Awake

It must be early in the morning, 3 or 4, and the four rotten logs burned away completely a half hour ago.
The hard wooden floor as my mattress and an old sack with holes eaten in it by mice as a pillow, I lay here, shivering.

As each, singular tremor that racks my body marches a tune to the dull, throb, throb, throbbing of my side.
I clamp the inside of my cheek between my teeth and bite down hard, trying to keep still.

"Farrrah are you cold?"
Comes a soft voice.

"Y-yes"

After a moment, I hear shuffling and feel Asher's back gently touching mine.
I know he means well, but the barely there contact does nothing accept make me totally aware of his presence.

He turns around slowly, sliding an arm around my waist, holding me to him and causing me to gasp and jerk away.

"I'm sorry-I didn't-I won't do it ag- "No"
I cut him off, struggling into a sitting position.

"T-That's not it, my side, it hurts so bad"
He sits up next to me .

"It must be from when I threw Mrs. Cherri to the floor and you fell too"

"Yeah must be"
I say looking into the darkness where I know his face must be.

"Would it be okay if I, um, checked it? To make sure it's not broken or anything"
He added the last part quickly.

"Okay"
I sigh, laying back down.

He gets up and flips on the light, then comes back and kneels beside me.
He unbuttons my coat and pushes up my sweater up to the edge of my bra.

He lights traces over my rib cage.
"It's swollen and bruising, I think it's cracked. I'm so sorry Farrah, I didn't know when I pushed her you would hit the floor so hard"

Asher looks at me, regret flooding his features.

"It's okay, you didn't realize"
I wince, trying to sit up again, but he puts a hand on my shoulder stopping me.

"No, just rest"
I nod and lean back down, closing my eyes.

Pain can't last forever, it has to end at some point...

*X*

The sun shines brightly down on us as we look out at the deserted gravel road in front of us.
We left the shack a little after dawn, we walked for an hour before we ended up here.

"Well at least we know someone is using it"
Asher comments, motioning to fresh tire tracks.

"But what if it was Mrs. Cherri looking for us?"
I ask quietly.

"Then..Then..We'll just.."
He struggles to come up with an answers, but can't.

"Might as well chance it"
I sigh, limping out onto the road.

"Might as well"
He agrees solemnly.
We walk without talking, the 'crunch crunch crunch' of our footsteps in the snow the only sound between, every once in awhile I start to slip on the patches of ice hidden under the snow and he steadies me.

"Farrah can I ask you question about Blake?"

I look over at him almost startled.
"Um, sure, I guess so"

"Who is he? You never told me about him excepts mentioning his name here and there, then I saw that kiss.."

"He's my-"
I pause and try to come up with the words that will rightfully end the answer.
"He was my everything for a long time, and he still is"

"'Was'? Did something happen?"

I remember it so clearly, the fear, the torture and the look in his eyes after he broke his promise and my trust along with it....

"Broken promises can do a lot of damage Asher"
I murmur, looking down at my feet.

"Wha-" He is cut off by the sound of an approaching car, heading straight for us.
I cannot see it, a sharp bend not far ahead obstructs my view.

"Quick! into the woods!"

He jerks me off the road, forgetting my rib, making me yelp.

We make it pass to the flora and into the trees and I stop.
Something tells me to go back to the road.
I pull away from Asher and begin making my way back to the road.

"Farrah what are you doing?!"
I ignore Asher and keep going, I finally see it, a car coming around the bend.
I know this car.

Forgetting Asher, forgetting the pain in my side, forgetting common sense I run out into the road, standing still as the car comes racing forward.
I hear the squeal of breaks, but the car keeps flying toward me.
The ice.

I close my eyes, hearing the screech of tires.
"Blake"
I whisper, waiting for what's to come.