The Way You Lie

I awoke to an odd feeling, a feeling of being cold and I really didn’t like it. I don’t know if it was just because of the my fear of the sleeping pills again, or maybe I was just on edge but I jerked awake with a tiny shriek. Someone heard me, I knew that for sure because something was dropped to the ground with a loud bang. Some curse words were spat about and then I heard a soft knocking at my door. My body relaxed a tad when I heard that, I knew that Zane was the one here not anyone else.

I shifted a little, whining in pain from the sudden burst of fire that shot through me. My head carefully pieced together what was my problem, I was off the pain pills and I doubt they expected me to wake up. Ever so slowly I turned onto my side and curled into the fetal position and tried to breath in slowly. If I could do anything right now for myself it would be to get my mind off the pain that was starting to build up.

“Em? Honey, it’s okay.” Zane’s soothing voice called, I heard him mutter something to someone else. Probably Axel knowing my luck, though it is better then Riley. I shifted a little bit more, trying to cuddle under the blanket. When I did that I noticed that I was cold from another dreaded ice packed wedged between my thighs. I groaned quietly and tried to remove it but only found it more painful. The lock on the door began to squeak as it turned, telling me that there was someone planning on entering. When the door opened Zane rounded the corner to find me reaching for the ice pack, he just shook his head and sat down next to me. “No, leave it there.” He pulled me close and for some reason I found myself blushing, it was probably because I was just caught doing something that I wasn’t supposed to do.

“How long have I been out?” I whispered quietly to him.

He pressed his lips to my forehead and jerked back in surprise. “Just…just a couple days. Axel! She’s got a fever!” He called back to Axel, I didn’t really like that considering I didn’t want to acknowledge that he was even alive. “You shouldn’t be up yet, he gave you a whole hell of a lot of sleeping pills…maybe your fever burned them off…”

“I don’t feel sick.” I hummed, nuzzling closer to him and feeling butterflies wiggle around in my stomach when he wrapped his arms around me.

He kissed my forehead again and pulled his head up when Axel walked in with a washcloth and a thermometer. “Axel, she’s really hot.”

Axel kneeled down and slipped the thermometer through my lips. “It’s okay, I’m sure she’s fine.”

“I don’t feel sick.” I muttered again, trying to get Axel to leave and let me have some Zane time, but I don’t think it’s going to work now.

Axel rolled his eyes and took back the stick, looking at it then up at Zane. “Well you are. Let’s stick her in the tub and I’ll just explain to Riley what’s going on if he comes back. Maybe he’ll let a doctor see her.”

Zane nodded but I could see in his eyes that he didn’t think this was a very good idea, yet he still gently picked me up and followed Axel. I didn’t like that fact that Axel was suggesting getting me naked and putting me in a tub, and I really didn’t like that Zane was going along with it. Honestly I just want to get my pain pills and go back to sleep. The walk up the metal staircase seemed long simply because Zane was moving so slow as not to hurt me, and Axel kept glancing back with a worried look. Either way when we got to the bathroom and Zane started undressing me while Axel filled the tub, I still tried to get him to bring me back down stairs.

He chuckled a little. “Why are you being so uncorporative today?” Once he finally managed to get me undressed I whined at him until he got me in the water and held me down by my shoulders.

“Ow, its hot.” I whined. Honestly I just wanted to get my way, I don’t want a bath!

“I’ll just call Riley and ask him what to do.” Axel sighed, I swear I could hear him mutter something about it being our only option.

Once he left Zane shot me a glance and then kissed my forehead again. “You need to lighten up, it’s just a bath.”

I glared at him, crossing my arms and letting something come out that I didn’t plan for. “You let him see me naked, Zane.”

Zane froze when he realized the true reason that I didn’t want to be in the bathroom. “Oh…Em, I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking about that, honest. I just wanted you to feel better.” He did something quiet creative then, he slung a towel so that it hung off from both sides of the tub and covered everything but my head without touching the water. “There, besides I’m not going to let him touch you.”

I sighed and watched him for a moment. “It’s when you’re not there that I’m worried about.”

He frowned and then cupped my cheek and kissed me gently. “It’s okay, I think he’s on our side now.”

We sat there in silence for the rest of the time, only looking at each other when I moved and made a whine or I had a small coughing fit. In all honesty I think the pain is masking the feeling or being sick, because I don’t really feel like I’m sick and all the could feel is pain. It seemed like twenty minutes later that the bathroom door swung open, I was expecting it to be Axel but the person I seen was Riley. He was fuming and I felt myself shrinking deeper into the tub in hopes of hiding. Zane noticed but still stood up protectively, almost like he was ready to grab me and run. I could defiantly tell that he didn’t trust Riley at all.

“Zane, get out.” Riley growled, snapping his fingers and pointing towards the door. “I have recently been informed that you have been allowed to see you little thing here so I have extended the period and you will be living in my house until its done.”

Zane’s muscular arms crossed and his brow furrowed. “The hell I am, she needs me.” He growled warningly, I could tell he wasn’t going to leave without a fight.

Riley crossed his own arms and smirked evilly. “If you don’t agree to this I’ll refuse to let her see a doctor and she’ll die.”

When Riley said that I instantly knew that Zane was going to agree, he was willing to do almost anything to keep me alive. Although I didn’t want him to, I had half a mind to tell him to let me die, all I want is for him to stay with me.

Axel walked in, moving being Riley to make it over to the tub and watch me carefully. He seemed almost as uncomfortable around Riley as I did, did Riley do something to him as well? He leaned down and reached under the towel, pulling the plug on the tub. I froze even more as he did that.

Zane shifted his weight a little bit. “We have to come up with a different conclusion, I can’t not see her. It might have worked out in your favor a few months ago but I simply refuse to leave her when she is in this condition.”

Axel whispered quietly to me, kneeling next to the tub with a fresh towel in his hands. He was holding it open in order to block Riley’s view and get me wrapped in it. “Come on, quickly Em.”

I did as told, to scared to do anything different then obey him right now. When I had a hard time standing up and reached over and wrapped the soft towel around me and gently pulled me into his arms. After that he stood with me waiting for Riley and Zane to come to a conclusion, not only that but he found that he had to held me up or I was going to fall over.

Riley laughed a little, still thinking to himself. “Hm, fine you can stay in the same building with her but she will now be staying in Axel’s room with him.”

I think both Axel and Zane both screamed ‘what’ at the same time. Axel seemed like he didn’t want me in his room, and Zane seemed like he would do anything to get me in his. I didn’t care about staying in Zane’s room but if I had to stay in Axel’s I think I might go stir crazy.

Axel threw up his arms in annoyance and caught me in the nick of time. “No, let them have a room together. For one it will stop both of them from acting out, and then I don’t have to ask Zane about what will be exceptional to do anymore.”

I found myself to be extremely surprised when Riley rubbed his chin as he thought. “Hm…okay, but you have to work more Zane.”

“DEAL!” Zane just about shouted. Happiness swelled up inside of me but I refused to show it around Riley, I didn’t want to give him the pleasure of showing him that he has actually done something to make me happy. Axel seemed to tighten his hold on me into a little hug, I leaned into it a little. It was my way of saying thank you to him, we would’ve never subjected it considering how scared we were that we’d get separated more.

Riley laughed again. “Good, now get her dressed and into the living room. I called a doctor and he should be here soon.” He stalked out and Zane looked over at us happily. Axel smiled at him and shuffled my body over to Zane’s arms.

“You’re welcome.” Axel smiled. “Don’t do anything to screw it up.” He then left the room as well, leaving Zane and I alone still kind of stunned.

I looked up at Zane with hopeful eyes. “Did that really happen?”

He smiled down at me then pressed a light kiss to my lips. “I actually get to sleep with my beautiful wife tonight, I don’t have to worry about waking up to her screams.” He wrapped his arms around me gently and kissed me once more. “You’re lucky your hurt otherwise we’d be fooling around tonight.”

I blushed deeply. “Actually that’s not lucky.”

He chuckled then reached over to the sweats that I was wearing before we came in here, he dressed me and made sure that my hair was somewhat dry. The whole time he mumbled something about wishing I wasn’t sick at all and that he wanted to run so badly, I silently agreed. I think if I really told him how terrified of this place I was he wouldn’t think twice about running right away, but to be honest I was a little nervous about that as well. Not only do I know now that it is bound to snow soon but I’m also already sick.

When we finally made it downstairs we discovered that the doctor was waiting patiently for us to descend from the stairs. Riley was sitting at the old desk, scribbling down on a check to pay the doctor with. I was rested on the couch with Zane sitting behind me to kind of hold me up. The doctor checked me over everywhere expect the privet area, he was planning on it but I think Zane scared him out of it with a look that said he was ready to kill.

“Okay,” he flipped through his notes a little bit and then looked up at Zane. He only really talked to him, acting like I was some car they were examining and I couldn’t talk. Maybe he felt uncomfortable with my condition, or maybe Zane was scaring him. “Her vitals seem pretty good, and the cuts that I’m allowed to see are fairly good. The c-section cut is irritated but it isn’t infected. So far I can’t see why she is having a reaction, I think it’d be in your best interest to allow me to see the other cuts.”

Zane sighed and looked back at Riley who seemed to be engorged in paper work, then he looked over at Axel, we discovered he was fast sleep on the other couch. He then turned back to the doctor.

“I’d feel more comfortable if we did that in privet, possibly in my room.” Zane carefully stood up with me in his arms, walking us over to his room that I have yet to see. When we reached the inside I looked around in aw. He was lucky enough to have a real bed with a few books on the floor around it. Not to mention he had pictures of us that were once on his phone tapped on his cement wall. Ones of us kissing, one of us that he had taken of my belly the night he found out I was pregnant, and even one of me pointing a knife at him angrily as he caught me cooking dinner. He caught me looking and placed a small kiss on my forehead, whispering ‘I’m sorry’ before laying me on his freshly made bed. “Shut the door behind you please.” I liked how protective Zane was being, at least I knew that Axel or Riley wouldn’t be able to watch.

The doctor shut the door then walked over to us, he wasn’t sure about anything yet so he waited for Zane to make the first move. Zane sighed deeply then looked down at me once more, apologizing and gently pulling off my pants. I whimpered out of habit and closed my eyes.

“Oh holy shit.” I heard the doctor mutter, Zane’s weighted was switched onto the bed and he gently stroked my arm and the doctor started messing around. He never had to ask me if anything hurt because I whined and cried when he hit something that did, though it did take everything I had to not saying anything to get him to stop. I knew it would be better for me if he checked me over. Zane had to hold my hand tightly at one point when he touched the biggest gash that we both knew he shouldn’t have touched. When he was finally done I was to shy to open my eyes. “The stitches are holding up, but its really swollen down there. I know it hurts her but when you put ice down there get it as close as you can. I think she’s sick because she’s in so much pain, I’m sorry but there’s nothing I can really do it stop it. Get her more pain pills, and I know the baths seem rational but I think it’d be better for her to wash her with a wash cloth for now. When you move her around it cause more swelling because the stitches are rubbing together. Also I’m not a physiologist but I think she’s under a lot of stress, it’s making her condition worse. As a doctor all I can say is keep her comfortable, but as a friend I suggest leaving here. I know what he’s doing to you, Zane.” I froze up a little bit, not believing what I was hearing. “I know I haven’t been the best friend that I used to be for you, but I’m doing what I can.” His voice lowered and I felt him lean in closer to us. “I’m going to park a car on Jiggens Road, if you walk behind this factory for long enough in a straight line it is on the other side of a field. I know that she’s in no condition for this but it’s not safe to keep her here, I will take Riley with me when I go and as for Axel I believe you can handle him. Give me twenty minutes after I leave then go, and then don’t go to the police because they are working for Riley here. I know you want to kill him, Zane, but right now I think the life of your wife is more important.” He weight shifted from the bed and I felt Zane move a little bit as well.

“How do I get her out of here, Wiley? She’ll freeze to death out there.” Zane’s voice was extremely quite but highly concerned. “I can’t loose her.”

The doctor spoke once more. “Run, it’ll hurt her but it’ll be worth it. You run as fast as you can, Zane. Then once you find a safe place hold her, the best thing for hypothermia is another person’s body heat, use you’re breath maybe. But don’t stop for long, and dress her warmly. I hate to tell you this but even if it means that you go cold she has to be warm. If you absolutely need them there are houses along the way, some are my friends and I’ll tell them to keep a porch light on so you know it’s safe. This is the only chance I can give you.” I then heard the door open and him start to talk loudly to Riley, already joking. I slowly opened my eyes and looked over at Zane.

He had that worried look on his face, the look that said that he couldn’t decide what was the right thing. He started pulling my pants back on, as gently as he could but I could feel him shaking a little bit. I reached my hand out to him.

“I don’t know, baby.” He whispered quietly, crawling up the bed towards me once more and kissing my forehead. “Is it worth risking your life?”

My bottom lip trembled but I knew that I was desperately trying to hold my emotions in. “It’s the only chance we have.”

He leaned over me, gently laying a hand on my stomach and then nuzzling into my neck. “Last time it cost us our child. I don’t want to be free so bad that I’d be willing for it to cost your life.”

I wrapped my arms around him. “I just want to go home.” I whispered quietly, he just nodded against my neck and allowed me to fall asleep.
~Ideas~

~ Emily’s Point of view ~ One Day later~

I remembered Zane’s frantic yelling, then a hazy image of doctors sticking needles and IVs into me. Yet when I fully woke up Riley was sitting at my side and leaning over me. He