Page 56 of Bottoms
“Shit. Sorry,” Tanner breathed. “Is that alright?” he said, and I slowly uncurled to open my eyes again.
The light had been dimmed, and it didn’t hurt my eyes as badly as I looked around. I was back in my bedroom inside Bottoms. Trying to push up, a sharp wave of pain had me crying out as I fell down onto the mattress.
“Don’t move,” Tanner said. “You have stitches in your stomach where Fynn cut you. The doctor had a hard time keeping you sedated, and he overcompensated. You are in Bottoms, healing. Everyone is okay. Fynn’s here too.”
I felt my body relax, appreciating Tanner giving me all the information my brain needed.
“Whose house are you staying at?” I asked, my words a garbled mess as they fell from my dry throat.
“I'm staying here in Bottoms,” Tanner said, slightly confused as he went to get me a cup of water from the table. Realization came to him when he returned with a small smile. Sitting back down, he positioned the cup so low I only had to turn my head to reach the straw.
I took a few small sips before pushing the cup away, before drinking too much and making myself sick again. At least I was learning. Tanner put the cup on the table beside my bed before returning to me.
“I was telling you I would stay the night here in your room. Fynn stabbed me,” he said, holding up a bandaged hand.
I started to get upset, but before the emotion could sweep over and consume me, Tanner spoke again, “We were playing a stupid game. Pretty much all games with Fynn involve weapons, and I got stabbed on accident.” Tanner made finger quotes as he said accident.
I smiled, deciding I liked this Tanner. Maybe it was because he was slightly drunk. Or maybe this was just the side of him he kept hidden from the world. Either way, I wanted to get to know this side better.
“The bed is big enough. Why don’t you join me?” I asked. Patting the large, empty space next to me. Hannah, Nik, and I had all fit on here.
Tanner looked momentarily worried before his mind decided that he couldn’t refuse. He stood from the chair, and I heard the thump of his shoes as they hit my tiled floor. His hand moved to his shirt next, taking his time to unbutton each one the same as I saw him do alone in his bedroom. His eyes were on me the entire time, and I knew I was in no condition for sex. But as soon as I was healed, I demanded to have a sleepover night with Tanner. Next time, it could be in his bedroom. It would be my turn to pop his buttons.
He stripped down to his boxers before pulling the blanket to the side. He carefully slipped into bed with me, careful not to bump against me or move too much. Laying on his side, I could feel him staring. I turned my head to face him, getting lost immediately in his rich, blue eyes. Even in the dim light, they shone through the dark strands of his hair that hung low. They called me home.
“What happened?” I asked, needing to know what had happened since the loft.
Tanner sighed, closing his eyes before opening them, his gaze hard while recreating the memory.
“We couldn’t do anything,” he started, his tone full of regret. “I was locked inside a room in my own fucking building, and all I could do was stand there and watch when you fell to the floor. Fynn just stood there for what felt like forever, looking at your lifeless body on the floor. There was so much blood already.” Tanner closed his eyes like it was hard to talk about.
“At least now you know I wasn’t dead,” I said playfully. Trying to help him remember when he was overcome by emotions from the past.
“We thought you were. I think even Fynn thought you were dead. He unlocked all the doors and just stood there. I guess he was waiting for us to come in and kill him. If Nik hadn’t reached you first and shouted that you were alive, I would have.” Tanner looked at me pointedly. As if making sure I knew that whatever ceasefire they had found themselves in, it all depended on me being alive.
“Nik said I was alive, so you took me to medical. Doc tried to sedate me, but since I have a Fynn tolerance to pain medications now, it didn’t work. Which is how I ended up overcooked, right?” I said, helping Tanner to get through what I am sure was the most difficult part of the story. They hoped I would make it and feared every time my vitals took a turn. He didn’t need to relive that for me.
“Yeah,” Tanner said like that was barely half of it. But he seemed to agree those were details we could save for another day when the pain of it was further away. “It's been three days.”
“How long is this going to take?” I said, pointing towards my stomach. Now that I had enough time to learn its pain flavor, it was easier for me to shift without bothering it too much.
“Six to eight weeks.”
I glared at Tanner. He clearly didn’t understand how healing when you lived with a psychopath worked. I would be the one to decide when I was ready to start moving around again.
“What about you guys?” I asked. Tanner had said he was playing a game with Fynn earlier. That at least sounded like they were getting along. Accidental stabbings were part of life with Fynn.
“I will say,” Tanner started, then stopped to clear his throat like he was nervous. “Seeing you like that changed some things. We all sat down to have a long overdue face-to-face meeting. Honestly, I’m not sure how we got through that with everyone alive,” Tanner laughed before his eyes shifted to me, softening again. “That’s not true. We were able to sit down and talk because we all share one thing that’s more important to us than anything else on the planet.”
His hand came up to cup my cheek, and I felt tears spilling down.
“We can’t let you go, Nessa. But we're done trying to hurt each other because you only end up feeling the pain. We are working together now as the newly formed Dark Arsenal.”
I considered the new arrangement. It still wasn’t freedom, but sounded even better than Fynn's plan. At least it sounded like Fynn wasn’t the only one calling the shots, since he lost control when it came to me.
“Who’s in charge?” I asked, wondering if Tanner was able to slip back into his role.
“You are,” Tanner said, smirking. “Well, you are in charge of us. And we are in charge of you,” he clarified.
