Transfusion

Chapter 14

It was finally the weekend, which meant no school, and over the next couple of days, I stuck so close to Leon, I'm sure everyone else in the unit noticed as well.

 The wound in his arm caused a few restrictions but I was glad to help, and he didn't seem to mind. Elias and Dravin handled the brunt of the operations, and Leon and I stayed back, working behind the scenes along with Reina.

Sunday morning, Leon wanted an early meeting, and everyone was assembled at the dining table, except Elias.

"Ash, can you go get him?" Leon turned the full force of his brown eyes on me, and I nodded. Recently, he had taken to calling me by a nickname, and I was delighted. It made me feel familiar to him somehow, like we were closer.

Hesitating in front of his closed door, I took a breath and knocked. The room was silent, and after several more tries, I slowly opened the door. It was dark, the black drapes effectively blocked out any sun, and I could barely make out a long shape on the bed, before my eyes began to adjust. 

"Elias, you need to get-" I was promptly smacked in the face with a pillow, and in my surprise I stumbled back. What the hell? Did he just throw a pillow at me? How could he even see me clearly enough to aim? 

Looking toward the bed, the lump under the covers was still there unmoving. Sneaky bastard. Reining in my annoyance, I tried a different tactic, and in the nicest voice I could manage, I spoke:

"Good morning! Don't you think it's time to get up, Leon wants-"

"Fuck Leon."

"Well aren't you cranky." I said losing my patience

"Get out." he rumbled.

"I'm not leaving this room until you get your ass to the kitchen because everyone is waiting for you."

With a sigh, he sat up, and his blankets fell off him, to reveal that he was wearing nothing underneath. "You really want to stay here?" he smirked his voice still gruff from sleep, "Be my guest."

It was like my eyes were glued to the expanse of tan skin and muscle. I could even spot a few more tattoos on his chest, but I couldn't quite make them out, and I didn't dare get any closer. 

He ran his hands through the tumble of his black hair and it stuck out in all different directions. When he turned on his bed side lamp, I saw that he had dark circles under his eyes, but even that didn't stop him from looking like a high fashion model that just walked out of a photoshoot. Elias immediately slipped on his sunglasses and I swallowed.

"Um.. actually I'll wait for you in the kitchen, but you better hurry." Without looking back at him, I all but raced out of his room.

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My dreams shocked me out of my fitful sleep for the the third day in a row. 

 With a sigh, I climbed out of bed, and padded outside to get some water for my parched throat. Once I left the room, I was startled to hear thudding sounds coming from down the hall, and curious, I crept toward the sounds, leading me to the training room located in the garage.

 Careful to stay silent, I peered through the doorway to see who it was and was shocked to find Dravin there.

 I watched speechlessly as he rammed his hand into the punching bag hanging from the ceiling, over and over again, with such force, the bag swung wildly on it's flimsy metal chain. Anyone could tell Dravin was physically agitated. Anger and pain radiated off of him, as he continued to pound the bag as if it were his personal enemy, even though his hands were red, and sweat shone on his face.

I recalled what Leon had told me all those nights ago, and though Dravin hadn't said two words to me since I arrived, and I barely knew anything about him at all, my heart ached for his loss.

I couldn't imagine the pain of having to lose someone I was close to, and I even understood why he would resent me. I wanted to walk over there and comfort him, but I felt a hard grip on my shoulder and I spun around to find myself face to face with Elias.

"I wouldn't go over there if I were you." he warned me quietly. His face was somber as he watched Dravin, and I almost thought I saw a hint of sadness behind his eyes. "You probably mean well, but he wouldn't see it that way."

How did he know what I was about to do? Everything Elias did, always managed to surprise me; he could go from infuriating to perceptive before I could wrap my head around it.

I swallowed, "How did- how did he die? Val I mean?" I wasn't sure if he would answer me or scoff in my face, but all he did was sigh with a weariness that didn't match his age, and answered.

"Val died saving Dravin's life, all of our lives actually. As far as I'm concerned his death was noble, but it's also the reason Dravin can't let go of the guilt."

He sacrificed himself for his unit, and even though I never knew Val, I respected him. I must have been silent for several seconds because Elias looked at me curiously.

"What are you thinking?"

"That if I died, I'd want my death to be noble too." I'm not sure why I said that, but in the moment I knew it was true. If I had to leave this world, I wanted to make it count, and what better way to do that then by giving my life for those I cared about.

For the first time since I'd known him, Elias gave me a small but genuine smile, almost as if he approved.

"I'd have to agree with you on that."

Well that was definitely a first.

Maybe there was a side to Elias that was tolerable after all.