The Eye of the Knife

Chapter 21

I sat bolt right up in the king sized bed, waking out of my coma like state with a start. The fuzzy hotel room was coming into view, slowly, as the dark spots started to disappeared.

How the hell did I get back here? The side of my face was throbbing with newly awakened pain. When I reached up to touch was was on my face, I only touched bandages. Who had bandaged my face? And for what reason?

I gazed around the tiny room with just the one bed, still trying to figure out how I got here and when. The last thing I remembered was crying because of..... something. I knew I had killed that demon last night, well more like massacred it.

Light snoring sounded through the air beside me. I looked with a start and noticed Christian sleeping in the other half of the bed. Maybe he had brought me here, but how? Something red on his arm caught my attention. The white bandage was now stained with fresh blood, as if he had recently strained his arm. Most likely he had used it in a way that he shouldn't have.

I rubbed my eyes, soreness as well as tiredness that slapped my joints with each movement. I wanted and needed to go back to sleep, my body was practically begging for just a few more hours. Christian's light snores beside me weren't helping much either.

My eyes started to get heavy, but something was preventing me from going to sleep. I wanted to groan at whatever the unknown force was, but decided against the act. Groaning out loud might wake up Christian, and that wasn't needed.

Instead, I got up and grabbed some new bandages from the little black bag I had stowed them in when he was in the hospital wing. Carefully I undid the blood soaked old ones, and replaced them with fresh medicine and coverage.

I threw the old ones in a bag that I throw away myself. I couldn't trust anyone with something that contained so much personal information, like blood. People could get all sorts of things from just one drop, let alone soaked bandages.

I then sat on the edge of the bed, trying to figure out why my face was throbbing like a freight train had hit it. I rubbed my forehead, too scared at what would happen if I removed the bandage to see what lies beneath it. I knew for a fact that it would cause pain, but then again I wanted to see what the pain that was already there was from.

A groan beside me filled the room, and I took that as the cue that Christian was waking up. I felt the bed move as his weight shifted. Another groan, of either pain or annoyance of waking up, sounded through the room.

"Hey." He said in a sleepy sexy voice closer to my ear than I anticipated. I jumped just a tad as his hot breath fanned across my neck, sending tingles down my spine.

"Morning." I replied, trying to play off the scare he had given me. I didn't want him to think that it was easy to scare me, which its not... except for in the morning.

"You didn't get any breakfast?" He asked still really close to me. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. His smile was playful, but his tone was in between.

"Um. No...?" How do you respond to that?

"But I got you breakfast." He started to pout. But I didn't have the time or in the mood for that.

"Go get it yourself." I snapped getting off the bed. Only then did I realize how close we had actually been, just a few centimeters apart.  

His eyes widened at my sudden outburst. He reached out as if to touch my wrist and apologize, but I pulled back. I wasn't in the mood to be consoled and to be touched.

I touched my cheek again and internally winced. It hurt like a SOB. I groaned and left the room, wanting to just be by myself for once. It seemed like Christian is always by me, talking to me, or hoovering around me. I wasn't used to it and quite honestly I didn't want it.

I took a shower, while I still had hot water... for once. I made sure that my shower was extra long and hot. That way Christian could see how it feels when there is no hot water left. I tried to keep the majority of the water off of the white gauze so that I wouldn't have to take it off and see what horrible sight lay beneath.

After my forty minute shower; I carefully changed into some fresh clothes, since my other ones were starting to smell just a tad. I didn't want to affect the area more but irritating it with clothing being pulled on it. I took the blow dryer to my hair for a few minutes just to get the majority of the water removed.

I changed into clothes that were comfortable which for me was leggings and a sweatshirt. I knew that I didn't look like a million bucks, but I didn't feel like it either. Who would care anyways? It was just me and Christian.

And then my brain did the one thing that I didn't want it to, think. When my brain starts thinking about certain things, its a dangerous territory.

I didn't want to start thinking about how I should look around Christian. I didn't want to start to become that self conscience girl whenever she gets around a guy. That's not me, nor who I have ever been. But nonetheless, my brain didn't listen to a word I said. It started to think about the things I was trying hard to specifically stay away from.

 I glanced at Christian, who sat on the bed with a bowl of popcorn in his hands, and thought about how attractive the man really was. Stop it Max. Stop it now while you still have the chance, the more conscience part of my mind started to growl at me.

I sighed as I let my eyes drop to the ground. Silently I prayed that Christian hadn't noticed that I was watching him, that would have been awkward to explain. Sighing again I crawled into the bed, at a safe distance from Christian, and curled up under the covers.

I stared at the screen with complete boredom. Christian had picked some weird action movies with a lot of explosions and fast cars. Maybe it was one of the fast and furious movies, but who cares?

Halfway through the movie, I started to get dozy. I could feel Christian's warmth through the covers that separated us. Unconscionably I slid my way towards him and the warmth that he held. For some reason I get cold in the night, and always have to have extra warmth. That, for now, is Christian.

Right before I fell asleep I felt his strong arms wrap around my waist, holding me close and keeping me in place.

That night, I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

 A/N

This chapter was written to give more on an insight to Max's feelings for Christian. That is why to some people this chapter seems pointless. Next chapter will have more action and some more revealed on Christian's feelings for Max. Stay tuned. Comment. Vote.