Navy Blue Eyes.

Her Hope and Her Hurt. | .04

Rowan's eyes fluttered open slowly. Her sight was beyond blurry, her vision clouded as she squinted through puffy eyes. Just as she went to get up to prepare the usual post-hangover cocktail for her mother she realized her bed seemed to be moving, she almost jumped up until she suddenly remembered, it was Kellin. Rowan also noticed the room had grown chilly since she'd last been awake, but Kellin had somehow managed to wrap her hoodie around her as a blanket, keeping her tucked into a little cocoon of warmth. She still felt so groggy, sleep still sounded so nice. She therefore made no further movement, so as not to alert Kellin to the fact that she was semiconscious, other than cuddling back into him so that she could hear his heart beat. She timed her breathing with the steady thump thump, thump thump which reverberated through Kellin's tattooed chest and onto Rowan's salty cheek.

Kellin continued to stroke Rowan's long locks as she slept, from the top of her head to the floor, occasionally tucking loose strands behind her ear. She'd been out for nearly an hour. She was so weak, so drained, but Kellin felt wide awake. He'd held her the whole time, ignoring his legs and arms that were tingling from the lack of movement. Rowan was so light that it was no problem to just sit there, on the bathroom floor, and hold her. He wanted nothing more than to pick her up and run. Just run. Anywhere, everywhere... just to get her away from here. But at the same time, he couldn't bear to move her. She looked so peaceful. With her tiny hands—speckled with dried blood—still fisting his ruined shirt, Rowan's features were calm in her dreamy state. She seemed so young and fragile.

Kellin's heart raced as he was pulled into reality by a vibration. His phone. Kellin sucked in a sharp breath and held it, as if that would somehow help her stay asleep, as he slowly moved to get his cell from his hoodie pocket. He blinked at the sudden brightness in the otherwise dimly lit room, it read: Katelynne. He hurried to slide the answer bar, and whispered, "Hullo?"

"Kellin?" Katelynne's voice was concerned, "Are you okay?"

"Mmhmm, why wouldn't I be?" He tried his best to sound totally normal whilst still keeping his voice low and moving his chest as little as possible.

"Well, for starters no one knows where you are..." Katelynne didn't sound angry or annoyed, only relieved and a little tired, "I called all the guys but none of them knew either, you weren't at the car, or answering your phone, or responding to my texts. You scared me, babe. Where are you?"

Kellin didn't really know what to say, he was able to come up with a lie pretty quick though, "Sorry, hun, I forgot to tell you. I decided to go to the cafeteria for lunch, then I took a nap in the booth, I was pretty wiped out from Cope keeping us up last night. I've just now woken up."

"Oh..." she sighed, sounding even more relieved. "Oh thank God, you're fine. I'm glad. Sorry I freaked. I, uh, I didn't think you'd hung around though. I'm sorry, I left already. I got my dad to pick me up and bring me home. Will you be alright getting home on your own?"

"Yeah," Kellin almost laughed at how bizarre this day had been already, "yeah I've got the car, and I'll be home soon. I just need to get some crappy hospital coffee to wake up a bit first."

"Sure," Katelynne laughed a bit, "I'll probably be in bed when you get here, alright? I love you."

"Love you too, babe."

Kellin hung up and glanced at the time, 6:24pm. Damn. He knew it was about time, he'd have to go.

Rowan's eyes opened once again, she'd been woken by Kellin's voice as it vibrated in his chest, but chose to remain 'sleeping' as long as possible. Now it was the end though, she knew there would be one but this seemed too soon, not that Rowan believed any amount of time with Kellin could be enough. It was the end to a beautiful day where she saw a small glimpse of what it might be like to have a father who cared, or a family at all. It was nice. It was safe, and comforting, and very nice. She would miss it. But all good things must come to an end. Kellin had been her savior today, but he had a daughter of his own, and a wife who was going through her own hardships. He was needed elsewhere, he needed to be their savior. That was okay, one day of being allowed to be hurt and broken and have the problems shouldered by someone else was more than Rowan thought she would ever get. She was grateful. She shrugged off the cozy cover, using the burst of cool air around her to aid her in waking a bit more. She looked blearily up toward Kellin, and smiled at him. He looked back down at her, grinning as he saw her stretch awake. He grabbed her hand to stop her stretching, though, as he saw her wince in pain. Her cuts were still blazing, her bruises making it hard to concentrate on anything other than the aching pain spreading through her body.