Muffled noises woke me from slumber then the sudden yank on my feet made me yelp as the throbbing pain in my ankle turned sharp and spiky. Gritting my teeth though I allowed which ever idiot it was to pull me from the culvert inch by slow inch. Though when I was complete pulled out I half expected to be laying face down in the dirt, instead I was draped over someone’s arm as they lifted me into a standing position.

I clutched at their arm when pain raced up my leg, putting any amount of pressure on it was a bad idea and I lifted my foot off the ground to indicate that it was injured. "Are you okay Leah? God we were so worried when Butter-Bean showed up without you!" The voice and arm belong to Declan and I turned without a word and buried my face in the crook of his armpit, not wanting to let go of the sudden safety.

"I fell and did something to my ankle. Can we go home now?" I asked, pulling away from him slightly. I noticed then that his face had black soot smudges all over it, his clothes too had a fine cover of soot. Pulling away even further I looked around and noticed that the area I had been in was completely burned through; the fire could be seen in the distant fields.

"Sure we can go home, I'm just glad you're safe....the bottoms of your shoes are completely melted though." Declan handed me over to someone else, I smiled in relief when I looked up to see Devyn staring down at me.

"Come on, let’s get you up here." Devyn didn't give me much time to prepare as he pulled me easily out of the ditch. I half expected him to set me down on my own two feet but he carried me to the truck that they had obviously driven up on.

"Devyn, it's okay...really. I'm okay." I said reassuringly, but Devyn didn't seem to hear as he shook his head and placed me in the back of the truck, buckling my safety belt in place. He wouldn't look at me as he worked so I grabbed both his hands and held them still, hoping that it would get him to see me.

Slowly he did look up and I could see tears in his eyes, "I was so scared Leah, so, so scared." His voice broke a little, I felt my heart do a little flip at the thought that Devyn might cry over me. It was weird of me to think so, so I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I could, rocking him gently as I kissed his hair.

"I'm sorry you had to feel that way Devyn, sit in the back with me?" I didn't know what else to say that would ease his worries. He nodded though, taking my safety belt off of me and scooping me up. It was a little awkward but eventually we managed to settle ourselves in comfortably, Devyn held me tightly in his lap.

Declan approached without so much as a word and closed the door before he climbed into the front and drove us all back towards the house.

When we arrived Trisha came running towards the truck, I could see the worry and panic on her face but it eased a little when she spotted me. The truck had just come to a stop before she yanked the door open and threw her arms around me, Devyn moved back a little in his seat to allow Trisha in.

Unlike Devyn though Trisha began crying, it was so weird because she wasn't my own mom but she was treating me just like I was one of her kids.

"Leah, oh we were so worried! We had thought the worst, are you okay? Oh what am I saying, of course you're not okay! Devyn bring her into the house," Trisha was pulled away by Declan; he patted my knee before ushering Trisha into the house.

"We were all worried about you Leah; we weren't sure if you knew anything about wildfires and when Nic-Fin showed up with Butter-Bean without you everyone began panicking more. I think you shortened Trisha and Declan's lives a good few years." It was good to hear Devyn joke and chuckle a little as he shuffled the both of us out of the truck and carted me off towards the house.

"I was okay Devyn; I knew what to do...my driver taught me and made sure I remembered." I would need to thank Lane for all of his lessons that he taught me over the years, he would likely tell me 'I told you so,' but in this case he really had told me so.

“Well you’re lucky; it could have been a totally different story otherwise. Come on, my mom is waiting inside to tend to your injuries.” Flinching at the thought of meeting Devyn’s mom so suddenly I pulled back from his a little to look at his face and he seemed a little...I don’t know? Embarrassed? Bashful? It was cute but I didn’t say anything as I settled back against him and let my head rest against his shoulder.

“My brothers and dad are here too, they showed up not long after you and Nic-Fin left so they’ve been helping to search for you the last day and a half.” Again that made me pull away from Devyn slightly, I hadn’t been sleeping the entire time had I? Maybe I had been knocked out by the smoke or had felt the need to sleep away the fire, whatever the case I was a little shocked and unprepared for Devyn’s entire family.

When Devyn set foot inside the house it was Trisha that I spotted first and kept my focus on her as another woman approached. She must have been Devyn’s mom because she began checking me over almost immediately, apparently personal space wasn’t such a problem for her as she was directed to my ankle and began poking and prodding it.

“Ow!” I cried out when she grabbed my ankle a little too roughly and tutted as she pulled my boot and sock off. I had half expected her to be gentle but she wasn’t, throughout her inspection I grit my teeth and tried to stop myself from squirming as Devyn’s grip tightened every so often.

“It’s only twisted, the swelling should go down in a few days but you shouldn’t walk around on it.” Mrs. Corlin looked directly at me, I swear she could read my soul or at the very least attempted to.

Looking past Mrs. Corlin I took note of everyone that was gathered just inside the doorway, Valerie, a few guys, Mrs. Corlin, Trisha, Declan and the kids...Sonia, Nic-Fin, Adrian and Arick too. “I’m alive?” Was the only thing that came out of my mouth, it earned me a scowl from Adrian, a chuckle from Declan and Nic-Fin and a kiss on the head from Devyn. That would have been fine if his mom hadn’t been standing right there but it just made things a whole lot more awkward.

“Devyn, take her up to bed...did you inhale any smoke while you were out there Leah?” The question came from Mrs. Corlin; I only shook my head as Devyn moved past her. I really didn’t know if I had or had not inhaled smoke but I felt completely fine so must not have while out cold.

“Oh my god, how awkward was that? Who were the guys standing around? I bet I look all scruffy and bad,” Devyn only laughed at my questioning as he climbed the stairs up to my room. I wondered how he could manage to hold on to me so long and still be standing when we reached my room though he put me down on my bed and flopped down beside me as Trisha came in closely behind.

“You’ll need to shower hon, Devyn can come back up later when you’re all changed and settled into bed. Okay?” The question didn’t offer any room for an argument, not that I wanted Devyn near me while I showered. He nodded his head but took his time leaving my room, in the end Trisha had to push him the last few steps from the room and close the door behind him.

If Devyn was still outside the door when it came time for me to go down and shower we would have to walk past him anyway, there was no bathroom in the attic. That was the one thing I still had to share with everyone else, though as time went on I didn’t mind as much because it meant going back up to my solitude as soon as I was done.

My shower was a lot longer than I usually had, the smell of smoke was hard to work out of my hair and my ankle made it hard to wash myself properly. After a good twenty minutes I climbed out regardless of what I had achieved and towelled myself off before changing into clean clothes that Trisha had brought down for me.

When I opened the door, Devyn was standing against the opposite wall with Trisha. But Trisha didn’t get a chance to say anything, Devyn scooped me up again and we headed back up the stairs. Trisha trailed behind the both of us, smiling to herself when I peeped around Devyn’s shoulder.

I was quickly settled into bed, covers thrown over me and tucked securely into the sides of the bed. I felt more confined now more than I had previously but I didn’t say anything when Trisha left Devyn and me alone. She more than likely knew nothing was going to happen by the way Devyn had tucked me in; he merely lay on top of the covers at my side.

“Get some rest Leah; I think Trisha is going to make up something light for you to eat in an hour.” Devyn had held a glass of water to my lips moments ago, I had taken a few sips but not too many as it hurt a little to swallow.

“I hope people don’t treat me differently now...I really am fine Devyn.” Devyn sighed in response, I don’t think he believed me and only put an arm around me and pulled himself closer, snuggling as he watched me. His eyes implored me to rest and sleep, that he somehow knew I was lying to myself and everyone else.

Kissing his nose quickly I snuggled closer to him as well and drifted off to sleep.

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Sorry, this is a short chapter!

I can't seem to get quiet. peaceful space to write in so I wasn't really feeling Leah and the other characters of SM tonight. Sorry! I hope the next update will be a lot better and more in tune with my characters.