Page 40 of Spike

When we reached the clinic, Julian bid us farewell, leaving Nitro and me.

Nitro strode ahead confidently, as if he knew exactly where he was going. I followed closely behind, my nerves tingling with anticipation.

Inside the clinic, I found Spike lying on one of the beds, his expression irritated and stubborn.

The sight of him shirtless, with bandages covering his front and back, made my heart sink. I couldn't shake off the guilt gnawing at me.

It was my fault he was in this state, my fault he had to endure pain and discomfort. Spike shouldn't have been hurt at all, especially not because of me.

He glanced up as we entered, his expression softening at the sight of me.

"I told you I'm good now," Spike grumbled to the healer, his voice tinged with frustration. “Discharge me.”

"Just stay still and let me finish my examination," a stern voice interrupted. That must be Micah.

I took a seat beside Spike's bed, relief flooding through me at the sight of him relatively unharmed.

Despite his protests, I could see that he was in good hands with Micah.

Finally, Micah and Nitro exited the room, leaving just Spike and me. Spike shifted to make space for me on the bed, and I settled down beside him.

This felt…unexpectedly nice. I shook the thought away, because I should be focusing on Spike.

"I want to apologize for the way I behaved yesterday," Spike began.

I reached out, gently placing a hand on his arm.

"I appreciate that, Spike," I said softly, a warmth spreading through me at his considerate words. "But you don't have to apologize. You were just looking out for me."

"I know, but I hate seeing you worried," he admitted, his thumb stroking the back of my hand gently.

A rush of affection washed over me at his gesture. Despite his injuries, he was still more concerned about my well-being.

It was moments like these that made me grateful for having him in my life.

"I'm fine, really," I reassured him. "And I'm just glad you're okay too."

Spike's lips curled into a tender smile, and for a moment, everything else faded away.

“Nitro told me everything that had happened. You confronted Venom while you were drunk—that wasn’t the smart thing to do,” I said.

I found I couldn’t really be angry at him anymore.

"Yeah, I regret it now. I was just so angry and I got overprotective over you,” Spike admitted.

My heart sank at his words, a knot of fear tightening in my chest. I had never seen Spike like this before, vulnerable and filled with regret.

It made me realize just how much he cared about me.

“It doesn’t matter now. I also understand that things got intense. You and Nitro had to fight off mercenaries in the woods?” I asked tentatively. “Mercenaries… that were after me?”

Knowing that I once again placed Nitro and Spike in harm's way, filled me with an overwhelming sense of remorse.

Spike's gaze softened as he reached up to brush a lock of hair away from my face, his touch gentle and comforting despite how serious our conversation was.

“Nitro was up all night, trying to get Burt, the remaining mercenary to talk. Finally, he cracked and told us Jack Roth hired them,” Spike admitted, his voice heavy with exhaustion. “I’m not sure if Olaf knows.”

The mention of Jack sent a chill down my spine, my mind racing as I processed the implications of his involvement.

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