Way Back into Love ↪ Owen Grady

twenty-two ↪ the eggs

    I tried to focus on my breathing but failed miserably. It was coming, and there was no way to avoid it. No escape. A strong sense of uneasiness spread in my whole body, tears coursed down my cheeks as I tried hard not to let it get to me. I helplessly gasped for air and it almost felt like I was drowning.

    "Hey" a soft voice echoed in the darkness. "It's okay, I'm here"

    Owen. The only sound of his voice helped my heart rate go back to normal. I snapped my eyes open, sunrays blinding me. When my vision cleared, I met a pair of green eyes studying me, a worried expression on Owen's face.

    "You seriously need to stop putting your life at risk for me" he said exhausted.

    "What can I say" I started, my voice hoarse due to my dry throat. "I've never been so reckless before meeting you"

    "And that's a good thing because..?"

    I smiled half-heartedly. "Because it means I care about you"

    Owen's eyes widened a little before his lips curved up into a small bashful smile. Before he could say anything, a poster hung in the infirmary caught my full attention. Eggs, classified in species, dimensions, and shells.

    "Owen, ohmygod!" I abruptly blurted out, giving the poor guy a jumpscare. "Call Claire, we have a problem"

.

    After a full twenty minutes of arguing with the doctor, I finally had permission to leave the infirmary. She kept repeating how I'd been lucky to have avoided permanent fractures, or fractures at all. My back ached pretty bad though, making it hard for me to stand for a long time or even walk.

    Owen helped me to the car. He kept flickering his eyes from me to the road and back all the way to his bungalow. Whenever I glanced over at him, he tried to smile away. But I knew something was up. Something he didn't want me to know.

    The raptor trainer's bungalow was as welcoming as I remembered. I winced in pain at every step on the way up the wooden stairs, Owen's grip tight on my waist from behind. His warm touch had this unhealthy power to shut my whole system down. He accompanied me to his bedroom and helped me climb on his bed.

    "Make yourself at home" Owen distractedly said. Something was definitely up.

    "What's wrong?" I unsurely asked. If he wanted me to know he would've just told me. Right?

    "What matters now is that you stay in bed, rest, and maybe stop jumping in carnivores' exhibits would be nice too" Owen glanced at me with a look I couldn't quite get. Before I could ask any further, there was a loud knock on the front door.

    "What's the emergency?? Is she okay?" Claire burst the bungalow's door open, followed closely by Lowery.

    "Okay — just stubborn" Owen let out a throaty laugh. He was himself again. What was up with him?

    I eventually made my way to the living room, my slow movements annoying the hell out of me. Claire and Lowery both eyed me but Owen just sighed and threw me a scolding look. "Go back to my bed, now"

    "But it's important!" I whined like a child.

    "Your health is also important" Owen tried to reason with me. "Go back"

    "Hey, I'm not Blue" I joked.

    "I see that" he continued. "She actually listens to me"

    I groaned and did as asked, so I slowly walked back to Owen's bedroom and climbed on his bed. The three of them followed me closely, keeping my pace.

    "So what's the emergency?" Claire asked concerned.

    "It's about the eggs"

    Owen and Lowery both quirked an eyebrow. "Eggs?"

    "The lab is breeding four new unknown eggs" Claire informed. Both boys widened their eyes at those words.

    "It's Pteranodon" I blurted out.

    Claire shook her head. "That's not possible. We specifically banned pteranodons from the island"

    "Oh, now I get it" Lowery faintly sighed. "Damn you, Susan"

    Claire and I simultaneously looked up at him in confusion. While the redhead asked him who the heck Susan was and what he meant, I glanced over at Owen. I met a pair of green eyes focused on me right away, a sign that he had been looking at me.

    His eyes were soft and warm, I wondered what was up with his behavior. Since the T-Rex accident, he would flicker from sweet to odd and back. My thoughts got interrupted by Lowery explaining himself.

    "This girl I went on a date with, Susan, had this unhealthy obsession for pteranodons. She asked me all about it, and I'm a gentleman so I told her everything I know" Lowery pressed his hand on his face. — "When she inevitably stopped going out with me, I discovered her dad works for InGen"

    "You think InGen wants our labs and researchers to breed pteranodon eggs?" Claire asked unsurely. "Would they do that? Why?"

    "I know a jerk who would" Owen pressed his lips into a thin line and eventually stepped out of his room followed closely by Lowery.

    I let out a sigh and fixed my back on some pillows, a sharp pain crossing to me every time I tried to move. "You've known Owen for a while, right? What's up with him?"

    "You mean you wanna know why he's angry?" Claire climbed on the bed next to me and threw me a really? look. I quirked an eyebrow at her behavior. Did everyone know something I didn't?

    "It's pretty great how you impulsively put his life before yours but, Ellie, let him be the man" Claire faintly chuckled. — "Men are proud creatures. They need to feel needed. Let him save you for once"

    I gaped my mouth open. That's what it all was about?? — "It's not my fault he gets in those situations often"

    "Just let him be" the redhead's lips curved up into a small smile. "Also, ohmygod, we haven't talked about your kiss yet! The way he kissed you, wow! And in front of everyone like that! You guys' first kiss!"

    "Uh, Claire" I shyly smiled to myself. "It wasn't our first kiss"

    "What?!"