Camp Red Lake

Chapter. 15 Record

The stiffness in my back woke me the next day. I sat up with a weary groan and rubbed the nape of my neck. "Morning." Croy's voice lifted my spirits immediately.

"Croy, you're okay!" I shouted as I tossed my arms around him

"Ow, ow, ow, careful with the cut." He chuckled as I pulled away.

"Oh right, sorry." I apologized sheepishly.

"So how are you feeling?" I asked as I drank some water.

"I'm okay. I think you did a really good job. Look, it's still dry." He enthused as he pulled up his shirt and showed me the clean gauze. My cheeks grew warm  when my gaze focused on his abs instead of the cut.
"You okay?" He asked as he put his shirt down.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't I be?" I asked with a nervous chuckle. He rolled his eyes before handing me a granola bar. "You hungry?" He asked. I nodded and accepted it, gratefully peeling the wrapper off and taking a bite.

"So, what happened last night? Why did you pass out like that?" I asked as I munched on the bar. He shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know. I think I lost a little too much blood though, cuz I still feel light-headed." He muttered before shoving the last of his granola bar into his mouth.

"You do look a little pale." I admitted before sticking the wrapper in my pocket.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" I asked, my cheeks heating up at the memory. He shook his head.

"No, although I do remember looking at you before passing out. I had a reason though." He trailed off as he scratched his head. "Oh yea. I was going to clean your face. You have blood on your cheek." He said as he opened the first aid kit and took out some moist towelettes. "Hold still." He instructed. I swallowed nervously as he took my face in his hands. I could feel heat rising to my cheeks as he studied me.

"That bastard hit you pretty hard huh?" He asked as he ran his thumb along the bruise o my cheekbone. I nodded. Goosebumps prickled my skin as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "You have a cut near your brow." He informed before rummaging around in the kit. "Don't move." He reminded before pouring some peroxide on a piece of gauze and cleaning my cut.

I flinched.

"Sorry, I'm almost done..." he trailed off before opening a giant band-aid and placing it above my brow. "There you go, how does that feel?" I touched the band-aid above my eye carefully.

"Much better, thank you." I blinked as he took my chin, bringing me even closer to check me for any more scratches. When he traced my bottom lip with his thumb, it tingled.

"Your lip is swollen too." He muttered. "Does it hurt?" He asked without letting go. I shook my head and noticed that one of his eyes was also darkening and his nose had a cut on the bridge. A few scratches lined his jaw and a another cut through his top lip. Even with all those injuries, he still looked...perfect.

"Why didn't you run?" He asked in a low voice as he kept his hand on my chin. "If you had, you wouldn't have so many injuries." He scolded.

"I couldn't just leave you by yourself." I huffed as he pulled away.

"While I appreciate the gesture, I think it was stupid on your part." He admitted as he began putting away the health kit.

"So, I'm stupid for worrying about you?" I asked, a little miffed. "Honestly, yeah. You could have gotten hurt. Those guys could've done something terrible to you. It was hard to concentrate on fighting them when I couldn't stop worrying about you." I furrowed my brows at him.

"Well sorry for caring!" I blurted out; his eyes widened. "Sorry I'm not as strong as you, or as brave. Sorry you have to worry about me."

He sighed. "I didn't mean it like that." He assured.