The One and Only Love
Chapter 8: In the Saferoom
I pulled May under the table, shielding her from the flying glass shards. Screams from the other girls filled the room, scaring me. I heard Maxon yelling, trying to gather everyone's attention. I suddenly felt cold liquid streaming down my back. I knew immediately that I had been cut by the jagged glass.
"America, what's happening?" May asked, her small voice shaking in fear.
"It's an attack on the Palace. The Rebels are here." I said, trying to stay as calm as possible.
"What do we do?" Mary asked. I could feel her small hand shaking in mine.
"We wait right here." I said, squeezing her hand reassuringly.
Suddenly, I heard Maxon calling my name. I saw his shoes run past, and then turn around to where I and May were. He ducked under the table, and whispered "give me your hand". I immediately grabbed his, and felt May's being tugged out of mine. I felt her hand slip, and I grasped the air, trying to find it.
"America, come on!" Maxon urged, looking behind him for any sign of danger.
"I have to get May." I whined harshly.
"A guard got her already. America, we need to move." Maxon said, his face getting hard.
"Okay." I said, and he pulled me to my feet.
I looked around. The windows were shattered, and dining room chairs were flipped over after the sudden haste of people fleeing. Maxon lead me around the obstacle course of a dining room and out the French doors. Maids and guards were running around the hall, and I saw a few guards fighting off Rebels at the front door. I felt Maxon tug my arm, moving us to a hall across from the dining room. Maxon searched next to a portrait for a switch that would open a trap door for a saferoom.
Finally he found it, and with a push of a button, the picture swung open off the hinges. Maxon typed in the pass code and pushed open the steel door, and ushered me inside. I quickly sat on the wooden bench in the center of the room. Maxon closed the door and locked it, and I heard the portrait swing back into place, sealing us in safely. Maxon was the first to speak.
"Are you hurt?" He asked, eyeing my body, looking for any visible injuries. I nodded and turned for him to look at my back. He obviously saw the blood, because I heard him gasp.
"It doesn't hurt that much."I lied. It actually felt like a piece of glass was still stuck in it. There probably was.
"America Singer, you cannot say you are not in pain." Maxon said, giving me a look of amusement.
"Just bandage it, would you?" I asked, trying to give him a stern look. I failed.
"I think there's glass still stuck in there." Maxon said, sitting down next to me on the bench. I felt his strong hands move the fabric of my dress down a little bit so he could see the gash. I shivered at his touch.
"It hurts like I don't know what." I said, my fists clenched in pain in my lap.
"I'm going to get this bandaged." Maxon said, getting up. I heard him rummage around the in small metal cabinet in the corner of the saferoom. After a minute and a half of pure agony, Maxon was back in his place behind me.
"I'm going to put on the antiseptic and then bandage it. That should dull the pain. But I think you need stitches, and someone is going to have to in and get the remaining glass that is still in there." Maxon said. I turned around just enough to see him take out a tube of the medicine from the small first aid kit.
I took in a staggered breath as I felt the effect of the medication come on. At first I was in pain, a burning sensation, but after a minute, the pained dwelled into numbness. I breathed in a sigh of relief. Maxon wrapped a clean cotton bandage around my shoulder and when he was finished, he tied it off gently. He exhaled quietly and I spoke.
"Remember when I did this for you?" I asked Maxon, turning to completely face him. His expression was part amused, part serious. I was suddenly aware that I had just crossed an emotional border, that I probably shouldn't off crossed.
"Yes, except when I had you bandage me, you got to see my beautifully sculpted abs. I got to see nothing but your bloody back." Maxon replied, smiling mischievously. I gave him a look of sternness, but then rolled my eyes.
"You know, I am still not officially involved as a couple with you, so sexist or demeaning remarks are not appreciated at this time." I said, giving him a motherly look. He gave me a half smile, and began packing up the first aid kit.
"Do you think May is ok?" I asked, worry about my little sister. She didn't handle bad situations well.
"I saw the guard who got her. He knew what he was doing." Maxon said, putting up the kit and closing the metal cabinet.
"Who was it?" I asked, jumping up and sending a shoot of pain into my not-so-numb- anymore shoulder.
"That Officer Legar friend of yours. May seemed to recognize him, so I let him take her to a saferoom." Maxon said, pushing me back down on the bench, and then seating himself on it.
"She's ok. She's with Aspen, and he will take care of her." I whispered, relief filling my body like a rush of a waterfall.
"Aspen? Is that his name?" Maxon asked me, and I realized that he had heard me.
"Yes, that's his name. He's a close family friend so that's how I know." I said, trying to clear the discussion of Aspen. I was over him, and talking about him with Maxon was just awkward.
"That's good. May trusts him, so she will feel a little bit safer." Maxon said, taking off his suit jacket. If I was being honest, it felt like a furnace in here. And sweat and open wounds don't mix.
"Can we turn the fan on?" I asked, changing the subject. Maxon nodded and got up to plug the fan up in the opposite corner of the room.
"You know, I think we are supposed to be in the Royal saferoom." Maxon said, once again coming to sit next to me.
"I think so too. I wonder what your mother is going to think." I said, giving him a lopsided grin.
"Once again, she will probably be freaking out, and be happy when she realizes that he beloved son is safe and sound." Maxon said, rolling his eyes and smiling at me.
"At least you're locked in here with me and not Celeste." I said, giggling. As soon as I said that, there was a banging on the steel door, and suddenly it popped open. A guard, I believe it was a guy named Westlaw, was overjoyed to see us.
"You majesty and Lady America, are either of you hurt?" the young guard asked us, sounding a little panicked. I think this was his first Rebel attack.
"Lady America was sliced by the flying glass from the dining room windows. She might need stitches." Maxon answered for me. I grunted in agreement.
"She needs to go see Dr. Redmond immediately." The guard behind Warsaw said. I recognized him as Ferguson.
"America, grab on to my shoulder." Maxon said, handing me his arm. I grasped it tightly.
We left the saferoom and rounded the corner to the foyer and headed straight to the infirmary.
