Tranquility

Chapter 26: Caged Heat

Jo's POV

Hero keeps coughing and I finally come to my senses and help him sit up.

I can't believe that actually worked.

His eyes meet mine and I don't let myself shiver. If I let myself shiver he'll feel like he needs to do something about it, but I want to help him. He needs all my attention right now.

His eyes are scared and I don't blame him. He basically just died and now he's here, laying on a gravel beach as the sun comes up. I move my hair out of my face as he looks around.

"Me and Felix are fine... and you are now too," I say softly and he doesn't speak. He just sits there, taking everything in and eventually meets my eyes again. Hero bites his lower lip a bit, slowly releasing it as he thinks. I realized that's something he does while he thinks.

Felix makes his way over to us and starts making the fire. Once there's a running flame, he sits across Hero, who feels like an iceberg. "Let's get him closer to the fire," I say to Felix and he nods, helping me move him closer so it can warm him up.

There's no emotion on his face as the orange tint of the fire lights it up. He looks like a shell of himself, a shell of the loving person I know and it's breaking my heart. I move myself closer to the fire, making sure to give him some distance so he can just be by himself right now... if that's even good for him.

I close my eyes a bit, letting the warmth overtake my own cold body. I can't believe everything that has occurred in the last twenty minutes, I don't think I've even processed it mentally. I feel a small tug at my skirt and my eyes open. I look down to see a hand there, and I look back up at Hero.

He points to the empty place next to him so I move over, and once I do his arms wrap around me. I notice Felix getting up, and he looks at me. "I'll go call someone," he says and I nod before returning all of my attention back to Hero.

"You don't have to talk baby... talk when you're ready, okay?" I ask softly and he nods against my bare back. His warming me up, though I wish it could be the other way around.

"You're ice cold," he barely says above a whisper and I shake my head, taking one of the hands that are wrapped around my waste and kissing it.

"I'm okay baby," I say and unlike normal, he doesn't fight me on it. I squeeze his hand and bite my lip, letting everything finally sink in. He was dead, well almost dead. He barely had a pulse and I had to bring him back to life.

"You're shaking," he informs me and I close my eyes, letting the tears fall down my face. "Princess why are you crying?" He asks me, his voice extremely raspy, and it's the most he's said since everything.

"You... I don't want you to have to deal with my problems now... you need to focus on yourself, I need to focus on you," I say and he shakes his head, turning me to face him and pulling me closer.

"Tell me why you're crying," he sorta demands, but I know his intentions are pure.

"I had to bring you back to life Hero... I opened my eyes underwater to see you lifeless. Floating there and making no attempt to get out. I had to break your ribs to get you up here and put air back into your lungs... I almost lost the person I-" I quickly stop myself from finishing. Is now a good time to tell him? Is now a good time to be like 'Oh yeah, I'm in love with you?'"

He continues to just look at me, as if he expects me to continue. He's about to speak when I cut him off. "I almost lost the person I love..." I say and he smiles for what feels like the first time in forever.

"I'm not that hard to get rid of princess," he says and a smile overtakes my face. I watch him search my eyes before our lips connect for one sweet moment. "I love you too," he say softly and my stomach fills with butterflies as my heart flutters.

"Really?" I ask, my voice sorta high-pitched in excitement. My cheeks are both a rosy red from him saying he loves me and the cold.

"Yes really princess," he chuckles softly and I love that sound, I love him. I kiss his lips and play with his slowly drying hair.

He takes a few sticks from the pile next to him and we sit there in silence. He puts the sticks in the fire and it keeps us warm until Felix gets back, which feels like forever.

I quickly turn when I hear him, and he looks distraught. "What happened to you?" I ask and Hero turns around as I stand up.

"I had to walk two miles to a fucking pay phone and all the way back..." he takes a deep breath before continuing. "The club was a mess-" he starts saying and I stop him.

"Not now," I say and Hero stands up. He's shivering, but he's making the best out of it.

"Baby it's fine..." he says and looks at Felix, prompting him to continue.

"10 are dead, 20 are injured. They're looking for... you, obviously, and they think it was an inside job. Morgan is here though so we should go," he says and I take Hero's hand.

I'm not gonna say that was weird, but that was weird. Of course they would be looking for Hero, right? Doesn't he lead them? My mind lingers to Finn... the name I saw on those papers a while back.

I shake my head of the thoughts as me and Hero sit in the back seats. The drive back is long, and Hero falls asleep in my lap as I play with his hair.

My poor baby needs the rest.

——————————————————————————
Authors Note!🖤

So, I figured out how I'm gonna end this book and I think I'm only gonna make it 50 parts opposed to 100.

There's gonna be a sequel! I don't know if there will be one after that, I'll just have to see what I think of when I'm writing.

I hope everyone is enjoying!
See you in the next one!