Elites of Eden: Yarrow Not Rowan

Chapter 12

I wake up slowly, clinging to my sleep. I feel my aching chest, my pounding throat, my miserable lungs...

But other than that I'm completely comfortable in the Underground infirmary. I've been asleep for almost 48 hours at this point and I'm still not ready to wake up...but I do have one thing to look forward to.

"Lachlan?" I moan with my eyes closed. I have to talk to him! I have to tell him about the memory! He must be able to help me understand it. I can hear shuffling and murmuring.

"Lachlan!" I call again opening my eyes. My throat retaliates against my yelling like fire. I moan in response to the pain, one hand clawing at my throat. I feel a rough hand clutch mine. Lachlan's face gets in the way of my view of the ceiling. He's so close. I can feel his shaky breaths on my face. I don't mind. I take Lachlan's face into my hands.

"What hurts?" He asks quickly, looking at me with a perturbed expression.

"Everything," I groan back. He looks at me so sadly you'd think he's the one in excruciating pain. "But that's not important! Lachlan I-"

"Shh. We can't talk about that now," He warns me. "You're health is more impor-"

I prop myself up on my elbows-painfully-and kiss him. And it's an amazing kiss. There's no other way to describe it but here. That kiss was here. Every feeling I've ever felt for him is right here, right now. When I was Yarrow I felt feeling for people at random times. I remembered them at random times, but now I can feel everything complete and true. I pull away and Lachlan bites his lip.

"There are other people in the room," He says
~~~~~~~~~~~
Two days later
"How's the pain?" Lark asks gently stroking my hair.

"Still terrible. It's my lungs and throat that feel like they're healing a bit. Today is the first day that I can really talk properly but I'm still supposed to take it easy."

"Well you'll feel good as new in no time," she says tenderly.

"I missed you," I say looking into her beautiful face. As much as I love Lachlan, I feel something for Lark as well. She has this glow around her that gives me hope, same thing with my brother. Speaking of my brother, we have been inseparable since I drowned. We always spent a lot of time together but still...now it's Lachlan who's left out. I haven't spoken to him since I left the infirmary yesterday.

"I missed you too," She says, tears filling her eyes. I feel so happy and giddy and curious with her. How do I feel for her? I do what I know best and lean in. She kisses me so sweetly but...wrong. I love her and I enjoy her kiss but it's nothing like Lachlan kisses me. Just because she isn't Lachlan doesn't mean she isn't perfect, I remind myself. But it still feels off. It still feels wrong. Even through this, I love her so much that I keep kissing her. She starts to back me against the wall and I grin. See? This feels right. For a split second, it does feel right. I feel comfortable and happy in her arms...then she slams me against the wall with just a little too much force. I let out a shriek as my ribs absorb the impact of the hit.

I fall to my knees then run out of her room ignoring her apologies. I'm holding back sobs as I run to my room clutching my side desperately. I reach my room then lay on the bed sobbing, clutching my side, reminding myself that the pain will be gone in a few minutes. But it won't be. My whole body will be sore for another one to two weeks from the torture I experienced when I first arrived here, and some of my ribs were broken by Lachlan doing CPR on me, now I have an elastic bandage wrapped around my chest several times. Not to mention my sobbing is making my throat and lungs fester. I close my eyes against the pain.

Suddenly I feel a hand reach up my shirt and my eyes fly open. It's just Lachlan. I close my eyes again. He sits next to me letting his fingers press into my bruises-just a little- enough to make me feel better but not be in pain. I gasp and moan as he massages me, ignoring how furtive this must sound.

"I've gotten used to dealing with bruises," He says in a quiet voice.

"Luckily," I say back without thinking about it. Lachlan laughs.

"How'd you hurt your bruises?" He asks me. I think back to the moment with Lark and decide to tell the truth. He can handle it.

"I almost slept with Lark today," I tell him. "I kind of wanted to. I wasn't sure how I felt for her so I thought I'd try and figure it out...she got a little too rough." Lachlan's fingers dip a little too forcefully into my bruises and I wince.

"Sorry," He says then clears his throat. "Well it's probably for the best...she probably couldn't have handled seeing your bruises."

"Excuse me?"

"Lark hasn't gotten used to all this violence yet. I don't think she would be able to focus on you once she saw all those bruises," He says starting to massage my feet. I want to protest but I don't bother. It isn't an insult it's a fact. "How are your bruises?"

"I don't think they're much better. I have this one that's really swollen," I tell him lightly touching my stomach.

"Should I take a look?" He asks. I shrug. I trust him. Lachlan lifts my shirt up and over my head as slow as possible so my soar shoulders don't hurt. His brows furrow and he clears his throat.

"It's worse then I expected," He says strained. "You're still taking those antibiotics Flame gave you right? They will help the swelling go down and prevent infection." I nod. "Okay well, Flame will be here almost any minute to give you a checkup."

"Is Flame really good at this stuff?" I ask. I mean she obviously thinks she's the best neurosurgeon in the world.

"It's not her specialty but it's hard to get real doctors down here. We have a few trainees but...be glad that we have Flame," He says. When I look at Lachlan I can see how hard this is for him. I give him a small kiss. He grins. He leans in and kisses me longer. Suddenly my door flys open and Flame walks in. Me and Lachlan part in a hurry. Flame grins but still manages to look impatient.

"Unlock your lips. I need to see you."
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This wasn't gold cause I didn't know what to write.