Rejected Mate

Chapter 37 - "Sorry I came in like that."

If you aren't already drowning in them like some people, get a hobby! They improve your mood and give you something to do when there's nothing to do! Sometimes a hobby can just be cleaning your house.... sometimes it needs to be....:)
_____________________________________________

(Scarlet's POV)

After that day, Axel was allowed to go home.
I didn't see him for the next two days.
Surprisingly with all the sleeping that I had been doing, I actually slept most of that time away too.
Everything had been fine. Patrols were seeing very few rogues and more and more people had healed and were going home.
I was still stuck in the hospital for the next week or three. Turns out being awake doesn't heal internal wounds...
After his extra long nap, Axel came back to the hospital to check on me.
"Hey." Axel opened the door.
"Hey! Your awake!"
"Yeah?" He sat in his designated chair. "I think forty eight hours of sleep is enough."
"Try telling that to me a few days ago."
He laughed.
"So whatcha doin' here?" I asked.
"Just came to check on you. Hope your not planning to sleep for the next few weeks."
"I think I'm well rested for now." I smiled.
"Good, cause you're pretty boring when you're asleep."
"I can imagine." I hunched forward, resting my head in my hands.
"So what do you want to do today?"
"I'm thinking, whatever you want to do since you're the one who had to be bored out of your mind because of me."
"Let's not talk about that." His smile was much more like a grimace.
"Sorry."
"We can do whatever you want, really." He sat back, more relaxed.
"It's hard thinking of stuff."
He chuckled, but stopped suddenly.
He looked to me, concerned, but then shook his head. "I have to go. Rogues. I guess I'll see you later." He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.
"See you! Be safe!" I called as he ran out the door.
When he had said rogues I thought he had meant a small attack, but when I didn't see him for several days after that, I was concerned.
I knew at least that he was alive.
I also knew if he was injured, it wasn't bad enough to be in the hospital or nurses would be talking about him.
My days were boring. Healing was taking longer then I would like, and the TV had nothing interesting on.
The nurses told me that two people had died, there was a battle almost everyday, and a surprisingly small amount of people were coming into the hospital.
On the fifth day, Axel didn't knock as he walked into my room with two nurses telling him to sit.
He looked tired, he had dirt on his face, arms, and clothes, with both his hair and clothing disheveled.
He sat down while the nurses looked at his scratched up arms and the small cuts and bruises on his face.
"Hey." He gave me a small smile.
"Hi." I sat up, slightly surprised at both his appearance and presence.
The nurses cleaned his wounds while we sat there, him grimacing at the floor, me staring at him, and both of us waiting for the nurses to leave.
After they were done, they bowed their heads and left in a rush.
"Hey." He said again.
"Hi."
He looked down somewhat awkwardly.
"Sorry I came in like that." He smiled like it was some kind of joke.
"It's fine. How are you feeling?"
"Sore." He chuckled weakly.
I stayed silent.
He seemed to notice, and his smile faded a little. "Sorry I didn't come by sooner to tell you I was fine and see how you were doing, but I couldn't leave."
"I know...."
He paused, staring at me. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing.... I guess I just don't like seeing you cut up like that." I dismissed it.
"I'm sorry." He said guiltily.
"It's nothing to be sorry about. You can't help it."
He gave me a sympathetic smile, then looked down.
"What?"
"I got to go." He stood, his face serious.
"Oh... see ya."
His face dropped a little, but then he gave me that same smile that didn't reach his eyes, and he was gone.
That worried me to no end.
I didn't like him being out there.
I didn't want to be in this bed anymore. I wanted everything to be like before I got ambushed... but it wasn't.
It had been an entire month.
If I hadn't had those nightmares, I would be better already, but I wasn't.
Everything was wrong.
On the fourth day after Axel's visit, I heard screaming.
Nurses and patients were running down the halls or hiding in rooms and locking the doors.
When Axel was there, I healed faster and had more strength, but he hadn't been there in days, so getting up was harder then it should have been. By the time I was standing, two rogues saw me from the hall and were almost to my door.
I knew I wouldn't be able to lock it in time, so I stumbled to the bathroom instead.
Strong hands grabbed my arms.
I cried out hoping someone would help.
The monitors I was hooked up to screeched and beeped as I was dragged out of the room and they were pulled off of me.
I couldn't even walk at this point, let alone fight back, and the slick, squeaky floor that rubbed against the top of my feet was starting to be painful.
All of a sudden, Jordan and Thomas were in front of me and I barley had time to brace myself as I was being dropped to the floor.
They took care of the rogues as I caught my breath from the adrenaline rush.
What had they planed to do with me? Did they know who I was? Why didn't they just kill me?
"Thomas! You take care of Scarlet, I'll keep watch back here!" The world came rushing back as Thomas picked me up and ran toward my room, the alarms still blaring. "I can't do anything about that. Sorry." He set me on the bed. "I'll lock the door. Stay safe!"
He locked the door and shut it behind him, running back into the fight.
I wondered what my pack was doing.
The alarms had stopped after around ten minutes, and a few hours later, a nurse unlocked my door and and told me we were safe for now.
She hooked me back up to the monitor, checked that nothing was wrong, said I was fine, and then left... but she was wrong, I wasn't fine.
I began to worry when Axel didn't show up that day... or the next... or the one after that. I figured Jordan or Thomas, if he didn't know through other means, had told him about the hospital scare, but he didn't show up to check on me. That wasn't like him.
After four days of nothing, he showed up the same way he had last time, but with more cuts and bruises.
"Hey." He sat down, nurses cleaning his wounds.
I didn't respond.
He didn't seem to notice.
After the nurses left, he slouched in his chair.
"Hey." He gave a weak smile.
"Hi." I mumbled. I wasn't angry at him for not checking, but I was a little angry at him for making me worry.
"You okay?" He sat up again. " I heard what happened."
"You did?" I didn't look at him. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? I heard you hit the floor pretty hard."
"Mm."
"Scarlet."
I stayed silent.
"Scarlet?" He stood. Walking toward my bed, lifting my chin to look at him. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"It's not nothing. Tell me" I tried to look away, but he held firm. "Please."
".... I.... I want you here... with me." I said softly, not wanting to be heard.
"What?" He dropped his hand taking a step back.
He had heard me, I knew that, but I still repeated myself.
"I want you here with me..... Having you leave for days on end with no word, no way of telling me you're fine, not even telling me when you left that it would be a serious attack!" I could tell he wasn't expecting that, I don't think I was either, but I couldn't stop it now." I just wanted to know you were okay! You could have sent someone, you could have sent a nurse! But you didn't. You came in here looking like that expecting me to just sit here and talk till the next time you have to rush out the door! All of that is fine, I can get over that, but when I was dragged down the halls.... not knowing if I was going to die, or be kidnapped or tortured or what! You didn't even try to check on me.-"
"I-"
"No! It's been four days, Axel. I was worried about you. You can't just come in here and pretend like nothing happened. Things have happened."
He stood right where he had been, staring at the floor.
He stayed quiet for a long time.
When he finally looked up, I could see the conflict in his eyes.
"Scarlet." He whispered." Scarlet.... I can't-" he paused, fighting his minds protests of what he was about to say." ...... I can't be here for you. I can't be here to check on you or tell you I'm fine. You are my friend and I love you..... but I don't do those things for my friends. Trust me, I want so badly to be here, to stay here and keep you safe so that nothing like what happened four days ago happens again, but what I want to do and what I need to do are different right now, and they will be as long as you are here." He looked in my eyes, then took a deep breath and stood up straight, squaring his shoulders. "I'm sorry, for making you worry, and I'm sorry for not being able to keep you safe." He took a few steps toward the door, pausing past my bed. "Be safe." Then he was gone and I was crying.

_____________________________________________
1710 words