Page 94 of Pulse
Ash pressed the cold pack against my head again and I winced, but I let him fuss. Ash Fuller playing nurse was kinda hot and if my pride wasn’t hurting more than my head was, maybe I’d be a little turned on by it.
“Don’t worry Spitfire,” Ash murmured. “We’ve all been there.”
“You’ve been knocked out?” I scoffed, staring up at him. “Fat chance.”
“Yeah, I have,” he retorted. “You’ll be fine.”
“My head will be fine.” I wasn’t so sure about my pride.
Fuck. I’d been KO’d. I’d let Hammer get to me. Me and everyone else was worried about Ash being weak, but I was the link that broke. I’d let him down.
Something inside me said it was a stupid thought, but there were a lot of voices arguing against it. I’d let Hammer get to me, therefore I was weak. I. Was. Weak.
“You’ve had a brilliant run if this is the first time you’ve been KO’d Spitfire. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“Did you see it?” I whispered, wondering if Ash had seen the moment I lost my focus. Had he seen Hammer?
He shook his head. “I saw you fall. I didn’t see the punch.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, kind of glad he didn’t. Too many questions, too many things that could make him snap.
“You’ll bounce back from this,” he said. “I’m here to help.”
“The points...”
“Don’t worry about the points. There’s more than enough time to make them up.”
I rolled my eyes and put my hand on the cold pack, swatting his big paw away.
“Do you want to hang here for a bit or...?”
“Take me back to Beat,” I said, not wanting to be here any longer. I didn’t want to see their stares and hear the whispers. Reign of Terror wasn’t so terrifying anymore. She had a chink in her armor. Something that could be exploited.
I let Ash help me off the stretcher, curl his arm around my waist and lead me from The Underground, his assurances that I’d bounce back from this going straight over my throbbing head.
I’d choked. Again. Right when things mattered the most.
How was I meant to come back from that?
