Broken but not lost

Chapter 40, FLYNN

Briar sits there many- many- minutes longer than she has to.

I don't move her until the sun starts to set.

I don't want to because I know she sees Kai in Grey and this is her way of getting revenge on them both.

I don't want to keep her from that, but she's been here for hours. She hasn't eaten, hasn't slept, she has no strength back.

I look at her and see her eyes glazed over, like she's in another world.

I walk around and squat behind her, grabbing her wrists and gently prying them away from Greys face.

She inhales sharply, as if waking up, and begins fighting me. "No. No, I'm not done. I'm not done!" She shouts, her throat surely aching.

"My love, it's almost dark. You need rest." I say calmly, trying not to arouse any anger.

She pulls her wrists out of my grip and I wrap my arms around her small waist in a swift motion, careful of her wounds, lifting her off the ground and taking a few steps towards the motel.

She fights a moment more before sagging and breathing heavy. I peek over her shoulder to see tears staining her cheeks. "Please." She begs. "Please, I need to."

I set her down gently but keep my arms around her. "What do you need to do?" I whisper into her hair.

"Please." Is all she says. "Please."

I loosen my hold on her and she turns, reaching for my thigh. A pop sounds as she unbuttons the holster and draws her knife.

She shakily walks back to Greys body and I follow close behind.

She kneels beside him and takes only a moment to stare at him before she stabs him in the chest.

Briar leans in close to his head and whispers something too low for me to hear, she pulls back, taking the knife with her and stabs him once more.

I find her face and, somehow, I still see Briar. The Briar I knew before the cave, before what Kai did to her for the second time.

She seems calm, yet angry.

She rips her knife out of his chest, stands, and tosses the blade beside his body.

I stand a moment after and she grabs my hand before leading me inside.

<><>

We lay there, my arms around Briar as she sleeps soundly.

Did she really get herself back by doing that?

I'm not complaining but that's not exactly how I'd imagined getting her back.

We haven't spoken another word since she begged me to let her go, so maybe she isn't really herself again and it was just a moment of relief that I saw on her face.

Briar stirs slightly, leaning further into me. Her hair falls over her eyes and I gently brush it away, needing to see her face.

God, she's so beautiful.

Admiring her, I can't help but let the words silently leave my lips, barely more than a breath in the wind.

"I love you."

I kiss her head and pull her closer.

Great. Now I just need to say it when she's awake.

<><>

Briar barely moves as I leave the bed, collect my shirt, bow and arrows, and exit the room.

After I leave the motel, I look for some kind of meat: a bird, squirrel, another boar would be good too.

After finding a skittish, fat squirrel, I silently draw my arrow, aim, and fire.

Direct hit in the eye.

I guess those lessons back at Belholt really did help teach me how to aim.

It's not even those memories I think back to as I pull the arrow out of the little guys eye.

* * *

"You're shit at this."

"I'm well aware, thank you." Briar throws her hands in the air dramatically. "Fucking hell. I thought because I knew how to shoot a gun I'd be good at this. You know what, this is a faulty bow. Yeah. You made a shitty bow and your arrows are crooked." She throws insults at me.

"I guarantee it's not the weapon." I raise my brows. "You just suck."

"I suck some other stuff too." She challenges and smirks evilly.

I step closer. "Don't say that unless you're gonna live up to it."

She puts her lip in a flat line and backs down. "Fine. But teach me how to shoot this damned thing."

I laugh before making my way behind her and guiding her arms to the right spots. We're so intimately close that I feel her heart beating.

It's the same beat as mine.

* * *

I smile at the memory as I make my way back to the motel.

As I arrive, ignoring the blood, the body, and the fingers on the ground outside, I step inside and carefully close the door behind me, attempting to be quiet.

It was pointless, however, when I turn around and find Briar sitting in front of a fire she stoked herself.

"Hi, my love." I start, making my way around her and kissing her temple. "How'd you sleep?"

She stares intently into the fire, worry seeming to coat her expression.

"What's wrong?" I kneel before her, taking my things and tossing them to the side before placing my hands on her thighs.

"Please tell me you're going somewhere next time." She says, keeping her blue eyes on the fire. "I-I didn't know where you went." She finally looks to me, silver brimming her eyes.

I cup her cheek and wipe a tear that falls with my thumb. "I'm sorry." I whisper. "I didn't want to wake you."

"I know. But I— I had to see if the body was still there. I didn't know where you were."

"Hey, I'm okay." I lean into her and pull her head into my neck, embracing her.

"I didn't know where you were." She repeats, her throat tight.

"I'm okay. You're okay. He's gone, I'm here, okay?" I pull back and rub my thumb on her cheekbone.

She nods her head solemnly before lowering her head, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"Hey, look at me." I say, tilting her head back up.

She does as I say and stares into my eyes, not another thought in the world.

Fuck it.

"I love you."