewhere else to be.

It was selfish to keep it from her because I didn't want her to be angry with me. I knew that. She deserved to know. But she also deserved to have the people she really loved with her when she found out. If she was crushed like I thought she would be from the news, she'd want Hunter to be her rock.

So she didn't know what Bambi was here. And until we left in... hopefully the next twelve hours, there wasn't any way to let her see Bambi and I didn't want her to worry over something out of her control. But I was glad something made the little girl smile.