Ascension

Twenty-Eight

I sat and clicked through the TV guide. My body and my mind was completely exhausted. I had pushed myself beyond what I'd expected in both my physical and mental training since Tuesday night. Preparing for this mission, my first, was going to make or break whatever I did for the rest of my life. It was the night before the big day. The day where I prove my worth to everyone.

Manny had given me the rundown of how their system works, I even got a peek inside of his space in the Navarro headquarters. An office with at least twenty screens on the wall, aisles of storage and servers. It was how he kept track of everything, how he did everything, all the data, and the security of their company. It was mind-boggling.

There was a knock at my bedroom door and I shut the TV off. "Come in."

The familiar raven haired man walked into my room. I felt the pit in my stomach grow wider. He had made it a point not to talk much to me these past couple of days. Or perhaps, I was the one avoiding him. I wasn't sure. It felt like the both of us sensed the tension since the cabin incident, and neither of us wanted to confront it. So it was left awkwardly hanging in every situation since.

He carried in a pale pink bin and threw me a small smile before shutting the door behind him. My shoulders straightened. "Could you help me?" His face had returned stoic.

I recognized the medical supplies in the small tub as he approached me. I pushed myself off the bed and vaguely frowned. "Why don't you get Leah to do it?" I asked sarcastically, my filter was gone. I pulled out the chair at my desk and gestured for him to sit down. "I mean, who else has been doing it the past couple of days?"

"Angela." He answered quickly and amused. "What, are you jealous I didn't ask you for help?"

"Absolutely not." I said and pushed him down into the chair.

"Is that so, Shorty?"

I hum, "taking care of you is the last thing on my mind."

"I bet. Thinking about me must be too difficult. So difficult you haven't said anything to me in weeks."

His sarcasm struck a nerve in me. I could feel my eye twitch. He looked at me directly in the eyes as he passed the pink bin to me. I tried my best not to give in. I cleared my throat. "Are you so hurt you can't take your shirt off?"

He almost couldn't contain his laughter and shook his head, "I swear I really can't."

I rolled my eyes and reached over behind his back, grabbing the edge of the fabric, and held my breath as I tugged his shirt away from his body. By the looks of it, most of his bruising had gone down. He had a few here and there that were hardly noticeable through his tattoos.

"Ow!" He yelled and I flinched.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Where did I hurt you?" I blurted.

I saw that devilish smirk and narrowed my eyes into slits.

"Got you."

I threw his shirt onto the floor, "ha, ha. So funny."

Prick.

"Aw, you actually care about me." His voice was teasing but a part of me still felt back. I carefully pulled back the tape around the edge of the bandage. I didn't say a word as his expression slowly lightened up. I peeled away the bandage gently, along with the layers of blood filled gauze that had been wrapped around his arm and shoulder multiple times just to stay in place. "You know I was just kidding, Dani."

"I know." I reached back and grabbed the wet washcloth and gently patted the embedded and stitched wound in his shoulder. I tried my hardest not to make an expression. This was all because of me, this tedious healing process. In fact, all of this was my fault. "Why are you getting me to do this?" I asked quietly as I pulled apart the packaging for the next wrap.