Dead Dreams

Thirty-three

I don't get even a second to myself before someone comes running through the trees towards me.

I turn my head to see them.

"Iri-" As I turn my body towards him, I stumble over my own feet. His eyes widen, and he runs forward, catching me and taking the brunt of the fall. I just lay there, with my head in his chest. It's nice and warm, and his clothes are soft. He puts his head on top of mine, brushing a hand through my hair.

"I heard what happened. I won't be leaving you alone with them again, I swear it." His voice is low, but shakes with emotion. There are so many I can't tell which one he's feeling.

I blink several times, trying to get rid of the sleepiness I feel. It doesn't work, and laying here isn't helping. I don't have much strength to move though. "It's okay. I know you didn't think that would happen or you wouldn't have left." I murmur, but he still catches it.

"Of course I wouldn't have, but that doesn't make it okay." He is insistent, which brings my focus back a little bit. "It's my responsibility to keep you safe...and I'm failing miserably."

"Iris..."

"Yes?"

"You're doing a lot more than most people...I think...if you were anyone else...I would have been abandoned a long time ago." when he doesn't respond, I quietly add a little more. "You're so kind...please don't beat yourself up over something like this. It's not your fault."

Iris gives me a small squeeze. It makes me feel just a little lighter.

"Thank you for saying that, Ruth." I can tell he's smiling from the sound of his voice. That's good.

I hum in response, feeling like I'm drifting off more by the second. I have to put a lot of effort into staying awake at this point.

"You're exhausted. I'll carry you back." He says, softly. Like he doesn't want to disturb my sleep. I'd much rather be talking to him though.

"You don't have to do that." I murmur, lightly pushing against his chest to try and stand up. I don't get very far, even though he's letting me try.

"I want to." Carefully, he slides his arms off my head and back to my arms, helping me sit up to look at him. I had guessed right, he's smiling a bit. His eyes don't quite reflect happiness though. It's something more.

"Why?"

"It's probably because I care about you so much." The way he answered was...perfect. Everything about it. The tone, the words, how he looked at me when he said it. I don't know how to feel.

So I find out how to.

I lean forward, just slowly enough that he has time to move if he wants. His eyes widen a little bit, but he doesn't move. When my lips brush his, I close my eyes. I think that's what I'm supposed to do.

And just before I use up the last of my energy, I decide one thing.

I like this.

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I don't know if he liked it.

This one problem had completely pushed the others out of my head for now. Not that I hadn't briefly considered the other problems. I had decided immediately this morning to follow what Iris had said, and haven't been alone with or even talked to either of the girls. They hadn't talked to me either, which led me to believe that Iris had talked to them first. That's fine with me. I think I would have had a hard time talking to them after yesterday. I don't even know if I'd accept an apology for it either.

And then there was the other problem. I had come very close to accepting his offer. I had been tired, and my emotions were all twisted together. I still don't know exactly how I feel about him. I don't dislike him, or...even his touch. He doesn't seem like a bad person. I think he just acts the way he was made. Something that makes me think about whether he really could like me as he said he did.