Page 31 of Sunflower Persona
She’s still too cold and clammy to set my worries at ease.
I’m not sure if it’s the sound of my voice, the caress, or a mixture of the two that startles her, but her eyes snap open, and she scrambles to sit up with a sharp gasp.
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” I don’t make another move to touch her as I reassure her.
Her chest heaves as she scans the room in quick, frantic passes. After a moment, her gaze focuses on me, and she stiffens before the tension drops from her shoulders like a marionette with its strings cut.
“Gage.” She says my name like I’m the best thing she’s ever seen.
My chest tightens at the reverent sound. It keeps doing that when she’s around. I should probably get that checked out at some point. There is no way this is healthy. Heart palpitations are never a good sign. With my luck, I’m probably dying.
“Yeah, Low, I’m here.”
She relaxes back onto my pillow with a hum.
“I don’t feel good,” she murmurs, her words still slurring from whatever drug is in her system.
It takes everything in me not to reach out to her again.
“I know.” Believe me, I know. “What do you need right now? Water? I’ll go grab a glass.”
“Don’t go!” Her eyes widen in panic as she turns toward me and grabs my arm, squeezing it like a vise, stopping me before I can stand.
“All right, no need for that. I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her grip eases, but not by much. Though it’s not like her grip was particularly strong to begin with. Even if it was, I would let her squeeze me until my skin bruised and bones broke if it took away some of her fear.
She doesn’t say anything else for several minutes. She doesn’t pull her hand away either. Her eyes fall shut, and if it weren’t for her rapid breathing, I’d think she passed back out.
A silent tear escapes from behind her lashes, and my restraint snaps. Even I have my limits, and seeing her shaking in my bed pushes me beyond their edge. I brush away the stray droplet with my thumb, hating the way another takes its place.
“Hey, you’re okay. You’re okay.” The knot in my throat makes my voice gruffer than normal. I try to swallow it away, but the thick lump is unmoving. The words are useless anyway. Nothing I can say could ever make this right.
“I’m scared,” she admits in a whisper that breaks my heart.
So am I, but I’ll never tell her that. The only thing I’m good for is my ability to stay calm in situations like this, and I’ve already lost my head once. I’ll be damned if I do it again.
I move my fingers from her face to her iron claws on my arm, coaxing them loose, and wrap her hand in mine. My thumb caresses the back of her hand in slow circles as I bring it closer to my face. I don’t kiss her—I don’t deserve that—but rest my lips against her skin.
“Will you lie with me?” she asks.
“Kori—” I start to protest, but she cuts me off.
“Please. I know you’ll keep me safe.”
Goddamnit all. There is no way I can deny her. Not when she’s looking at me with those tear-filled Bambi eyes. Pain shoots through my knee as I stand; it doesn’t do well being locked bent for too long. I slip off my shoes and join her on the worn mattress. The lumps never bothered me before, but Yellow deserves better than this—than me.
My body is stiff as I lie beside her, careful not to touch her despite the lack of space on the full-sized mattress. Her hand creeps along the bed until the edge of her pinky brushes against mine. She lets out an annoyed huff when I don’t react and grabs my hand, striking like a snake hunting its prey.
“Thank you,” she murmurs, and I squeeze her fingers.
After a few minutes, her exhaustion takes over, and she slips back to sleep with soft snores. I try to fight it—I promised myself I’d watch over her—but not long after, I fall unconscious too.
Chapter 11
Kori
Consciousness arrives on the back of a galloping horse. Or at least that’s what the steady pounding in my head feels like. My mouth is so dry, my lips sting as I peel them open, and my tongue is about as useless as a sponge. It’s a struggle to pry my eyes open; the bright light streaming in fromsomewherefeels like a knife stabbing into my brain with every crack. My dorm doesn’t get sunlight like this.
