Hand of Blood

Brianne's point of view.

I could feel my body slowly getting higher, like I was being maneuvered up stairs. I frowned lightly to myself as I tried to work out what was going on, my mind feeling groggy from sleep. All I knew was that my whole body was killing me, but I was actually comfortable, in some odd way. Suddenly the darkness behind my eyelids was illuminated as I heard a light switch click on. I instantly flinched away from it, turning my head away to desperately shield myself from the light that felt like it was burning my eyes. They seemed to be the only part of my body not in physical pain, and now that pleasant notion had gone out the window.

I whined quietly to myself as I could still myself being moved around, now under the burning light. I kept trying to turn away from it, but the pain in my neck seemed to be refusing it. I felt the strong arms wrapped around me tighten as I continued shifting around.

"Stop fidgeting," mumbled a low voice, though I could catch a smile in the tone. I paused instantly on request, as the voice was recognised by my senses, allowing me to view the situation in my mind's eye. Matt was carrying me, but to where and why I wasn't sure yet. Never the less, I smiled faintly at his voice, which I instantly regretted as my lip felt like it split apart. I groaned quietly in pain, as the faint taste of blood entered my mouth. Suddenly becoming frustrated, I turned my head abruptly to bury my face into Matt's chest, finally blocking out the light. Unfortunately my neck wasn't agreeing to this position, and I had soon moved my head back to face the scolding brightness.

"Hey, I'm serious," Matt whispered against my forehead, his smile still evident. I etched a frown into my expression in return and squeezed my eyes tightly shut, hoping he could take a hint. We paused for a moment, standing still in wherever we were, as low voices seemed to be following us.

"Jay, shut the lights off," I heard Matt call out, finally realising what was wrong with me. I instantly relaxed thankfully as my world was plummeted back into darkness, and Matt started walking forward again. However, I instantly regretted allowing my body to relax, as every ache and pain seemed to intensify. Tears quickly sprang to my eyes as I felt myself moving once more. I bit down on my lip to try and distract the tears forming in my eyes. I then regretted biting my lip too, as that hurt even more. I was officially a mess.

About a minute later we had stopped moving again. I felt the both of us gradually lowering as Matt sat down, his arm positions around me adjusting as I rested across his lap, rather than needing to be held. I swallowed hard in an attempt to push away my tears, as I slowly opened my weary eyes. I was met by the immediate sight of pitch black, before I raised my gaze to find that of Matt's looking down on me through the darkness. Everything in his expression seemed to reflect all the things I was feeling. He even had the glittering tears to accompany them. Yet still nothing was making sense to me. My mind wasn't putting anything into a logical order.

Matt moved his free hand, that wasn't wrapped around my back, and lightly pushed some of the hair from my face. I watched him in complete confusion as I tried to work out what was going on, my tired mind slowly dragging me out of consciousness. I tried to keep his eye contact for as long as possible, pleading for him to explain what was happening; why I was in so much pain, where the hell we were. All I got in return for my questions was a long look that I couldn't quite read or understand, and I was fighting a losing battle with my heavy eyelids.

Eventually admitting defeat, I lightly closed my eyes and lent my head down against Matt's chest, snuggling my aching skin against the soft material of his shirt. His arms snaked around my torso, making my whole body hurt like hell from the pressure. I chose not to complain. I was happy with where I was.

"I'm so sorry, Brianne," I head Matt whisper earnestly. I could feel my mind clouding over gradually as I frowned in confusion. I had no idea why Matt was sorry. I had no idea what was going on at all. The only thing I could understand right now was that the pain in my body was slowly slipping away as my mind feel deeper into unconsciousness. Sleep would have to be my solution to my lost thoughts, for now. Uncertainties would have to wait.

+

I woke up finding it nearly impossible to move, from an oddly dreamless sleep. I never had a dreamless sleep. I groaned quietly to myself as I shifted uncomfortably on whatever it was that I way laying on. I had so far worked out it wasn't a bed, because it wasn't wide enough, and instead of a duvet I could feel a blanket resting over my body. I sighed inwardly as I slowly opened my eyes, my gaze resting on the ceiling high above me. I blinked a few times to cure my blurred vision, before timidly glancing around. The pain in the back of my neck wasn't making this the easiest task, but I managed it.

It didn't take me too long to realise I was laying in the back of the bus, on one of the sofas. Still slightly confused to how I got here, I tried to sit up, only to find my entire torso was hurting, starting at my stomach and working it's way around my back and up my spine. I swallowed back tears that sprang into my eyes with the pain, as I questioned why I was in such a terrible state. A second after, reality harshly came back to me along with my awakened memory. Last night.

"God damn," I whispered to myself, allowing my head to heavily fall back onto the cushion behind it, my eyes watching the ceiling blankly. After a thoughtful moment I bought one hand up from laying by my side and slightly pushed up the shirt covering my lower torso, running my fingertips lightly across the skin of my stomach. It burned with pain from just the tiniest bit of contact, making me scrunch my face up in reaction to the unpleasant sparks travelling through me. I sighed heavily and allowed my arm to fall loosely back to my side, my eyes fluttering close. I decided that I was stuck where I was for the time being, until my body eased up a little bit and let me get up myself. For now, I would have to wait and hope someone happened to stumble in on me to give me some company, or at least get me back up to speed.

A few minutes after the thought crossed my mind, I heard the door of the back lounge slowly creak open. My eyes instantly shot open, my head tilting to the side slightly as I glanced over at the door. My gaze locked with that of Kayla's, a timid composure about her and her expression sympathetic. She smiled at me weakly as we watched each other, before sliding quietly into the room and lightly closing the door behind her.

"Welcome back, honey," she said quietly as she walked over to me. I simply continued to watch her as she sat down beside me on the floor, interlacing her fingers together and watching them with interest. It took a moment before her gaze moved back up to me, her clearly fake yet thoughtful smile fluttering across her lips.

"How are you feeling?" Kayla asked softly, her smile fading as my neck became adjusted to pointing in her direction. It wasn't hurting so much anymore, but that didn't stop the ache in the rest of my body.

"Terrible," I admitted, my voice rasping, to my surprise. I attempted to clear my throat as I frowned at my tone. Kayla noticed and smiled lightly back at me. This one was a little more real. Just a little.

"You'll be better in no time, Bri," She replied lightly, dropping her gaze to her hands again.

"I hope so," I responded dully, though clearer than before. "Everything... Hurts," I added bitterly, stating the obvious yet feeling it necessary to voice my feelings. It was currently the only thing on my mind. I felt it was appropriate.

Kayla frowned at me lightly, tilting her head as she watched me again. "I'll get you some painkillers or something later," she tried, gaining a small, and extremely painful, smile from me. I had only just noticed Kayla was talking a lot slower than usual, which annoyed me that I hadn't noted it sooner. My mind wasn't fully with it, yet. I hated feeling this unnatural. I felt vulnerable just laying here beside a friend, because I couldn't think straight. It frightened me.

"Oh, and I'm sorry if you were cold or anything," Kayla added as an after thought, "Matt was going to put you in his bunk but thought you might get a bit freaked out," she explained causing me to awkwardly nod. I would force my body to work normally, if it was the last thing I would do. I had to feel like myself again, even just a little bit.

"I don't think I was cold," I replied simply. "To be honest, this blanket is making me a bit too hot," I added indignantly, glancing down at the blue sheet covering my body. I pursed my lips as I moved my hand nearest the edge of the sofa to grasp the material, roughly dragging it off of my body and dropping it to the floor in a childish way.

Kayla chuckled briefly, a short yet shining smile looking up at me. "Oh, Bri," she sighed lightly, shaking her head slowly as she gathered the sheet up in her arms, that was now laying in front of her. For a split second everything felt normal again. Everything felt right, and good. A split second, before it was gone again.

I heard Kayla's light and troubled sigh meet my ears as her gaze fell back to the ground. "Matt wouldn't let us take you to the hospital either," she grumbled, a light scowl taking over her expression before her concerned eyes raised to meet with mine. "I really thought we should of, but we couldn't say no to him, you know?" She asked as her eyes left mine again, pursing her lips. "He's a stubborn thing."

I smiled lightly to myself, ignoring the burning in my bottom lip. The pain was worth the strange happiness I got from Kayla's words; Matt had remembered something so important to me, which I had simply said in a passing comment. Not just that, but he had stood his ground with something that he probably didn't even agree with. That man fought for me in the oddest ways, sometimes, and I appreciated it in scales I couldn't describe. I would have to make it up to him one day. I would make it up to him one day.

I left my thoughts and sudden happiness that was fighting its way through me, as I realised the room had gone silent. My eyes rested back onto Kayla, to find her attention in her lap, picking at the blue material covering her legs as she chewed her lip ring. I watched her expectantly, deciding not the break the silence. I could easily tell she had something to say, but was struggling with the right words. All I could was wait for her to be ready.

After a moment I saw her take a deep breath and rise her gaze back to mine. "Honey?" She asked lightly, her voice cracking slightly.

"Yeah?" I replied lightly, trying to place as easing a smile as possible on my face to calm her nerves.

"I... " Kayla started, desperately plucking stray strands from the blanket. "Okay, this is k-kind of hard for me to ask... But, I guess it has to be said... I mean, in case you don't want to say it first, or something," she continued as she frowned to herself, her pace of words picking up as she became more apprehensive. I frowned lightly in return as her eyes moved back up to mine, confusion filling my thoughts as I had no idea where she was going with this conversation. She seemed to notice and sent me a nervous smile for just a second, before quickly hiding it again.

"I... Erm," she mumbled again, biting down hard on her lip as her eyes locked with mine. "Did... Did he... R-rape you?" She squeaked, her voice shaking and making it hard to hear, but sure as hell, the words hit me hard. That single question made my blood run cold as goosebumps spiked up on my neck within seconds. That possibility hadn't even crossed my mind in the whole time I had been awake. I hadn't realised how lucky I truely was.

"N-no," I stuttered back in a hasty reply, my thoughts running away with me as I tried to push them away. "You found me in time."

I saw Kayla's whole body relax as she let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, that's so good, Hun. So good," she said with a light smile. "I was unbelievable worried about you. Padge kept telling me to try and get some sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking, you know? None of us had seen you in so long... And I just thought, maybe..."

I attempted a bright smile as Kayla beamed up at me, sighing again as she calmed her self down. For someone who hadn't had any sleep, she seemed perky enough. In all honesty, I couldn't have been more thankful for everything that girl had done for me. I couldn't have been more appreciative of her caring that much for me. I'd never had a friend like that, or like any of the guys, for that matter.

The door slowly creaked open again, causing both mine and Kayla's eyes to quickly move onto it. I felt an odd jolt of electricity spark through me as Matt's head poked curiously around the doorway. His eyes ran over me before they connected with mine for a split second, and then stopped on Kayla beside me.

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled quickly, his expression oddly blank. "I'll come back later," he added, his head disappearing from sight as the door started closing again.

"No, it's fine, Mattie!" Kayla called out as she twisted her body around and stretched out for the door, managing to hold it open by the edge of her fingertips. "I was just going," She said as Matt reopened the door slightly, looking down at Kay sprawled across the floor in confusion. She sent him a toothy smile before bouncing to her feet.

"Later, Bri," she cooed, waving to me before scooting past Matt who was still in the doorway, and disappearing from sight. Matt looked after her, frowning as he still remained confused at her strange actions. After a moment his gaze slowly moved back over to me, and our eyes locked together. He seemed to pause for a moment before slowly walking fully into the room, gently closing the door behind him and leaving us alone. My pulse had doubled in the past thirty seconds.