Mismatched(A collab with EmeraRider)

Chapter 12

         It was so, so cold and dark. Sleet stung my face and the wind howled in my ears as I staggered forward. The only coherent thought was that I had to find him, whoever he was. I squinted, looking for something, anything, other than this blinding snow. Then I saw him. His back was turned to me, but I just knew that I had to get to him.  Each step was harder than the last. When I finally reached him, I reached for his hand. The blizzard died down the moment we touched.

          He turned to me with those cerulean eyes, and gave me the warmest smile.

        "You found me, Zoe." Nathan said.  

        I bolted up in bed, but immediately regretted it.  I closed my eyes, feeling quite nauseous.

        Thump. Thump. Thump.

        It was all I could feel, all I could hear,as if someone had stuck an axe in my head. Each moment was worse than the last.  I threw the sheets over my head and then covered my ears. Now this was why Father advised me not to drink rum.

        " Zoe?" A bandaged hand gently pulled away the sheets. "It's Nathan."

        I winced at the sound of his voice. The slightest noise caused me to double over in pain.

        I slowly opened my eyes.  

              "Where am I?" I croaked, my throat dry. "How long have I been asleep? What happened to--" A wave of nausea hit me and I leaned over and vomited into a bucket.

        Nathan rubbed my back until I was finished.  Just the smell of my vomit mad me want to retch again, but I managed not to. But after the initial relief of not vomiting, the true horror of it all settled in. This was so embarassing, the lowest I had ever been. And of all the people, Nathan had to be the one to see me like this. At least it wasn't Eric.

        "Here, this will help." He handed me a warm, steamy mug of broth.

        Memories of last night started to flood my mind. I found it hard to meet his eyes.

        "Thank you." I tentatively took a sip of the broth, hoping it wouldn't come back up later.

        "Minerva and Alex were somehow able to..calm you, and they decided to keep you in this room. You've been asleep for a few hours. It's morning now."

        "Did I hurt anyone last night?" I asked hesitantly. The details were still unclear, most of last night was a blur.

        "Just me." Nathan said, grimacing. He showed me his two bandaged hands once more. "Nothing serious, though."

        My insides felt like they were being turned inside out, though it wasn't because of the rum.

        "Nathan, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to--"

        "It's fine. It's nothing I haven't dealt with before...I-I'm just glad that you're safe."

        There were a few moments of blessed, if awkward, silence, which seemed to soothe my headache.

        "So, Zoe, what happened last night?" Nathan tried to meet my eyes again, but I looked away. "What led you to...that. To the magic. And rum, of all things!"

        Now I remembered why I tried to leave last night. Because of him.

        "I tried to escape." I said shortly.

       Nathan sighed, running a hand through his dark hair.

        "Out of all the stupid things you could do, I have to say this is the worst."