I lay on the ground for a few minutes, trying to control my breathing and heartbeat, but completely failing to force the images of the nightmare out of my head. I might as well have actually seen it. The need to hold onto Raine and verify her safety abruptly overwhelmed me, so I crawled back to the shelter while trying to ignore the pain in the leg I dragged behind me. It didn’t matter – nothing mattered but keeping her safe. Raine had flipped over and was lying on her back. I scooted my body up close to hers and wrapped one arm around her waist, but it wasn't enough. I slipped my other arm under her head and around her shoulders and pulled her tight against me, but it still wasn't enough.
Raine mumbled quietly in her sleep as I pulled her head against my chest and placed my chin on top of her head. Though it fucking hurt because it put a decent amount of weight on my aching right leg, I tossed my left leg over her body as well. Once I was essentially completely wrapped around her and at least half on top of her, the panic finally began to dissipate. There was no way anyone could take her from me without me knowing about it. If anyone tried, I’d fucking gut them.
I took a few long, deep breaths and slowly dropped back into sleep.
This place smells a little funny.
“We’re going to play a game, Bastian!”
I look into her eyes, which are green like mine – she showed me in the mirror.
“Game?”
“Hide and seek!” She’s talking softly, and I don’t understand why. “You hide right under here, and Daddy will try to find you.”
She points underneath a funny looking table. It’s green on the top, and there are little pockets in the side filled with colorful balls. I nod and crawl underneath.
“Make sure you stay quiet so he doesn’t find you. That would ruin the game, and he’d be mad.” I don’t want him to be mad. I don’t like it when he is mad. She reaches under and touches my face softly, then ruffles my hair. I like it when she touches me like that. “I love you, Sebastian.”
I sit underneath the funny table for a long time. Daddy hasn’t found me, so I must be doing a good job of hiding. There’s a white cup under the table. When I hold it and squeeze it, it cracks. It’s soft, and I take it apart, stacking the pieces up into a tower. When it falls, I do it again.
One of the colorful balls drops on the floor next to the table, and a man with a beard bends over to pick it up. He looks at me and starts calling out. Then a lady comes and asks me what I’m doing under there. I don’t know what to say, so I don’t say anything. A couple other people talk to me, and I smash up the cup pieces a little more. I don’t know if I should tell them I’m hiding or not. After a while, a lady wearing a blue coat with gold buttons crawls under the table and pulls me out. I scream because Daddy will be mad if the game is ruined…
I could hear my name being called, but I couldn't manage to really put any meaning behind it. I was trying to understand the images in my head – completely new but hauntingly familiar at the same time. Small hands pushed against my chest and shoulder, and the words moved from gibberish to actual English in my ears.
"Bastian, get up!"
"No," I mumbled back. She was safe where she was. I didn't want to move.
"Bastian, please! You weigh a ton and you're all sweaty!"
It was fucking hot, but that wasn’t all that surprising. We were on a tropical island for fuck’s sake. I could feel sweat clinging to my back, and I was fairly certain Raine and I were kind of stuck together. I didn’t mind it, though, so I didn’t move even when the little hands started hitting me harder.
“Damn it, Bastian,” she growled into my ear. “I have to pee, and you are crushing my bladder!”
I grumbled but rolled enough so she could slip out from under me before I slumped back onto my stomach. I could hear her moving out of the shelter, and I didn’t like it. I wanted her to be closer to me, but I was so fucking tired I couldn’t even open my eyes long enough to keep watch over her. My ears picked up on her movements, and I listened to her take a few steps away. Even that much energy proved to be too much, and I felt my head swimming before I let the darkness of sleep try to take me. I don’t think it was more than a couple of minutes before I heard her voice again.
“Bastian, wake up, please?”
I could feel small, cold hands on my shoulders, shaking me. Trying to open my eyes seemed like such an effort, and I really didn’t want to bother. The cold hands were a shock, though. The rest of my body felt so hot, and my leg was throbbing.
“Can you hear me, Bastian?”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. Opening my mouth wasn’t quite as much effort as my eyes.
“What happened to your leg, Bastian? You’re cut and…and it’s all red.”
“Fucking hurts,” I grumbled and rolled a little to my side. Fuck, that hurt. There was no point in being awake if it was going to hurt like that. I rejoined the darkness.
I sit up in my seat as the jury is brought back into the room. I see Landon’s head tilt slightly, but Franks doesn’t move a fucking inch. His attorney leans over, whispers into his ear, and Franks nods.
“Mister Foreman,” the judge addresses the juror who had remained standing. “Have you reached a verdict?”
“We have, Your Honor.”