Page 16 of Sacrificing Zoriah

“As blunt as you’d like,” I say.

“Am I correct in assuming that you have come all over you?” He asks as he fills the bath.

“Uh... yeah,” I say. “And lube. And blood.”

“Are you in pain?” He asks as he turns me to face the mirror. I immediately close my eyes because I’m not ready to know what I look like. He notices when I do this and pulls me away from the counter so that I am not facing the mirror.

“Just my back. Huxley bandaged it the best he could, but that was days ago,” I say.

“He hurt you? Corbin said that they’re friends.”

“No. Huxley is not there by choice. He was trying to help Haley but just ended up getting stuck. They used him against me, but he’s the reason I escaped. He gave me the knife. I… he told me to be selfish and leave him behind. I didn’t want to leave him.”

“We will find him,” he says as he pulls the bandage off. “Looks irritated but not infected. I’ll clean and cover that after. Let’s get you in.”

“I’m so tired,” I complain.

“You can sleep soon,” he says as he picks me up and sets me in the clawfoot tub. He helps me ease down into the water, and I groan as the hot water envelops me. “Better?”

“That’s nice,” I whisper as I sit back and close my eyes.

“Can I help you clean up, or would you rather be alone?” he asks.

“I don’t have the energy to move,” I admit.

“I need more than that, Zoriah,” he says softly.

“Yes. Can you help me get clean?” I ask. “I feel like I should definitely look for a new job, though.”

“Why’s that? Sick of me already?” He asks playfully as he kneels beside the tub.

“You’ve seen me naked, Roman,” I say. “You are having to clean my gross body because I’m too weak.”

“Zoriah,” he says, gently laying his hand on my forearm. “When you are ready, I want you to come back to work if you want to.If you don’t, I’ll give you the best recommendation. Why do you keep thinking I’m going to fire you?”

“I’m so used to losing people that I’m just waiting for you to leave too,” I admit.

“Oh, Riah,” he says with a sweet smile. “You’ll never be able to escape me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You mean it? You’re not just saying that because I’m too weak for you to make me leave?” I ask.

“I mean it,” he chuckles and pulls his phone out of his jeans pocket. “Relax for a second and let me call Corbin.”

“Mmkay,” I sigh.

He taps around and places the call on speaker when it starts ringing. “Hey. Any update? Dad got sick again, so we stopped for a minute.”

“I have her here with me,” Roman says.

“What? I will fucking kill you if you’re joking,” Corbin snaps.

“I’m not. She must have been close by. She ran here,” Roman explains. “She’s in the bath right now.”

“Oh, thank God. Is she okay? Is she hurt?”

“Uhhhh….” Roman says.

“Roman. Is she hurt?”

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