Sam chuckled. “Don't worry, I have you,” he whispered in my ear.
We started making our way up the stairs. I barely had to move my legs because Sam was doing all the work. I just wanted to lay down on a bed already.
15. Attack
We got about half way up the stairs before I heard a groan from underneath us. My eyes flew open at the noise and I looked around me.
“Sam, did you hear that?” I asked stiffly, holding him tighter.
We had stopped walking and he was intently listening around us.
“Come on, let's go,” he said, walking up the stairs faster.
We were over half way up the stairs so the only way left was up.
I heard another groan, then a crack and a snap before the stairs collapsed inwards with Sam and I on them.
I kept my mouth clamped, but I couldn't help but feel that falling sensation in my stomach. As the air stopped whistling in my ears I blacked out after I impacted something hard.
I felt myself regain consciousness and I tried to move. I felt sore, but I didnt think I had broken any bones or I would have been screaming in pain.
“Lays!” I heard someone yell.
Their voice sounded distant, but I could make out it was Fredric, and he was in distraught. I could hear a string of other voices too, but I couldnt concentrate on them with my head spinning around in the blackness.
“Sam! Layla!” I think Elane yelled.
I tried to wretch my eye lids back and succeeded. I couldnt see anything around me except the darkness and the light that came from somewhere above. This was impossible, unless I was hallucinating.
“Sam,” I mumbled.
“Lays, Sam. Are you two okay?!” Hunter yelled down in concern.
I shook my head to clear the dazed feeling before I answered back. “Yeah, I think so. I don't think I'm hurt badly, something cushioned my fall,” I yelled back up, looking around me amazed that I was okay.
“That would be me,” I heard Sam groan from underneath me and bits of wood started to clatter around me.
“Shoot, Sam. I'm so sorry,” I said, scrambling around in the darkness for him.
I finally encountered something warm and smooth; it was his arm. I helped pull him out from underneath the wood as best as I could and sat him up next to me.
“Are you okay?” I asked frantically in distress, my hands searching his face in the dark.
“Yeah.” He looked up and I followed his gaze. “What in the hell?”
“I don't know,” I said, just as confused as he was.
We were definitely walking up the stairs in the living room right?
“We are just going to have to wait until they find a way to get us out of here,” he said, wincing a little but grabbing my hands in his gently.
“Can't you get us out of here?” I asked, remembering his ability.
He looked up again, seeing how far we were from the surface, probably judging the distance. As I looked myself, my hope started to fall because we were very deep in the hole or whatever we were in.
“Yeah, I think I can do it,” he said determinedly.
He got up with my help. “Hop on my back,” he ordered as soon as he was standing, but barely, and he wasnt steady.
“Sam, you're hurt,” I said, frowning.
He came over to me and cupped my face with both his hands. “Listen to me, we are going to get out of here. I dont know how this happened but I will find out. And I'm not too badly hurt,” he said solemnly.
“Okay,” I whispered, breaking eye contact.
“Were coming up!” Sam called up to the surface, giving them warning to stand back.
I jumped up on his back, slightly trembling as he winced a little, but he refused to let me get off. He gripped around my knees tightly and I gripped around his neck tightly, bracing myself for what was going to happen next.
“Hold on,” he warned and I pulled myself closer.
He took a few deep breaths and ran towards the wall, then he jumped just before we hit it, kicking off that side of the wall before jumping to the other side and kicking off again. He unbelievably criss-crossed all the way up the really, really deep trench until we could see the surface. He made one last final leap that put us on the floor right in front of Hunter and Elane.
Sam was breathing heavily by the time he set me down on the ground and kneeled beside me, almost shaking.
“Are you okay?” he asked, examining me and bending over me protectively.
“I'm fine, just a few cuts and bruises,” I answered, inspecting him up and down.
I knew he would be more hurt than I was, and that worried me more, more than about myself.
“Are you okay?” Everyone around us asked.
Sam nodded stiffly, keeping his eyes on mine while brushing away strands of my hair from my face.
“Yeah,” I answered, nodding while still inspecting Sam at the same time.
He had a deep bleeding gash on his forehead and a few cuts on his arms, visible through his ripped jacket, seeping blood.
“You're really hurt,” I said to Sam sadly.
“I'm alright,” he said weakly.
I could see he was losing blood by the minute.
“No, you're not. I have to fix you up,” I said, getting up off the ground slowly and pulling him towards the bathroom with me.
I hadnt noticed that every one of the guests were crowded around us, so I had to make my way through the crowd with Sam by my side. He was practically bent over me the whole time, like someone was going to jump out and attack us.
We walked through the kitchen and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind us to block out the many voices.
“Sit,” I ordered.
Sam went and sat on the edge of the bath slowly while I got a warm damp face washer out to wipe away the blood.
He took his ripped black jacket off and rolled the sleeves of his white shirt up. I kneeled in front of him, starting with his arms. I felt really disappointed with myself, more than that, I felt disgusted with myself.
There was a deep cut on his forearm that looked like it needed stitches, and as I looked at it, I felt more ashamed than before.
“I'm sorry,” I whispered after a few minutes of silence between us.
I placed my hand over the wound and pushed out energy towards it, ignoring his blood leaking on my hands.
“For what?” he asked, bewildered.
I saw the light come from my hand and waited a few seconds before I knew it was healed completely, leaving only a pinkish mark.
“I did this to you,” I mumbled, not meeting his eyes.
I cleaned the rest of the cuts on his arms, including through the rips, and I healed them before I started on his face.
“No, you didn't,” he said gently.
I wiped the gash on his forehead and all the cuts on his face while listening to him, frustrated.
“I will never blame you for this,” he said sweetly.
I knew if I looked into his eyes I would forget about arguing with him, so I kept my eyes fixed on his wounds. Most were as red as roses, and some were only just pink scrapes. Luckily he had no broken bones... I think.
“But how could you not,” I said, wiping his cheek.
He had a cut on his lip, and when I wiped it as gently as I could, he winced.
“I'm sorry,” I mumbled again, wincing as well.
I could somehow feel his pain along with my own, and it was making me want to break down and cry.
“Because I love you, nothing can change that,” he said.
I had met his hypnotic eyes accidentally and started wiping his lips slowly. I saw his eyes dart from my eyes to my lips and back. Wow, he made my chest ache from wanting him sometimes.
He caught my hand in his and stood up, pulling me up with him.
“I would risk my life for yours any day of the week,” he said, pulling me in closer to him. “I would go through this pain a thousand times just to feel you safe in my arms,” he
whispered, touching his nose to mine.
Again I could feel his hard body against mine and the feeling of it was… intoxicating, and I wasn't even sure if it was real.
“You shouldn't,” I said, breathing abnormally.
“But I will,” he whispered, pressing his lips to mine gently for a second. “Over and over again.”
He pressed his lips fully to mine this time and lifted me up so I was sitting on the edge of the sink with his warm legs straddling mine. His arms were constricting around me, not letting me be a centimetre away from his warm solid body. My hair started falling in the way of our faces so he smoothed it back without moving his lips away from mine. This kiss was sweet, it wasnt urgent, it was soft and sweet and made my heart flutter. I wanted more of him, every time, and I pushed my mouth harder against his and he would always return the pressure. He pulled back, as usual way too early for me, but we would turn blue if we didn't come up for air sometime. I wish I could learn to breathe and make-out with him longer, Id have to practice I thought with a laugh.
“Do you have anymore wounds?” I asked with a slight smile on my face.
“Umm, I think I broke a finger,” he said, showing me his pinky was bent awkwardly in a way you should not bend fingers.
He didnt hesitate as he grabbed his finger and broke it back into place with a bone splitting crack. I shuddered but he had only winced.
“There, good as new,” he said, closing and opening his fist in front of him.
I grabbed his hand and wrapped both of mine around it, healing whatever bones were broken or sore.
He smiled lovingly.
“Anything else while were at it?” I asked.
He thought to himself for a moment, then all of a sudden he started unbuttoning his white and red blood-stained shirt, and as he slipped it off, I saw on his side he had something jabbed into his flesh, but it wasnt gushing out blood, just seeping.
I gaped at him. “How could that not hurt Sam?” I asked, almost on the edge of tears.
“Hey, it's okay. I have a high pain threshold, that's all. This is not your fault,” he said, grabbing my face between his hands.
“We have to pull it out.”
“I know,” he said, letting go of my face and grabbing at his side, wasting no time.
I turned away as he pulled the alienated object from his side because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle watching something like that.
“Argh!” I heard him groan loudly in pain with gritted teeth.
The tears started slipping down my face as I heard that, I couldn't stand to hear him in pain.
“Heal it Layla.”
I turned back to face him and he had placed a long sharp chunk of wood, at least 10 cm, in the bath, covered with blood. His hands were now over the wound, trying to stop the gushing blood. I quickly moved them away, replacing them with my hands as I pulled his body closer to me. I hurriedly pushed out my energy towards him. I had one of my hands gripping his side where the wound was and my other hand gripping his other side, just pushing out more energy towards him to heal whatever damage was inside of him. My head was resting against his neck as I closed my eyes to concentrate, and when I knew it was healed I let my hands drop, slightly out of breath as I wiped them clean on the face washer.
“Thank you for that,” Sam said after a moment of silence, wiping his hands too.
I placed my hands on the smooth plains of his chest, feeling the fine hairs beneath my fingers as I looked at his curious power mark. Eventually I slid them to his broad shoulders, leaning my forehead against his. I felt like I could breathe again.
“Now it is time for me to clean you up,” he said softly, a devilish glint to his eyes.
I jumped off the sink and sat on the edge of the bath while he wet another face washer and started wiping away the red blood from my arms and legs. My cuts had already healed but the blood was still there, staining my new dress and Sams white shirt. His hands slid down my legs slowly, searching for cuts and abrasions. His gentle touch sent a thrill of excitement through me but I had to keep still and make this as easy as possible. By the time he got to my face he had started kissing every cut after wiping it, his lips felt so soft on my skin, it was unbelievable.
“Now let me heal that hole in your head,” I said when he was finished.
He barked a laugh and got down on both his knees in front of me, moving his face closer while his arms rested on my legs. I placed one hand on the side of his face and the other on his forehead, I closed my eyes and pushed out energy towards him.
“At least your pretty dress didnt get too wrecked,” he said on the plus side.
“Umm,” was all I responded, sidetracked.
I felt it was completely healed and I opened my eyes, his face was closer than expected.
“Come on, I think that should do it,” he concluded.
“Are you all healed?” I asked suspiciously.
He nodded, looking like an angel. “Wait, your lips are swollen.”
I looked at him strangely. My lips didnt feel swollen from falling down the stairs. As if he could read my mind he answered. “It wasn't from the stairs, it was from me kissing you.”
I could swear I blushed bright pink.
“Here,” he said, handing me a clean face washer.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, taking it from him and looking in the mirror.
He was right, my lips were slightly swollen, and I wondered if all the times I had kissed him, if my lips were swollen afterwards. I never really felt it though.
I washed my face with cold water and the swelling reduced.
“Are you ready?” Sam asked gently from behind me.
“Yeah, but you might want to put your shirt back on,” I suggested as I turned around and faced him.
He grabbed his shirt and put it on, leaving his jacket in the basket. He didnt button his shirt up, he just picked me up and carried me in his arms like a little child, my arms around his neck and my legs swung over his other arm.
The bathroom door opened and closed behind us. We walked into the living room where the rest of the Archers, the Bales and some of the guests were waiting.
“Are you guys okay?” Fredric asked concerned, coming over to us.
“We're fine, just a little exhausted,” Sam reassured them.
“How are we going to get upstairs?” Hunter asked, looking at the mass destruction.
“I can fix that, for now,” Elane said, her irises already black and her hands raised in front of her.
I looked over at the huge hole in the ground where the stairs use to be and thousands of vines raised up out of the ground, making stairs out of themselves.
“That should do us for now, just until we can get them fixed. I wonder how it happened?” she asked, frustrated.
“Elane, well talk in the morning,” Sam said, his voice low.
She looked at him considerately but nodded, knowing what he really meant.
“We are going to rest now,” he said, me still in his arms.
He walked towards the vine stairs and stopped. “Are they safe?”
“Safer than the other ones,” Elane assured him.
He nodded and started walking up them, nearly jogging.
“Sam,” James called.
“Yes.” Sam stopped at the top of the stairs and waited to hear what James had to say.
“Why is it that every time you and Lays are together, you always have no shirt on?”
Sam glared downstairs but fortunately we couldnt see James, he was probably grinning wickedly though.
“Shut up James,” I called, smiling and shaking my head.
Sam smiled at me as he walked up the hallway with me tightly in his grasp, we could hear James snicker from downstairs but couldnt care less. By the time we reached the upstairs living room, a delayed wave of exhaustion hit me and I was overwhelmed by it. My head started hanging after a few seconds and I felt it being lifted up right and supported against Sams shoulder.
“Do you w
ant to sleep in your bed?” Sam whispered to me.
“No, I want to be with you,” I mumbled, grasping his shirt with one hand.
“Are you sure?” He asked cautiously.
I nodded, looking up into his eyes. “I trust you not to try anything,” I said with a grin.
He chuckled, walking through his door before he sat me down on his bed, kneeling so he could get a good look at my face.
“Do you want to go get dressed?”
“Yeah... I guess.”
I got up drowsily, and running into several things, headed for my bag that was in the guest bedroom. I grabbed a singlet and a pair of track pants out and went into the bathroom to get changed. I brushed my teeth and washed my face before making my way back to his room with my eyes half closed. When I opened the door he was waiting for me in his computer chair.
“Come on,” he said softly, coming over to me and pulling me over towards his huge king sized bed. “We may both very well have a concussion so we cant sleep for another hour, so I will put the TV on and keep an eye on you okay.”
I nodded. I climbed into the middle of the bed before stopping and pulling the covers over my legs as I sat up against the headboard. I felt him get in beside me, hugging me to him, his bare chest comforting me with its warmth. This was the first time I was about to sleep in the same bed all night with a guy who wasn't related. I mean, I'd napped in Sams arms before but I'd never slept over in his room overnight before.
I was too exhausted to ask questions tonight or even judge myself, but I could feel fear run through my veins from what had just happened as I tried to relax. I knew what was coming and I was scared out of my living day lights, yet I couldn't help but feel responsible to whatever would happen to my family. That was enough to keep me awake for an hour until Sam said it was okay to fall asleep though.
****
I was very sore in the morning, it felt like I was hit by a truck the day before. I flexed my arms and legs to find where all the sore spots on my body were.
“You're awake,” Sam said, relieved.
He sounded more than relieved, he was overjoyed. He brushed my dark brown hair away from my face and smiled adorably, locking his beautiful light green eyes with mine.
The Hidden Revelations: First Light Page 29