ELI
Everything hurt.
My shoulder burned like someone had set it on fire. My chest was heavy, so heavy I couldn't breathe properly and my throat was dry and raw. Something beeped softly nearby, steady and rhythmic, like it was keeping time with my heartbeat.
The first thing I registered was warmth. A hand, wrapped around mine. Big, rough, trembling a little.
Damir.
Then his voice….low, broken, trying too hard to be calm.
"Come on, sunshine… come back to me."
I stirred, blinking against the lights. My head pounded. My lips cracked when I tried to speak.
"D…Damir?"
His face snapped into view, and it was like someone punched the air out of my lungs. His hair was messy. His eyes bloodshot. His knuckles scraped and red, and his jaw clenched like he was holding in a scream.
"You're awake." He breathed the words like a prayer, brushing his thumb across my cheek.
I tried to sit up, but the pain was too much. My shoulder was bandaged, stiff, and tight. My head fell back on the pillow.
"I'm sorry…" My voice cracked with guilt as tears gathered behind my eyes. "I didn't mean to cause all this. I just wanted to come see you."
His eyes narrowed. That gentleness in his touch didn't match the storm I saw behind them.
"I know everything, Eli."
My breath hitched. "You… do?"
His voice was flat. "You told the guards I asked you to go alone. You lied. You snuck out. You gave a random man my number. You got lost. You thought trekking to the business district was a good idea. You were stabbed, beaten, and almost killed. All because you didn't want guards around you."
Each word felt heavier than the last.
My eyes welled. I looked away. "I just… I didn't want to feel like a prisoner. I thought if I showed up by surprise, you'd be happy. I didn't think…."
"No. You didn't think," he snapped, and I flinched.
I've never seen Damir like this before. Not with me. Not ever.
"I was on the phone with some creep who said, 'We need to talk about the boy.' You think I didn't feel something break inside me the second he hung up? You think I didn't panic when I checked the CCTV and saw someone being beaten bloody…only to realize it was you?!"
Tears streamed down my cheeks now. I couldn't speak.
"You could've died, Eli," he said, voice cracking as he stood and started pacing. "Do you know what that would've done to me?"
"I'm sorry," I whispered, voice shaking. "I didn't mean to lie. I was just tired of always having people shadow me. I just wanted to feel normal."
"Normal?" He turned sharply to me, eyes blazing. "You're not normal, Eli! You're mine! And when you're mine, you don't get to take stupid risks with your life."
"I didn't mean to…." I sobbed. "I didn't think something like this would happen…."
"And that's the problem."
He stared at me, chest rising and falling like he'd just run a marathon. His fists were clenched at his sides.
I couldn't take it anymore. My throat ached from crying. My heart ached more.
"I've never seen you like this…" I whispered. "You're always soft with me. I know I was stupid. I know I lied. But please, Damir… please don't be this angry with me."
My voice cracked mid-sentence.
"I just wanted to see you… I missed you…"
He froze.
The room fell quiet.
My vision was a blur of tears, and I barely noticed him move…until I felt his hands cradle my face.
"Eli…" he murmured, this time softer. "Sunshine… look at me."
I blinked up at him, lips trembling.
His forehead rested gently against mine. "I'm furious because I love you. I'm furious because you matter more to me than anything in this goddamn world."
"I'm sorry," I whispered again, the hundredth time. "I won't ever do it again."
His breath hitched, and then his lips found mine. It wasn't gentle. It was desperate. Like he needed to feel me alive and safe to believe it.
When we pulled apart, he looked me dead in the eyes.
"I almost lost you," he murmured, brushing my hair back. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I won't," I swore. "I swear, Damir. I'll never lie again."
He exhaled slowly, pressing a kiss to my cheek.
"You better not," he whispered. "Because I'll have you on lockdown. I'm not taking chances anymore. You don't go to the damn mailbox without a guard."
I laughed weakly, my body aching even from that.
But at least I was in his arms again. And I was safe.
Because Damir was here.
Because Damir came for me.
And even if he was angry… he still loved me.