~Callie's Point of View~

Song: "Another Place" by Bastille feat. Alessia Cara

******

I woke up slowly, and when my head cleared, I could just faintly make out the sounds of a machine beeping. The next sense to wake up was my nose as I took in a deep breath, smelling flowers, pollen, and grass. I felt warm and a breeze drifted into the room.

It felt like spring.

I slowly opened my eyes and I blinked a few times to clear my vision and found I was in an open room and there were indeed flowers on vines that wrapped around the columns of the left wall, which was open to a large green house. Curtains blew lazily between the columns.

"...who it was but they'll pay dearly." A voice was saying. I turned my head to see Brandon talking with Aaron and he seemed angry.

"Ya know...." I rasped. "It's... rude to talk about someone... when they can hear you."

Brandon spun around and raced over to me and wrapped his arms around me tightly and I gasped as his arm hit my wound.

"Ow!" I yelped, tears stinging my vision. "Babe...my side..."

He immediately pulled away and rested his hands on my cheeks and wiped away the tears on my face. I reached up to hold his hands to my face.

"I'm so sorry, Callie." He said hoarsely and looked panicked. "I'm so clumsy. I'm so sorry."

I managed a warm smile as pain surged through my side. "I-It's fine, B-Brandon." I managed weakly and rested a hand on his cheek and he leaned into my hand.

"Are you ok? What happened?" He asked softly.

I clenched my jaw, then said, "I got to the flag, and then that girl- Seran- she threw a knife at me. I guess she was the defense. Then I threw a rock at her head. D-Did I kill her? Is she ok?" I managed.

"She's fine. So you're telling me Baldor wasn't there?" Aaron asked and raised an eyebrow. He wore a flannel over his chain mail and the sight was a little weird.

"I didn't see him until you carried me away. He was in the crowd." I said. "Why?"

"No reason. It's just...weird. I didn't see him at the fight." Aaron shook his head, but his confusion disappeared a moment later and he offered me a small smile.

"He could have been the spy for the other team." I said. "I mean...doesn't he disappear into shadows? It would make sense." My voice came out weak and was laced with exhaustion. I felt my eyelids beginning to droop.

"I should leave you to rest. Get some sleep. You need it." Brandon said and brushed some hair from my face and kissed my forehead.

I smiled at him softly. "Can I have my phone?" I asked and pointed at where it sat on my clothes.

Aaron passed it to me and I laid it on my stomach and Brandon kissed me gently before the two of them left.

I picked up my phone to see a single message from Samuel.

Tell me when you wake up. Please.

I clenched my jaw and texted him back, Come see me?

There was a pause, then his reply came.

Do you want me to?

Yes.
Please?

There was another pause and I texted, There's no one here. I asked them to leave.

Alright. I'm coming.

There was a sudden cool breeze and the shadows in the corner of the room seemed to stretch and then, he was there. He was wringing his hands nervously, but when he looked at me, the tension in his shoulders faded and he came over to the bed and stood above me, as if unsure what to do next.

I set my phone down on the bed and patted the other side. "Sit." I said softly.

He did and I took his hand. He stared at our locked fingers for a moment, then rested his other hand over mine and squeezed my fingers.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

"It's not your fault." I said gently and rubbed my thumb across his knuckles.

He wouldn't look at me.

"Sam." I said softly. "Look at me. I'm ok."

When he finally did, I saw that his gray eyes were filled with tears. I frowned and lifted my other hand to his cheek and whispered, "It's ok. Come here."

He leaned forward and merely rested his forehead against mine. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and he braced his arm on the side I wasn't hurt on.

"I never wanted you to get hurt." He whispered.

I felt my heart begin to beat faster as I whispered back, "You know that I'm too stubborn to let you protect me all the time, Sam."

He managed a weak smile and a small laugh. His gray eyes flicked up to meet mine. "Yes. I do know that."

I rested a hand on his cheek and said, "I want to trust you, Samuel. I don't think it's possible for me to avoid you, and that show of trying to chase me away, I'll let the others think it worked, but between you and I, it didn't." A small smile appeared on my face.

He looked like he was going to argue with me, but he merely shook his head and said, "Alright. Fine. You'll probably follow me around anyways." He smiles softly and I smiled back.

"Yeah. I would." I paused and lowered my hands down to hold a tassel on his sweatshirt. "So who can I trust besides you? You seemed a bit urgent about that during the game."

He leaned back a little, but still stayed close and said, "Haven. I'm indifferent to Aaron, Anna, Leland and Gabriella. Definitely Haven if I'm ever unavailable."

"And Brandon?"

His jaw clenched. "I've never trusted him."

"They told me about Anna's brothers, Leland's dad, and Brandon's brother. Is that true?" I asked and looked at him.

"Who?"

"They told me you murdered Anna's brothers and hurt Leland's father and Brandon's brother. That you tortured them. Is that true?"

His hands clenched in the sheets and he looked nervous. "...Yes. And no."

I furrowed my eyebrows and he reached up to take my hand and he said calmly, "I'll tell you when you're better, ok? Get better first. I need you to be better first."

I nodded, then asked, "Can you tell me why you don't trust Brandon, then?"

He clenched his jaw, then said, "Next time you see him, ask him about...Arielle." His voice broke a little on the name, but he recovered quickly, then said, "Ask about her. He ruined my life, and I don't trust him. In fact, I hate him. But if he makes you happy, Callie, my feelings shouldn't matter to you."

I frowned at the look of anguish that washed over his face, but it was gone as soon as it had come and he offered me a strained smile.

He cleared his throat, then asked, "Have they given you any King's Foil?"

"King's Foil?" I asked curiously.

"I'll take that as a no." He stood and walked over to a row of cupboards and then pulled out a bottle and a grinding bowl. I watched him curiously as he put some leaves and water into the bowl and ground it up to make a pulp, then brought it over to me.

"May I?" He asked.

I nodded and shimmied my hospital gown up but kept the blankets over my legs. He sat on the bed again with a fresh roll of bandages and gauze, and carefully undid the bandages and pulled aside the cloth to look at it and flinched.

I clenched my jaw and watched him examine my side, his face expressionless. He took the bowl and scooped some of the paste into his hands and said, "Don't move."

He rested his hand over the wound and the plants making contact with the wound made me suck in a sharp breath.

But then his hands began to become warmer and the pain began to subside and I let out a shuddering breath as I watched him, his brow knitted in concentration.

When he pulled his hand away, the wound was closed to merely a red line just above my hip about four inches long. He wrapped my side up again and made sure the bandages were in place, then took the old bandages and bowl away.

"I...What did you do?" I asked in amazement.

"I healed you." He replied as he washed his hands at the sink. The pungent smell of the leaves filled the air. "It'll unfortunately leave a scar." He seemed sad about that.

"Thank you." I said softly and smiled at him.

"You're welcome." He replied and dried his hands. I pulled my hospital gown back over me and shivered a little. He caught the movement and asked, "Are you cold?"

I shrugged. "I'll be ok."

I pulled the sheets up around me more securely and leaned back into the elevated pillows.

He didn't seem to believe me because he unzipped his hoodie and slipped his arms out of it and brought it over to me. "C'mon. Don't be stubborn."

Face heating up, I slipped my arms through the sleeves that were at least three or four sizes bigger than I was and he zipped it up and pulled the hood up over my head, poking my nose and smiling at me.

The sweatshirt was warm and smelled like him and I wrapped my arms around myself.

He sat down on the side of the bed again and said softly, "I should go, but I find the more time I spend near you, then less time I want to spend away from you."

"Hey. We can hang out again. Whenever you want to. I won't run away from you." I said and reached out and took his hand.

He smiled at me and squeezed my hand.

"You're not alone, Sam." I found myself saying. "If you need to talk, talk to me. If you feel alone, text me, call me, email me, come find me. Any time."

He looked at me, his gray eyes shining as he gazed into my eyes. He leaned in a little closer, and for a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me, but he merely said, "Thank you, Callie."