The Survival

Chapter 16

I have been awake for minutes now, but I still haven't allowed my eyes to open. I want to remain relaxed and in peace as much as I can. I want to believe that when I open my eyes, I'll see the white walls of some hotel I'm supposed to be staying in or be laying on my bed in home.

Yet, I know that it's the farthest thing from the truth, the reality.

Slowly I open my eyes, and I'm faced with Nathan's black t-shirt. My head is resting on his shoulder and my body is still between his parted legs. I shift so my knees are against my chest.

"Hey babe," Nathan greats me. His hands start making small circles and patterns on my back, "How are you?"

I shrug and nuzzle my face on his neck not really knowing how to respond. My arms are around his waist and his arms are around mine. I take a deep breath and look outside, it's almost dark "What time is it?"

"Not sure. I haven't checked my watch, afraid of waking you up."

"Oh, sorry, your body is probably numb." I lift myself from his chest just so I can sit in front of him.

"It's not, you could have stayed here if you wanted," He says softly. I look around and realize that the others aren't on the covert, "Where's the guys and the girls?" I frown and try to change the theme of the conversation.

"Bathing." Huh?

"Excuse me, what?"

"They are on the river, cleaning the dirt from their bodies." And just like that it clicked I glance at my form and see that I'm still covered in mud and leaves and some other things. My top used to be red but now is brown. I liked this piece.

Nathan is just like me, dirty from head to toe. I did a pretty good job putting mud on his body, he looks like poop.

"Why aren't you with them?" I ask.

"Did you forget that you were asleep? I wasn't going to leave you alone." Right.

"I was waiting for you to wake up so we could bath together." What? What did he say?

He must have noticed my dumbstruck face because he started laughing "When you wake up, you're deaf?"

"No... But my brain is still asleep, I guess."

"Maybe you need a cold bath to fully wake up." I start laughing. Not a simple laugh, but a huge laugh, the kind of laugh that you almost howl and you need to clutch your belly.

"You don't really expect me to go into that river correct?"

"You don't expect me to let you sleep against me stinking correct?" He fires back, I cease my laughing and raise an eyebrow.

"That wasn't cool," I pout, it was his idea to cover us with dirt, "And you also stink."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment and pretend that you just said that after I had my working out session." He winks.

"But it isn't a compliment you smell worse than a ferret." I cross my arms on my chest and smirk at him.

"Oh, really?" His lip twitches, forming an almost smirk.

"Yeah." I say defiantly.

"Maybe we need to fix it" Before I have time to say another word, he is grabbing me by my waist and pulling me off the covert. The chilly air hits my warm skin and goosebumps appear. Nathan doesn't wait a second to throw me over his shoulder and walks over to the river.

"Let go of me you brute." I say pounding my fists on his back.

"I'm the brute but you're the one hitting me. Oh, the cruelty of this world." A laugh leaves his mouth.