Lost II

Noah's mind was blissfully empty as he drifted in and out of consciousness.

Then came the flashes.

A hand grabbing him.

Glass to his throat.

Alexis's lips on his.

Wait, that can't be right.

He jolted awake, almost startling the young man beside him off his chair.

He panicked, pressing his back to the headboard.

"Wh- Who are you?" The other boy couldn't have been older than eighteen but his size was threatening enough. Not to mention the sword strapped to his belt.

He raised his palms, slowly. "My name is Markus. I'm a friend of Alexis-"

"Lexi?" He breathed. "She's here?"

"I told her to get some sleep but if you want me to get her-"

"Did... Did she kill him?"

Markus's gaze lowered, along with his hands.

"She...killed Arden." He turned away, fixing his gaze on the opposite wall, a wave of nausea rolling in.

"She did it to save your life." The guard stated, suddenly defensive. "Arden would've killed you otherwise."

Noah winced slightly, tightening his grip on the sheets.

"Noah?"

An uncharacteristically soft voice made them both turn.

Alexis was standing in the doorway, hair messy and tunic crumpled. "Markus, can you give us a minute?"

He looked at them in turn before conceding his seat to her. As soon as they were alone, she reached for his hand.

"Why were you there?" He moved his hand just out of reach, closing his eyes so he didn't have to see the pain in hers.

She took a deep breath, regretting that it had come to this. "I've.. been-" she faltered, her voice failing her.

"Have you killed before?"

"No!" Her eyes widened, hurt that he would think that. "I just couldn't let him hurt you, Noah."

There was a long silence before he continued.

"What's happening?"

His voice was so soft that she almost missed the question.

"Back there, I remember some of it..."

Memories of his ordeal at the house flooded her mind.

"Noah, listen to me. It's going to be okay. No one will hurt you-"

"I'm not worried about me, Lex," he snapped, turning around to face her. "You..."

Even though he'd almost died, he still put her first. The thought made her composure waver.

"I'm fine, Noah..."

He sighed, closing his eyes. "You don't have to lie to me, Alexis."

She was about to respond when Markus knocked at the door, popping his head in. He winced as he realized he interrupted a moment.

"Sorry, uh, Alexis, can we-" he gestured to the hall.

"Yeah," she said briefly as she stood up. She gave Noah's fingers a quick squeeze, glad that he didn't pull away this time, and followed Markus into the living room.

"We need to get going." He pulled back the curtain to reveal the first light blue streaks across the sky.

She nodded, looking away from him. Markus could sense her anxiety from the way she moved.

"Are you sure you want to go back there? I could do it-"

"No, Markus. I don't think I can let this one go." She averted her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm down. "Do you think he'll be okay here by himself?"

Markus was about to answer when he heard the bedroom door open.

"I'm coming with you." He turned towards the small voice that struggled to assert itself. Then in a softer tone: "Please."

"Noah, you shouldn't go back there."

"Neither should you." He insisted, undermined by the blanket he had wrapped around himself as he stood in the doorway.

Still, he tried to meet their eyes, not wanting to be seen as a child they had to look after.

"Noah," Markus began, very much treating him like a child of seven instead of seventeen. "Going back there so soon isn't going to help. We can handle this by ourselves-"

"But you're going back because of me! I need to know what's happening too. I can help..." He trailed off, confused by how Markus was looking at him.

"It's your call, Alexis." The guard muttered as he walked out the front door in a hurry. His maternal instinct was acting up and he had to get out before he developed the ability to breastfeed.

"Are you sure about this?" She walked closer to him, rubbing his arms to warm them under the blanket.

"I need to do this too." He stated in his quiet voice, not meeting her eyes.

"Let me know if it becomes too much."

He nodded silently.

Standing outside, Markus was overcome by curiosity, sneaking a look at the pair inside. Alexis was speaking gently to Noah, wrapping a blue scarf around his neck to cover the bandages.

'She's never like that with me.' He thought, before he caught himself.

'Oh, no, feelings. Not today.' He strapped his sword tighter and led the way.