Us Against The World

Chapter 34

My eyes slowly open and I look about my surroundings. As I regain feeling in my body, I notice that I have a rag in my mouth and I am lying on a metal table. 

I see a woman standing in front of a sink and the water is running. She turns around and smiles. She walks over to me and I notice that she has a wet rag in her hand. She grabs me by the shoulders and sits me up. She removes the damp rag from my mouth and hands me a glass of water that had been resting on the table next to me. I stare at her blankly with fear. 

"Don't worry, honey. I just put the rag there to keep you hydrated until you woke up." she says and I take the tall glass from her shaky hands. I try to thank her, but my voice cracks and I decide to stay silent. I keep my eyes on her as I drink from the glass and set it next to me.

I don't know who this lady is or if she has something up her sleeve, but I am too sick and dehydrated to care. Water is my main focus at the moment.

"Are you a German?" I ask, and the woman softly caresses my temple. She smiles down at me for a few moments before nodding. Relief washes over me, but I know better than to trust so quickly. The last time I made that mistake, I was imprisoned and nearly killed. The woman standing before me seems sweet and caring, but then again, so did Jexton, and that did not turn out well in the beginning. 

Goosebumps rake my skin and I notice that I am no longer wearing the jacket the Jexton had given me a week earlier, and my shoes are missing from my cold feet. I become scared as I think of all the possibilities of things that are going on and what this woman is up to, but I decide that I have done enough worrying to last me a lifetime.

I take another sip of water and clear my throat before speaking. "How did I get here?" I ask and the woman smiles. "A young fellow led me to you," she says and my heart rate picks up. "said you were dehydrated and needed some help." just then, Jexton walks through the door with concern clear on his face. 

"Is she awake?" he asks and looks at me." he sighs and quickly walks to me with open arms. "Oh, thank God." he says as he embraces me. He winces a little from the pain of his wound, but neither of us say anything about it. I can't help but feel relief. 

I hug him back and tears of joy fill my eyes. He pulls away and wipes my face with both of his thumbs. For a few moments, he stares into my eyes and I can't fight the urge to pull him in again.

"I will give you two some time." the woman says with a genuine smile and leaves the room. Jexton and I watch until the door closes, then turn back to each other. I smile and he smiles back. 

"How did you find me?" I ask and he swallows. He pulls the tracker tablet from his jacket pocket and holds it up to me. I grasp my arm and look down at the hole that contains the chip.

When I look up, I notice Jexton's eyes are watery as well. "You didn't think I'd just forget about you and let you be alone again, did you?" he asks and being the naive girl I am, I shyly smile and shake my head. "Good." he says and wipes away my tears again.

"Thank you." I say after a few moments of silence. "No need to," he says and looks down at the floor, then back at me. "after all I've done, it's the very least." I nod and look down at the ground again.

"After what Ander said, I—" 

"Let's not talk about what Ander said." Jexton interrupts and I look up at him and nod. "I didn't want to be alone. I knew I couldn't go on without you. We've been. . ." I trail off and Jexton smiles at the ground before doing the same to me. "Through so much together." he finishes my sentence and I half smile and nod. 

"I let myself give up because I lost hope." I admit and Jexton tilts my chin up with his index finger and thumb. "We don't give up hope. We don't give up, period." he says and I sniffle and nod. "I know that now," I say and pause for a few minutes as Jexton studies my face. "since you found me."

Three taps on the other side of the door let us know that our time is up. Jexton and I look at the door simultaneously and watch as the woman emerges from the other side. "I hope I'm not interrupting, but there's someone here for the girl."