Page 48 of Last Hope
“I’m saying you don’t need to go battle Azizi. You should stay here with Burns.”
She scowled at him, her blonde eyebrows creasing angrily. “I’m not going to stand by idly, watching everyone throw themselves into battle.”
“You’ll be safe here—”
“God damn it, Crawford! Not this again! I’m going with you, period. So stop with the gentleman chivalry bullshit. I can damn well take care of myself and you know it.”
He tightened his fists at his sides. “Don’t think I don’t know that, Phillipe. I’m not your damn babysitter and I don’t plan to be. I just want you safe.”
“Terrance, this isn’t the goddamn medieval times. You’re not a knight and I’m not a goddamn princess. I can protect myself.”
Crawford wanted to throw his hands up in frustration. The damn woman was so stubborn! And she didn’t even understand why he was saying what he was saying, why he wanted her safe.
“You don’t understand, Victoria,” he whispered.
“Then explain it to me,” she pleaded, taking a step towards him.
“I love you, Phillipe.” It pained him to say, to admit but he loved her and he wanted her to be free but he also wanted her safe and he wasn’t sure how else to protect her. Maybe watching her back during battle wouldn’t be enough. It hadn’t been enough last time.
“Crawford,” she whispered. “Do you know what I love most about the arrangement we’re in?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Arrangement?”
She nodded. “Yeah, arrangement, relationship, whatever you want to label it as.”
“You are mine and I am yours,” he said the words like wedding vows.
She smiled sweetly at him and stepped closer to put her palms against his cheeks and pull his face closer to hers. “What I love most is that we can just be. I can be me and you can be you. We don’t expect more or less. You’ve got my back and I’ve got yours. There’s no need to control or lock up in a box; we can just be.”
Her words ran true in his heart.
“You were bleeding in my hands…”
“Just like you will bleed in mine. But we will always do our best for each other. I for you and you for me. Just like you did your best for Savvy. It’s not your fault and we can’t do anything to go back to those moments and change them but do you know what we can do?”
“What?”
“We can get justice.”
He smiled then took Victoria in his arms and kissed her. He was a fool to think that she would be submissive. She was everything but submissive and he damn well loved her for it.
Her soft lips broke away from his. “Oh, and I love you too, Crawford.”
He kissed her again as if it could have been their last kiss in the world. He would have taken her right there and then but he was a decent man and it wasn’t the time or the place.
“Well then, let’s go, Phillipe.” He released her after a while. “And I trust you’ll have my back?”
She smiled. “You bet your ass, Crawford.” They placed one last sweet kiss against each other’s lips before parting. Victoria took a deep breath and walked over to Joshua’s bedside, kneeling beside it.
There was not much to make out of the boy. His entire body was wrapped up in gauze like a mummy. The only things visible were the strands of orange hair that seemed to have deliberately stuck out of place and his fingers were bare at his sides and unmoving.
Victoria gripped his hand in hers and squeezed tightly until her knuckles were white. Terrance swallowed down his emotions. It wouldn’t do to become a sentimental mess minutes before battle. So he watched Victoria as she leaned forward, her stubborn blonde curls falling in front of her face; she tugged it behind her ear impatiently.
“Savvy,” she whispered with fierce veracity. “Savvy, I don’t know if you can hear me but I wanted to let you know that we’re going into battle now. And I can promise you that we will capture Azizi and we will make him pay for what he’s done to you. Okay?” She squeezed his hand. “Focus on getting better and we will focus on trapping the bastard.” Victoria sniffled then stood up slowly, almost as if it hurt to part from Savvy’s side. Terrance had to turn a painful blind eye; because it felt like he was looking directly at the sunlight. “Ready to go?” Phillipe asked.
Terrance nodded stiffly and together, they left. But what they didn’t notice as they exited the hospital room, were Savvy’s fingers lifting slowly finally awakening from their long, dark slumber.
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