Mountain River Girl

Chapter 20: Entwined Fates

A/N: Sorry for the wait! Uni has kept me busy, I bet you know what it's like. But yes, another chapter (still unedited, unfortunately) closer to the end. Only about 2 more chapters left after this one :D Happy Reading!!

Two seconds, maybe three, that's how long it took me to turn on my heel and make a beeline for Kieran's room. Once I was inside, I closed the door faster than I imagined possible.

Done.

That was exactly how I felt. Finished with having a head filled with questions no one ever wanted to give me answers to.

With my back against the door, I quietly repeated the words I just shouted. Over and over, because I couldn't quite believe I actually spoke them out loud. Was Don aware I didn't really mean them? Was he going to be done with me now? Was this how families worked?

One hand balled in a fist by my side, I pressed the palm of my other hand against my forehead to push back the beginning of a headache. Why did everything in my life have to be so complicated?

The sound of a hitched breath drew my attention to the bed, to Kieran. At first, I didn't dare move a muscle, afraid I'd wake him. Afraid of what I would say. Afraid of the pulsing ache in my chest and what it meant. But then I shrugged off all the fear, because none of it mattered. Kieran was hurt. And despite his still form, he looked like he might have been in a lot of pain.

The cotton sheet reached only to his abdomen, showing where he was injured. A piece of gauze was taped on his chest, and I spotted more gauze below his ribs on the left and also even lower, on his side. His left arm was bandaged from wrist to neck. The exposed skin was swollen, black and blue. And Kieran's face...

"Oh God," I muttered, tiptoeing to his side. My hand hovered over his head, wanting to touch it but too afraid even the softest of brushes would be too painful for his overly bruised skin. The picture was wrong, all wrong. Kieran was a lively, energetic and charismatic person. Not this motionless body with labored breathing. He shouldn't look so hurt and fragile, beaten in all the senses of the word... and I couldn't help but feel that I was to blame.

Anna entered the room without knocking several hours later. Or maybe it were minutes. She didn't say anything at first as she rounded the bed and lifted the sheet on Kieran's good side.

"Come on."

"I-I can't."

"Yes you do, sweetheart. You have to stay strong. This is what it all comes down to, you to be there for him when he needs you." Anna swallowed loudly. "And right now, he needs you."

"But I'll only hurt him. He looks like he's in so much pain already."

She shook her head. "He's heavily sedated and he probably has more painkillers in him than he has blood left rushing through his veins."

Yet, I didn't move, even though there was nothing I wanted to do more than to crawl in bed with him, have him wrap his arms around me and listen to him as he assured me that everything was going to turn out just fine.

"This is all very new to you, still, and I know you don't understand the mechanics and why physical contact influences the healing process at all, but trust me on this. He needs you now, more than ever, and it would mean a lot to him if you would do this. You'll find that it'll help you too, in a way. Give it a try, at least, and if you haven't noticed any change in a few hours, you're free to go."

'But I don't want to go' is what I wanted to say, yet I didn't. Nodding, I did as Anna asked and I moved to her side. As I bent down to remove my shoes, I was shocked to realize I wasn't wearing any. Kieran had been my only focus when I left the house and I never even noticed I crossed town on my socks. With one knee on the mattress, I hesitated.