Where was Sir? How did I not hear him move when I was right here?
Listening, I heard nothing in the house. Fear gripped me like a vice. Surely Sir wouldn’t leave me alone in the house, at least not without telling me.
Pushing to stand, my knees threatened to give out. I had to hold onto the couch, half bent over, as I willed my legs to work with me. After a moment, I was able to stand fully.
Ignoring the pull of my muscles, I slowly made my way to Sir’s office. If he wasn’t in sight, that’s where he’d be.
It was empty.
So was the kitchen. And the bathroom.
I glared at the stairs, debating whether I could handle getting up them. Well, it’d be more like back down if Sir wasn’t up there.
Gritting my teeth, I started up the steps. Sir had to be somewhere. I didn’t know what to do if I couldn’t find him.
My heart beat too fast in my chest for more than one reason. My breathing was labored, and my ribs felt like they were poking me from the inside.
Crap.
Panting, I had to stop and lean against the wall at the top of the stairs. I was out of shape, weak, pathetic, and tired.
“Dakota? What are you doing?” At Sir’s voice, my knees gave out, and I fell to the floor. At least it was a gentle landing, falling on my butt as tears fell.
I wanted to wipe them away, but my arms had a mind of their own by wrapping around my torso.
“What’s wrong?”
Everything. Couldn’t he see that? He had left me again. I was in pain. I was tired. And I was hungry.
All I could do, since words were not going to work for me, was look at him miserably. Hopefully, he could understand all the things I didn’t have words for.
“Okay.” He dipped his head, a water droplet falling down his face. “Are you okay if I pick you up?”
I leaned my head on the wall, still trying to catch my breath. My eyes didn’t leave him, though. I feared if they did, he’d disappear again.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he said. “But I need you to stand up for me first.”
I waved a hand his way.I’d be fine. Just leave me here to die.
“Boy.”
Fine. I sighed but pushed myself to stand. Once there, I once again waved him off as I leaned more against the wall than my own legs as I walked towards the bedroom.
My thoughts were still swirling, but the relief was there too.
Sir stayed right by me, keeping a hand on my back in case I fell, most likely. I glared at the floor, willing the tears to stop. They didn’t make sense. Nothing did right now.
“Sir?” I sniffed, looking over my shoulder at him as I reached the bedroom doorway. “Why were you?”
“I took a shower. That’s all. I didn’t want to wake you, even though I should have. Or at least got you on the couch.”
Oh. Of course, I knew he wouldn’t leave, but my mind was stupid.
Crawling onto the bed, I gritted my teeth as my ribs got jarred. The pain stopped the thoughts, at least. By the time I was sitting with my back to the headboard, the tears had hardly stopped.
“I’ll be right back with a snack and your pills.”
I only nodded. If I talked, only a sob would come forth as the pain was getting worse by the minute, which was stupid. I’ve had pain, broken bones, and fractures. This bit of pain should be nothing. I should be able to handle it without any issues.
