Accessory Wars

Chapter 21-Ki

            I woke to a flashlight in my eyes and the sound of paramedics. Funny how I was able to identify them by sound. Well, not funny but it's not something everyone can say they can do. I blinked, wishing the light would go away. Someone peered at my face but theirs was blurry. The more I squinted, the more it sort of looked like a potato. Voices sounded muffled and garbled. My brain took the next ten minutes to restart like an old computer, taking its sweet time booting up all the systems.

I finally figured out what the paramedic was talking to me for and he kept asking my name. I managed a response and answered a few more questions before he helped me sit up. I touched my chin with my fingers and winced at the bruise forming. Eating was going to hurt for the next few days. As I sat against my bathroom wall, a familiar face literally barreled through the door of my studio. They ran past before backtracking, making it to my side in two steps.

"Yeong!" Colfry called.

He wrapped me up in a tight hug and I clung to his shirt, falling apart again. He dismissed the paramedic, promising to let them know if my condition changed, and sat beside me. I sobbed into his side. After staring at his chest for several long minutes, I managed to distract myself from my mind by concentrating on the strained buttons of his shirt. The poor things looked like they were going to pop off any second.

If you're wondering why he's so protective of me, it's because he partly blames himself for what happened to me all those years ago. Not that he was the only one but unlike the other emergency officials, he formed a special bond with me. He was one of the responding officers, showing up early on the scene. Once the ERT recovered me, I was handed off to Colfry for safekeeping. He didn't let go of me once, not even when my parents came for me. He never had kids so he sort of adopted me as an unofficial uncle. Until he transferred, he stopped by my home, checked up on my health, occasionally brought me lunch at school so we could chat. He made some of the worst bagged lunches. Tuna and bologna should never be eaten together. I'd never be able to pay back all he's done for me so I tried to express my gratitude as often as I could.

I sat up and rubbed my face with my sweatshirt sleeves. Colfry grabbed me my tissue box and a wet washcloth so I could wash my face. I muttered a thanks, cleaning myself up.

"Are you okay?" Colfry asked. I nodded. "Did he hurt you?"

Hurt me? I looked up, confused. "What?" I croaked.

"Did Jay hurt—"

"No! He...he was looking after me," I protested.

"Ki, you better not be getting some sort of Stockholm Syndrome," Colfry warned.

"I'm not! I had a panic attack and he brought me home." I looked down at my sweatshirt, noticing a light stain on the fabric. "He made me tea."

"Ki, I'm going to ask you this once more and I need you to be one hundred percent honest. Did. He. Hurt. You."

My head shot up, my eyes glaring at his. "No."

Colfry swept a hand through his hair, his mustache bristling. "Goddammit."

"It was my fault. I heard a door slam and I screamed and he—"

"Ki, Jay Graviated the entire damn building!"

I recoiled. The entire building? The entire building? Colfry grabbed my hand before I started having another panic attack.

"Tell me what happened," Colfry pressed.

And I did. I told him everything that happened after we dropped Derek off at the train station. From going to the gym to me running out and nearly getting hit by a car. I told him how Jay stayed with me and how he acted when I heard the door slam. Protective, not aggressive. This gave Colfry a little ease but he still looked as stressed as his buttons.