28. | a tight embrace

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

"Surprise?" Ethan shrugs with a grin plastered on his face while opening his arms for me. I do not waste any time as I take a quick step forward and let his arms pull me into a tight embrace.

"Are you even real?" I poke him as I begin rambling into his chest, "because you could just be another hallucination from the weird pills they've been making me take."

"I know I look like a dream," he begins exaggerating, "But I promise I'm real."

"Somehow, you always manage to compliment yourself," I continue, laying my head against his hard chest, "I can't believe this is happening. I thought it would take a lot more work to get you out but here you are, with me in your arms. This must be a dream, there's no w—"

"You're so cute." He interrupts with a chuckle, the rumble in his chest sending shivers down my spine as he slightly tightens his hands around my waist. My heartbeat responds to him as his fingertips touch the skin that is exposed under my shirt.

"Am not." I reply with a pout tainting my lips as I tilt my head back slightly to face him.

"Yeah?" His answer comes out as a mere breath and his gaze drops to my lips.

"Yeah." I breathe out, my heart nearly beating out of my chest as my eyes get locked into the mesmerizing green forest that are his eyes. Even more now, I want to discover every branch of every single tree, even if that means tumbling over my feet and cutting my hands along the way. I want Ethan to be the one to help me with the wounds, while I help him with all that I have.

I want him to be the one.

And I don't think I've ever wanted anyone this badly in my entire life.

One of his hands leave the warm tingling mess that is apparently my waist, only to be lifted to my face. His thumb slowly grazes my cheek, dropping to my jawline and chin. The second his fingers touch my lips, my breathing hitches. As the nerves get the best of me and the tension in the air grows thick, I involuntarily sink my teeth into my bottom lip.

"Don't." He chokes out with a hoarse voice, "Please, don't do that."

"Why?" I whisper back with a barely audible voice.

"Because else," he inches closer as he whispers, "I won't be able to stop myself from what will happen next." His warm breath hits my face as he inches dangerously close, my eyes following his tongue darting out to wet his lips.

I gather the courage as I finally manage to choke out the words I've been suppressing for way too long.

"Then don't stop, Ethan."

His eyes lighten up as he takes my flushed face into his palms, our chests flushed against each other, hearts beating rapidly in sync, creating a melody I've never heard before.

"I need you to know..." He mumbles, placing soft kisses all over my cheek, but never on my lips. "I want to go slow, very slow. We don't have to hurry." His thumb follows his kisses.

"We have all the time in the world." He whispers in my neck, his warm breath causing my skin to be covered in pleasant goosebumps. I think I might die on this spot, anytime now. "All the time..."

My eyes flutter close as his lips merely graze over mine and for a second, I forget what breathing is.

Just when I'm about to experience what my heart has been longing for, the opening sound of the door shakes me out of our embrace.

Every part of my body feels as if it has been set on fire, yet the actual burning didn't even happen yet.

This has to be a joke. For God's sake, I can't take this any longer.

"Holy shit..." speaks our intruder disguised as my best friend, "Ethan?"

I adjust my t-shirt that has been slightly crinkled and lifted in the heat of the moment, not even daring to look either Ethan or Lexi in their eyes.

"Yeah." We answer in sync, Ethan adding a "the one and only."

"I can't believe you actually got out!" Lexi launches herself at him, giving him a hug.

He seems to hesitate for a mere second, but then chuckles slightly, returning it. "Honestly, I can't believe it either."

While they have their small talk, panic clouds my mind as I notice the red substance on my fingers.

Blood.

My eyes wander to Ethan and I notice that the corner of his black shirt appears soaked, with what I assume must be blood.

"H-have you been stabbed?" Lexi asks before me as she too, notices the blood.

"It's not a big deal," he quickly shrugs off, "I defended myself so it just grazed my skin a little."

"Let me see it." I take a quick step towards him, ignoring his comment.

I lift the shirt up a little, causing him to wince. My eyes widen as I see the cut in his lower left abdomen, blood dripping out of it. It didn't cut through muscle, that's clear, but there's pretty heavy bleading for just a graze.

"It doesn't look like it's not a big deal," I remark and look up to see Lexi staring at the sight in front of her with big eyes.

Even though she's studying to become a nurse, she's still trying to get used to patients with a lot of bloodloss and big wounds.

"Lex, can you look for the first aid kit in the bathroom? I think it's in the second drawer under the sink." I try to distract her and I give a comforting smile when she nods, scoffing to the bathroom quickly.

"C'mon," I pull Ethan towards the bed by his hand, "Take your shirt off and lay down so I can have a better look at it."

"Look at you," he grins widely, "Asking me to undress and trying to get me into your bed."

"I could also get you into a hospital bed." I roll my eyes and cross my arms in front of my chest.

"Touché." He chuckles and lifts his hands in a submissive manner. "Also, no hospitals please. They will start asking all these questions and I've done that too much for these past three years. I don't even need stitches, it's not deep. Don't be fooled by the blood."

I send him a knowing look as he lifts his shirt over his head and I take it from him, putting it in my dirty laundry basket. I gulp as I desperately try not to stare at a currently shirtless Ethan and walk over to the bathroom to wash my hands before I start.

As I enter, I notice Lexi sitting on a closed toilet with her face in her hands. Immediately, I kneel to her level, rubbing her knee in a comforting manner.

"Hey, let's get you into bed yeah? You're tired, you've been looking after me for days." I speak as I hold her hands, helping her get up again.

"Is it okay if I fangirl about the fact that Ethan got out and that I walked in on you two nearly kissing, in the morning?" She speaks, causing me to let out a chuckle.

"Whenever Lexi, whenever you feel like it. Just get some rest."

I help her get into the bed in the empty guestroom next to mine, the one she uses whenever she's here.

"Take your pills first thing in the morning." is the last thing she says as her eyelids become heavy, her breathing slowing down.

"I will." I whisper and walk back to my room. My grin unwillingly grows as I see Ethan laying there, humming an unfamiliar song. The second he notices my footsteps, his eyes flutter open and a lazy smile spreads across his lips.

I sit down and inch closer to him, sitting cross-legged at the level of his waist, opening the kit with the right gear to fix him up.

Not a word is being exchanged as I bent forward slightly, disinfecting the wound. He barely winces, making me wonder how many times he has felt something similar to this.

"Are you planning on telling me who the hell did this Ethan?" I ask as I take ahold of the stuff I need for stitching. Whatever he says, it needs a few stitches.

Thank God for the first aid and stitching course I took because Lexi told me to, I actually know what I'm doing. Controlling my shaky hands is however still a challenge.

"I don't know either," he sighs audibly, "After days of Cole dodging me, I still don't know why, he came to me with the news that someone anonymous had witnessed, I was going to be let out immediately."

I nod with a knowing smile, waiting for him to continue. "He told me to catch bus number 68A if I wanted to get to your house and so I did. While I was waiting at the bus station, out of nowhere this masked dude walks up to me, attacking me from behind. I elbowed him and turned around, pushing him the second I felt a sting in my abdomen. Then the bus came into sight, causing him to panic and let go of me. The only thing I noticed before he disappeared into darkness,  was that he looked eerily f—"

"Familiar?" I finish for him, looking up from the wound I have started to stitch by now.

"Yes," he answers, "how'd you know?"

And thus, I tell him about all the events that have occurred in the past few days. The conversation of Reed and his confession, the bunker, the board with the pictures, the bag. Everything.

Much to my surprise, Ethan barely looks surprised with the new information.

"Did you know?" I ask, finishing and tying the end of the stitches.

"I kind of suspected Reed from the beginning. I knew he had something to do with it but I didn't tell you because honestly, I thought you wouldn't believe me because I'm negatively biased against Reed anyways. I knew you'd figure out more than my suspicions on your own and I was right. About your dad, I did not know. I just thought he needed someone to kill his wife but because I denied, he got pissed off, got someone else to do it, and tried to blame it on me for whatever reason." He watches my hands, "I'm sorry I let you figure a lot out by yourself, I just didn't want to scare you away, you know that. But beside all that, I'm as confused as you. What does my mom even have to do with any of this? Why was her picture on the board?"

"Speaking of," I close off the wound with a patch in case it starts bleeding again, "Why did you come here first? Why didn't you go home to your mom, to Lizzie?"

"Because," he begins as his voice gives away that he is searching for the right words, "I wanted to go see them, together."

His eyes find mine, the question marks in them quite evident.

"Okay," I whisper as I nod, "I will come with you."

"Okay," he mumbles with a crooked smile, following my movements as I stand up and walk over to my closet. "You seem so tired, just come lay and rest some more. I've tired you already and it has been only half an hour." I ignore him, he's obviously in a way worse state than me and I want to take care of him.

To his surprise, I take out a t-shirt which is clearly not from the girls section. I hand it to him as I sit back on the bed, frowning as he doesn't put it on.

"What is a guy's t-shirt doing in your closet?" He lifts his eyebrow as he smells it, causing a laugh to fall from my lips.

"They're comfortable." I defend myself, "I like buying shirts from the male section."

Or I could wear yours.

He glares at me jokingly but then clearly relaxes as he tries to put the shirt on, trying not to wince in pain. I help him and trace his closed off wound with the tips of my fingers. I remember how painful my healing process was. Even if he says it's not much, this is for sure hurting him. "Does it hurt a lot?" I whisper as I feel him tense underneath my touch, which is my cue to pull my hand back. "I'm sorry."

He doesn't response and I raise my head, meeting his gaze. The gaze that makes me forget it is winter, warming my insides.

"Not when I'm distracted." He mutters as he reaches out his hand to grab mine, lifting it and putting it back on his wound. He places his hand on top of mine, causing crimson to take over my cheeks.

"Come lay with me?" He asks silently as if he's afraid of rejection.

How could I ever reject him?

I nod as I scoot closer to him, laying on my side with one of my hands under my left cheek. I watch him softly turn on his side, once again reaching out for one of my hands, interlocking our fingers.

I stare at our hands and involuntarily let out a squeal as he grabs my waist with his free hand, pulling me closer to him. My heartbeat accelerates at how close we are, with my back pressed against his chest, legs brushing against each other.

"I said, come lay with me, not one meter away from me." He mutters in my ear, placing his chin on top of my head.

Intoxicated by his existence, I let my eyes flutter close as he traces me very carefully, leaving invisible drawings on the skin of my neck, stomach, waist and arms.

I feel my eyelids become heavier as I hear him mumble words. "I can finally sleep again."

I don't respond and feel myself drifting away in a peaceful slumber, here in his arms. A few minutes later, my phone rings disturbingly. Ethan let's go of my waist as I dizzily sit up, frowning at the unfamiliar number in front of me.

Ethan signs for me to take the phone call and I do so.

"Hello?" I choke out, waiting for an answer from the other side.

"Brooklyn?" the voice of my father fills my ears, sending unpleasant shivers down my arms and my spine right away. "I know he's with you and I'm coming to get you, right now."

I panic and hang up the phone call, trying to calm my breathing while miserably failing. I turn to Ethan and see he's frowning too, sitting up with a soft wince.

"What do we do?" I whisper-yell, jumping from the bed, looking around as if I'm going to find a solution in here.

Ethan gets up and takes a few quick strides towards me, holding my burning face in between his palms as he gives me a determined answer.

"We run."

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

A/N;  7 chapters left, i'm freaking out because i know as the author i can't resist making shit go down and give you all a plot that could not have been predicted. totally freaking out, but we're getting there. thanks for still being on this journey lovelies. see you all next time, soon enough.

thanks for reading, i hope you enjoyed.

please don't forget to vote & comment, i really enjoy reading every single one of them.

— lyra b.


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net