Beyond our Earth

48: Adorable

~~~~SARA'S POV~~~~

"You may want to wait outside. Send the other one in, she'll know how to handle this."

"Elizabeth's gone." I stated.

He paused.

"Very well. Then I'll have to do this myself." Althazar said, raising the thin metal blade in his hand.

"Are you a doctor?" I asked.

"Not in the slightest." He replied, moving towards Braden.

"Do you really think you should be doing this?" I asked.

"Things need to be removed, darling. There's no telling what they placed inside his body, but the effects are showing."

I moved closer, wanting to see. His arm outstretched in front of me.

"Wait outside, lovely." His words were slow and deliberate.

I looked questioningly into his eyes, then replied, "Fine," and headed for the door.

My back against the wall, I slumped down to the floor. The hallway was quiet and empty at this time of night.

After a few minutes I began to feel tired again. I had explored the carpet's pattern with my eyes, and was moving towards the wallpaper when I heard the elevator doors open down the hall.

Elizabeth walked towards me. Her hair was messy and her clothes hung off her body unceremoniously.

She sat down across from me.

"Where were you?" I asked.

"Hooking up with an Aussie." She said flatly. Then she looked me up and down. "You realize you're still in your underwear."  

 "Althazar won't let anyone in." I replied.

She pulled a hoodie from around her waist and tossed it at me.

"Thanks," I said, catching it.

I slipped it on.

"What was it like in space?" Elizabeth asked.

"The stars were pretty. Every planet was different."

"But, I mean,  what was it like inside? In the ship?"

I smiled, thinking back to it. "Where do I begin..."

The door behind me opened and Althazar popped his head out.

I looked up.

"Everything alright?" I asked. 

"He's asking for you." Althazar said.

My heart started hammering a little harder. I stood up.

"He's awake?"

Althazar nodded. "Cutting's over." He held out the bloody razor blade. "Give it a month or so, he'll be back to normal."

I smiled and slipped through the door as Althazar traded places with me.

The room was dark. A small light cast orange glow down onto Braden's bed. I walked in slowly. His big eyes grew as he took me in. I stopped beside his head and knelt down so that we were at the same level, folding my arms on the bed.

"Hey." I said.

"Sara," He breathed, overjoyed at the sight of my face. "Where are we? Did we make it back to Earth?"

 I smirked. "Yeah. We're on Earth."

"You're alive." He stated.

"So are you." I said, nudging him with my elbow. "I may have travelled farther away but you came way closer to dieing. Speaking of which, are you okay?"

"I'm on top of the world." He said.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"Yes. Like hell. But it doesn't matter because I'm here with you. We're home. You're safe which is all I ever wanted. I love you Sara. I've been in love with you since high school.-"

"Why?" I asked. "I don't get it."

He stared at me for a good long moment and I began to feel awful for crushing him. Then he spoke.

"Sara. You are the most beautiful person I've ever met. You're strong, and passionate, and crazy smart. And when you smile everybody else does too. You've got a killer sense of humour. I love the way your eyes light up when you're happy and the way your tongue sticks out when you're trying really hard to think. When you speak, I hang on every word. I'm always nervous before I see you, but then when I'm there with you, you've got this calming presence. And I feel completely at ease when I'm around you. You're easy to talk to. And you always understand. Before I ran into you in New York I was just a guy working at a newspaper. But then you came into my life and I had a purpose. I want to be there for you. I want to protect you. I want to keep you warm at night. I want to make you laugh and make you smile when you feel down. I want to support you in everything you do. I want to make your life better. Because even just knowing that you exist gives me reason to be alive."

My mouth hung open. My eyebrows furrowed together.

"I don't know how long I've wanted to tell you how perfect you are." He finished.

"You're so sweet." I said. "I don't know what to say. I feel like you know me a lot better than I know you."

"Years of obsession." He joked.

I smiled. 

"I'm not the type of person to fall in love straight away. I want to get to know you. Have proper dates, all that stuff." I lay my head down on the bed.

He tilted his to see me.

"Whatever you want to do, I'm there. What about tomorrow?" Braden asked.

I lifted my head and looked at his body. A sheet was pulled up to his chest but there was blood seeping through it.

"I'm pretty sure you need to rest. Don't worry though, we'll have plenty of time for dating. We have our whole lives ahead of us."