Trapped

"Dangerous"

My eyes heavily began to open as I noticed white walls around me. "Am I in a hospital?" I thought, confused. The next thing I noticed were Zane and Eli. Zane grabbed my hand when he realized my eyes had opened, and I'm now laying here awake. "Thank god Alethia, we were all so worried about you." He breathed out in a sigh of relief. "How are you feeling?" He asked. "I feel sore, but I'm alright." I respond, still struck with confusion over why I'm in the hospital in the first place. "Do you remember what happened?" He asked. I shook my head no. "We were hunting that Esincane, but we didn't know that they had evolved during their time under the water and had become much more dangerous than just having a severe bite. They apparently have tails that hold a venom that's most closely related to the venom from coral snakes, so thankfully the hospital had a cure and we were able to come up with a story to hide what we were all really doing while you've been out cold for a day and a half, because you got struck by it when you jumped in front of Eli." He explained. I nodded as the memories slowly made their way back to me. "I have to go tell the guys that she's awake, I will be right back." Zane told Eli. He nodded, acknowledging his statement, and Zane gave my hand a quick and soft squeeze, as if he didn't want to leave my side. He couldn't leave the others worrying and wondering, though. After Zane had made his way out of the big hospital door, Eli walked closer to me, which made me a bit nervous, honestly. "Why would you do that?" He asked calmly as his eyebrows pulled together in a look of frustration and confusion. I lightly shrugged my shoulders, "what else could I have done?" I asked. "I dont know, maybe let it hit me?" He said with a hint of sarcasm. "Yeah, but then it would be you in this hospital bed instead of me." I explained. "Exactly." He replied simply. I stared at him for a moment, trying to examine what he was feeling or thinking. "Letting you get hit wasn't in my list of options, Eli." I stated as I hissed out a soft noise from the remaining pain as I tried to sit up more. Eli quickly stepped closer and helped me sit up the best he could, attempting to relieve the pain from me moving on my own. It surprised me, but I didn't fight his help. He sat down in the chair next to the bed where Zane was sitting just a minute ago. "But why? It's not like I've done anything to deserve that. I've been a class A jerk to you the entire time you've lived with us. You realize you could have died, right?" He asked, trying to gain some understanding. "I didn't, though. I'm still living and breathing, for now. Besides, you have been a jerk, but I never held it against you. I can understand why you have felt the way you have and I stand by the same basic idea as before, even if I do think you're a total jerk, that doesn't mean I think you deserve to get hurt or that I'm going to stand back and watch it happen. Who knows, maybe it hitting me in the back was why I survived, and maybe you wouldn't have been as lucky. I had the chance to stop you from getting hurt, so I did." I explained. His pulled together eyebrows softened now, and he looked deep in thought about everything I said for a minute. I let whatever thoughts he was having sink in as I stayed silent. There was no need to comment any further in my mind or to begin with, really. Without another word from either one of us, he reached over and hugged me tightly but carefully, trying not to hurt my already extremely sore body. He pulled back, and as his dark blue eyes stared into mine, he said, "Thank you" with full sincerity. I was left in stunned silence and just nodded to acknowledge his apology. He leaned back in the chair, and this time, not wanting to look me in the eyes as he scratched the side of his face, he said, "and... I'm sorry for being such a jerk to you." A look of guilt washed over his face despite his efforts to hide it. "All is forgiven." I said simply as I looked at him. His gaze then met mine as he looked back and forth between my eyes, the slightest mixture of confusion and sadness showing on his face now. The door suddenly opened, and in walked Zane, Greyson, Ty, and even Blayke, but no Noah, of course. "I guess Noah didn't have a change of heart," I thought to myself. All the guys gathered around me and began to ask the typical questions. All except Ty who asked with a smirk, "You feel like a badass now?" His question was very typical for him, which made me laugh. It was a bit painful to laugh, though. "Can't say I do Ty, can't say I do." I laughed and then slightly groaned out the words. Everyone chuckled at this now, including Eli. "Danny and Tara also wanted me to tell you that they're on their way back home, and they're both so relieved that you're okay." Zane added. I smiled at him and nodded.

A couple hours later, the nurse took my vitals one last time and finally discharged me from the hospital. They prescribed a few pain killers for me to take home, which helped immensely. Once we reached the house, Greyson got out to help me first, but Zane shook his head and walked around the car to me. He scooped me up into his arms bridal style, just like the other night, and started walking me to the front door. I felt my face heat up red hot as everyone stared at us, but Zane pretended that none of them existed in that moment. He walked in and gently placed me down on the couch. "What sounds good for dinner?" He asked as everyone else made their way in, including Danny and Tara, who pulled in the driveway right as we walked in. They rushed over to me, and both hugged me at the same time. I groaned from their combined weight on my body. Then they both began apologizing, for hugging me too tight, for not being able to come see me in the hospital, and for not being there when the Esincane had attacked me. I shook my head at them with a reassuring smile to let them know it's okay. "What does everyone want to eat?" Zane asked again, now referring to the group as a whole. "Zane, why don't I make something instead?" Blayke stated, making a joke at the expense of Zanes' cooking skills, or lack thereof. Zane made no protest as he held his hands up in defeat with a slight smirk crossing his lips for just a quick moment before he walked to the couch and sat next to Danny who was sitting to my left. Tara walked into the kitchen to give Blayke a hand, and they decided to make stir-fried chicken and rice. Everyone else made their way to their rooms, awaiting dinner to be done, and I decided I wanted to take a shower before we ate. I stood up, attempting not to make a face as the soreness gave me a harsh reminder of its existence, and Zane jumped up immediately, grabbing my arm in the process to try and steady me. "I'm not broken, you know. I am still perfectly capable of walking." I chuckled out half, joking. He gave a half smile and then just quickly picked me up in his arms like earlier. A slight gasp escaped my lips from the surprise. Once we reached my room, he set me back down and then sat on my bed. "What are you doing?" I asked, confused. "I'm going to hang out right here until you're done. That way, I'm here if you need anything." He explained. I blushed at the thought of him seeing me naked in the shower if anything were to happen. "You don't have to worry so much, Zane." I chuckled out. "Yes, I do." He stated more seriously now. "It was my idea to let you come along with us, and I couldn't stop that thing from hurting you." He continued with a look of guilt now showing on his face. "Listen, I don't blame you or anyone for what happened. None of you could have known that it evolved and changed the way it did, and it was my choice to stop Eli from getting hurt. Besides, I honestly had so much fun up until that point anyway." I explained. He let out a laugh at the last part and stared at me silently for a moment with a smile. "Well, either way, I'm staying put. You're still hurt, and I'm worried you're going to accidentally hurt yourself more or need help when no one is around or something." He said. "I will be okay." I tried to reassure him. It was sweet of him to worry so much, and I am still so sore that it's hard to move on my own even, but I don't want him to feel like he has to take care of me or be a burden on him. I can see there's no talking him out of it, though, so there's no use trying to convince him.

He keeps to his word and stays by my side for the next few days almost religiously while I slowly start to heal. It's getting a little easier to walk now, but the soreness definitely hasn't faded much. Eli was also making an effort to help me, usually by bringing me my plate of food and any little thing he could do that Zane wasn't already doing. Eli was acting different in general towards me now overall. He's been so much nicer, and there was one point that I even made him laugh again after we came home, but after a few nights of them both helping me, it was Zane's turn to make dinner so he left me in my room alone for the first time since I got hurt. He couldn't have been gone more than a minute before I heard a knock on my door. "Come in." I called out. Eli stepped into my room and shut the door behind him. "Hey, do you have a minute to talk alone about something?" He asked. Anxiety welled up in my stomach from the unknown mystery of what he was planning to say. "Uh, sure, Eli. What's up?" I replied as I sat up in bed at my own pace. He looked a bit nervous himself and maybe even uncomfortable as he walked over to me. "Well, first off, as I'm sure you've probably noticed, you've won me over. I've changed my mind about everything I had originally thought when it comes to you being here and everything. I actually think you're a pretty cool and funny person, and I feel really bad for how I've treated you still. So I wanted to apologize to you for that again, and tell you thank you again for saving me. Also, thank you for not choosing to hate me because I know that with how I've acted, it would've been the easier choice. I hope that we can maybe put it all behind us and possibly be friends." He explained. A smile easily appeared on my lips as he spoke. "I'd really love to be friends." I replied with my smile, never fading. "Okay, good," he said with the slightest twitch at the sides of his mouth, and then he continued, "So, now for the other thing. As my friend, I really hope you will keep this a secret, but I feel I need to warn you. What you did may have changed my mind about you, but Noah still feels the same as before. He may even hate you more now because he thinks you were able to manipulate me into liking you and changing my mind about our laws. I've tried to talk to him and make him see things differently, but I couldn't change his mind. Nothing I said seemed to make a difference. Please don't tell Zane or anyone else that I'm telling you any of this, but all I'm going to say is, please, whatever you do, avoid being alone with Noah at all costs, and just overall, be careful. He's dangerous." And with that said, he left my room and left me sitting there deep in thought as to what he means by his warning.