Beloved Savage

Beautiful

"Alright, let's head off," he says.

I acknowledge his statement with a smile and begin to walk alongside him, but wince at a sudden pain I feel in the back of my left thigh. He quickly turns to me, worry showing in his eyes.

"Clarissa! Are you alright?!"

Wincing, I struggle to say "I-I'm fine...I just got hurt." Within a second he turns to my leg,

"Let me check."

No way was he looking that high at a lady's legs.

I try to push him off, "I told you! I'm fine."

His grip tightens on me, trying to get a better look at the injury; he slowly attempts to pull my pants up to get a view of the injury, but I fight him.

"I SAID STOP!" I yell.

I begin to feel myself grow dizzy.

It must be from the loss of blood.

But I continue to fight and push him back till he lets go of me,

"FINE!" he yells, letting go of me completely. He turns to face away from me, pulling his hair with his hands in frustration. "I'M ONLY TRYING TO HELP."

I feel bad, too embarrassed to explain as to why I didn't want his help. But before I could apologize, darkness floods my view and I'm knocked to the floor. Hearing the thud, he runs to me.

"Clarissa!"

Now I feel too weak to move, too weak to fight back his touch. He looks at me with concern, "I'm going to look at your leg now, ok?" he whispers.

I nod without thinking. It's not until he begins rolling up my pants that I feel how wet the fabric is against my skin. I must be bleeding a lot. I close my eyes, expecting to feel pain when he touches me, but the feeling of his hands against my skin-- cool and strong--somehow overrides the pain. Once he manages to pull my pants up to my upper thigh, he tilts me gently so he could get a better look. I lean on one elbow on the floor, feeling the world sway.

He inhales sharply.

"Is it bad?" I say, too afraid to look.

"You'll be fine" he replies.

That didn't answer my question.

He reaches behind him, pulling out an object I can't make out, but I could smell.

Herbs.

"What is that?" I ask.

"It's an herbal mixture from the medicine man, it'll prevent infection and heal the bite faster."

As soon as he begins to pour the mixture, flames lick up on my leg and I nearly scream. He quickly turns to me with concern, covering my mouth and whispers to me,

"Shhhh, It'll be alright..."

The world seems to grow darker. Every time he brushes me with his fingers, time seems to slow down as well.

"You okay?" he says, and I nod. He begins to wrap my leg in some sort of bandage. I could feel the heat coming off his bare skin and I try to ignore the fact about how close we are, or how much he saw, or what it would feel like to run my hands over his shoulders and chest.

I've grown so tired, feeling as if I could sleep forever. Now home seems impossibly far away and I don't see how I'll ever make it back.

"I'm going to take you home now, okay?" he whispers.

I wanted to tell him no, that I wanted to stay here, with him.

But instead, I respond, "Okay."

With his help, I stand up. His hands are on my waist, guiding the way. But once again, the world sways. I expect to fall once more, but he sweeps my feet under me and begins to carry me bridal style.

He looks at me with concern and determination. I struggle to keep his stare.

"You n-never told me your name..." I struggle to say.

He stops for a moment but continues to stare into my eyes.

"Adahy. My name is Adahy."

I smile. For in his language, Adahy means to live in the woods.

Before falling into unconsciousness, I manage to whisper,

"It's beautiful."

And maybe, just maybe, I heard in the darkness that engulfed me,

"So are you."  

~I'm so sorry guys for updating so late and for making such a short chapter :( I'm almost an adult, so I've been working A LOT this summer saving up for college. I'll try my very best to update soon and I promise next chapter will be longer. Love you all and thanks for the support! <3 Don't forget to vote ;) ~