Page 26 of Unspoken Ties

“I-Why, You!” she turned bright red, so flustered she couldn’t form a complete sentence. She just walked away, into the secondbedroom I used as a gym, and slammed the door shut behind her.

The silence that followed was punctuated by the distant hum of the city; cars honking, people chatting, life moving on as if the world hadn’t almost lost one of its inhabitants. Alone in the vast living room, I felt the weight of my injuries.

The painkillers Cesare had given me were starting to wear off, bringing forth an agonizing throb in my chest. I grimaced and clutched at my side, my knuckles turning white from the effort. It was a stark reminder of how close I had come to meeting my maker.

The pain was too much to stand up and get the painkillers, so I resigned myself to turning on the TV, hoping to find something to distract me from the pain. I ended up on the Discovery Channel, watching lions rip apart their prey.

How oddly similar we were.

The throbbing ache in my chest intensified with every passing minute, making it nearly impossible to sit still. I knew I couldn’t avoid it any longer - I had to face the pain head on and stand up. With a deep breath, I used the chair arm to help myself up. As I stood, a wave of dizziness washed over me, and I promptly fell to the floor.

In between waves of pain I heard the little pitter patters of footsteps.

“What are you doing?” Liria’s panicked voice asked.

“Just needed to grab the painkillers.”

She blinked at me, her eyes wide with a mix of exasperation and concern. “Why didn’t you call for me? You’re in no condition to walk around like this!”

“Thought you were still pissed from the chains comment,” I said, managing to sound casual despite the pain.

Liria sighed, shaking her head as she raced away. A few moments later, she returned with a glass of water and the smallwhite pill that promised relief from the pain. I could feel her hands trembling slightly as she helped me sit up and handed me the medication.

“You should go to bed,” she said, after I had swallowed the pill.

“No complaints here.”

Liria rolled her eyes but helped me to my feet nonetheless. I could feel the strain as she tried to lift me, her slender body trembling under my weight. But she managed, and we made the slow journey toward the bedroom.

She awkwardly laid me down on the bed.

“Ok. Goodnight, then,” she said, turning to face the door.

“Y’know,” I started. “You laid in the hospital bed with me. I’m pretty sure we can share an actual bed, too.” I gestured to the other side. “Look, there’s so much space we don’t even have to touch.”

Liria’s gaze lingered on the empty space next to me. I could only imagine how many thoughts were running through her mind at this moment; she was likely torn between comfort and propriety. Her body was sore from sleeping on the air mattress, but she didn’t consider it acceptable to share a bed with a man who was not her romantic partner.

Even though I was her husband.

“F-fine,” she said, too embarrassed to look me in the eye.

“Oh?” I responded, surprised she said yes.

“Yes.” She reached in my drawers and tossed me my pajamas. It was a full set with a top and a bottom. “Now put these on.”

It would be eighty degrees tonight.

“It’s way too hot for that,” I said, raising an eyebrow at her. She crossed her arms over her chest, giving me a stern look.

“Well, I won’t share a bed if you’re…half naked,” she said, near whispering the second part.

“Alright,” I responded, grabbing the pajamas from her.

She left the room, promising to return once I was decent. The process of changing clothes was more physically exhausting than I wanted to admit. My wound throbbed with every movement, and by the time I had pulled on the top and bottom of my pajama set, beads of sweat were dotting my forehead.

Liria knocked lightly on the door. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

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