Chapters: Stories on Sean & Kaycee

Accident

My body felt it before my mind could process what happened.

Something in the lift had gone wrong. My knee hit his ribs. He let go of me completely, and the floor rose to meet my entire left side. The pain ricocheted through my shoulder and my hip bone, electrocuting all the nerves and muscles, leaving me crumpled on the hardwood floor. I squeezed my eyes shut, and heard a blood curdling scream. It was only later on that I realized it had come from me.

I knew I should have told Jojo this was a bad idea.

A familiar pair of arms, different from the ones before, were on me, lifting me from the cold hard floor. He settled me on a nearby table and his warm hands examined my body, gently touching the parts that hurt. He was saying something to me but the throbbing at my left temple made it difficult to process. His hands were suddenly gone from me, and with eyes still shut from the pain, I couldn't see where he went.

Don't go.

"I'm here, I'm here." He said, hands on my skin again.

That's better.

Did I really say that out loud?

He chuckled. "Yes, you did." Maybe it was the ringing in my ears, but the sound seemed sad to me.

After a while, the pain on the side of my head subsided enough for me to muster the energy to crack my eyes open. Hovering above me was a concerned Sean Lew, fury simmering just below the surface. His normally warm brown eyes were blazing wide, surveying every part of me. If my left side didn't already feel like it was on fire, his stare might have burned through me.

Behind him was Gabe de Guzman, looking every bit like a man with a bounty on his head. Part of me wants to offer him a consoling smile, but the pain radiating throughout my body kept me from doing anything other than wince and moan. It still felt like pins and needles stabbing my side, but it wasn't as bad anymore.

When I met his gaze, Sean gently tugged me forward by the waist, so that I sat on the table. He stood between my parted legs and took my face in his hands, already starting to examine the parts of me that hit the floor.

"Jojo's on the way with ice." He answered the question I didn't ask, his voice low enough for me, and me alone, to hear.

I let him work his fingers from my left temple downwards as I took in my surroundings. The accident had caused the class to stop, so everyone had taken a break. It was oddly quiet though, perhaps influenced by the dramatic scene and the barely contained hurricane that threatened to rip out from my partner's chest.

Sean made it down to my ribs. He touched a spot on my side, fingers barely there really, but it is sent a bolt of fire and lightning through my body. I jolted at the pain, unable to contain the whimper that traitorously escaped my mouth.

"It's already starting to bruise." He sighed.

Jojo returned with the ice. I was mad at her for getting us into this situation, so I looked away from her as she approached. The guilt was written all over her face as Sean wordlessly took the ice pack from her and pressed it to my side. He hadn't meant to be harsh, but he hadn't been all too gentle either.

"Four years, goddamnit." He mumbled under his breath as he situated the ice over my swollen bruise.

"What's that?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the discomfort of the numbing cold.

"Four fucking years we made it without a single scratch on you." Sean growled, voice a little louder now. "You went came home as perfect as when you left. But half an hour with someone else, and this happened."