Sir wasn’t pleased, even on this side of life. If he was so disappointed in me, why was he even here then? Why was he here to begin with?
Swallowing, my mouth was dry, causing my tongue to almost stick to the top of my mouth. With it came pain in my throat, lower than what a sore throat felt like.
Shifting my head, it fell against something harder. At the motion, I did it again; only a groan that wasn’t mine came from beside me.
“Shit.”
I stopped moving. While I knew I should be hurting more than I was, it seemed like I had caused pain to someone else.
Slowly this time, I shifted against the binds, and I was able to do so as I rolled to my side, ignoring all the pain it spiked annoyingly. It wasn’t easy to forget, but I did so anyway.
Breathing in, I pressed my face against whoever was there. Whatever the person was wearing, it smelled clean and fresh. So, I pressed farther into the form, seeking the warmth.
At the back of my mind, a small voice told me not to do that. To pull away and fight for my life. But I didn’t listen to it.
As I pressed as much into the form as I could, something pulled against my arm, and the binding turned more into wrapping around my back, pulling me closer than my body could do on its own.
“How can someone like you be so strong? Fuck. I’m surprised my nose isn’t broken.”
I wrinkled my nose, my eyes still closed.
“But I’ll take whatever, as long as you stay calm. Please, Dakota. Don’t freak out again.”
Forcing my eyes open, I didn’t see anything other than the gray shirt I had clutched in one hand with my face pressed to it. Slowly, fearing the worst, I pulled back. The beeping of the machine somewhere began to rise. The man that held me stiffened with a muttered curse.
By the time I pulled back enough to see who it was that was holding me, tears sprung to my eyes like a damn waterfall.
Sir.
He was alive.
As a sob broke forth, and before he had a chance to do anything, I pressed my face against hischest, right under his chin, and didn’t let go. The crying tore at not just my soul but my heart too.
I thought I had lost him. I thought I had lost myself. I had lost everything.
But he was here.
“Oh, Dakota.” His hand pulled me tightly against him, maybe a bit too tight as the pain grew more and more, but I didn’t dare pull away.
What if I did, and Sir wasn’t really here?
I felt a kiss on the top of my head, which only made me cry even harder.
“Please, you gotta calm down, boy.”
But I couldn’t. I was too overwhelmed with too many things.
He was here.
“Sir. My sir.” I repeated, pressing closer.
Somehow, I pressed one of my legs between his, wrapping it around his lower one. There was no way he could leave without taking me with him.
“He’s awake,” Sir answered, or something, his words rumbling his chest. “But-“
“It’s okay. It’s okay.” There was another male. This one had a soft voice, but I still pressed harder against Sir.
“Don’t go. Don’t go.” My breath caught in my throat. For a second, I couldn’t breathe, and the annoying beeping rose, an alarm going off with it.
