Behind These Eyes: Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; I'm just borrowing them for my story. I'm not making any money from this at all!
Author's note: Sorry this is late. I've not been feeling well recently so I haven't been able to get around to writing this chapter until now. I'm feeling better now so it's time to get back on course with the story. Don't worry, I haven't abandoned it! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed so far. It makes me happy to think people are enjoying reading it:D
Enjoy!
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(Sasuke's point of view)
A few days later….
My head feels as though it's spinning, and the bright light burns my eyes as I force them open. Everything is blurry at first and the light coming from the window is making it even harder to focus. I want to be left in a dark room as far away from the light as possible. It feels like I've been hit by a car or something.
I cover my eyes with my hand until I can pry open my eyes enough to focus on what's around me. I have no idea where I am. Slowly, my vision starts to return, and although trying to focus hurts my eyes, I can just about make out where I am. I'm lying on a bed just now I think. I really want to get a better view of the room, so I fight against the splitting pain as I pull myself up into a sitting position, the whole time forcing myself not to cry out. My entire body aches and simply sitting up has completely drained me, but I'm determined to try and work out where I am.
I wrap my arms around my aching ribs and stomach as I look around the room. I can't help but feel this room is a little familiar, and that I've maybe slept in this bed once before. Looking down I see that all my wounds have been dressed in bandages and I don't seem to be covered in dirt and dried blood anymore, whoever brought me here must have cleaned me up. They've even dressed me in a clean shirt, but its way too big for me and hangs off my small frame.
The room is large, and the bed I'm sitting on is absolutely huge. However lives here must be very rich indeed. The room is light and airy and the whole place smells clean and fresh. Normally I'd be happy about being put in such a nice place as it doesn't happen very often, but right now I want the dark. I wish I could get up to walk over and close those curtains, but I know I don't have the strength to make it there and back, so there's no point in wasting energy trying. Besides, I don't want to anger my new master my doing anything without permission.
Suddenly my body convulses as I start to cough violently, the sharp pain immediately causes me to fall back a little too roughly, landing heavily on my broken ribs. My eyes start to water as the pain completely engulfs me, the pain of my sides making it difficult to breathe properly. Taking breaths as deep as I can without too much soreness, I wait for the pain to subside to a more bearable level. It's then I notice I've coughed up a bit of blood, and I've got it all over my new master's white sheets! I panic. I don't want to anger him; my body can't take another beating. I think I've also accidentally opened up a few of my deeper wounds as I can see more blood starting to seep through the bandages.
I panic even more when I hear footsteps moving briskly towards this room. I don't know what to do! I don't want my new master to get mad at me for staining these expensive sheets with my blood. My heart is almost in my mouth as the footsteps get louder and clearer, my chest feels tight from a mixture of pain and fear. Will this person beat me for making a mess? My head feels dizzy as I curl up into a tight little ball on the bed, pulling the sheets over my body. Maybe they won't notice the stains and I can get up and clean them during the night. My rapid breathing is restricted by the pain of my ribs and chest, I pray that I'll pass out from it before my new master punishes me, that way I won't feel any more pain until I wake up afterwards at least.
I curl up tighter, wrapping my arms around my stomach as the door opens and the footsteps move closer to where I am. I feel sick, really sick. I don't know what to expect, but I can only hope they'll show me some mercy as I'm in no position to defend myself right now.
"Sasuke! I heard coughing, are you alright? Are you awake?"
Wait, that voice sounds familiar! I know that voice!
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(Kakashi's point of view)
I heard him cough loudly a few moments ago, he could have regained consciousness and he hasn't had any pain medication. I run to him as fast as I can and open the door into my room. He's been sleeping in my bed for the past few days so that I can tend to him during the night if he needs it. Thankfully he's been alright and I haven't needed to call Tsunade, but I keep my phone and another back-up phone beside the bed just in case.
I run over to the small little figure curled up under the sheets and gently pull back the covers, to be greeted by a pair of terrified eyes. Well, at least he's awake.
"It's alright Sasuke, you're safe now," I whisper to try and reassure him. After a few moments the fear in his eyes subsides as he focuses his gaze on me. Perhaps he recognises who I am and knows that I'd never hurt him. I can't help but notice some blood trickling from the side of his mouth and smudged across his chin. Tsunade reassured me that he'd probably cough up a bit of blood every now and again, but not to be worried by it. He'll stop once the infection has been cleared away.
It's surprising because this is the most emotion I've ever seen in his usually empty eyes. It's unusual to see him express anything really, as the last time he was in this room; he was distant and emotionless, almost completely dead inside. A look of fear returns to his beautiful, dark eyes as I bring my hand across to wipe away the blood on his face. He immediately flinches and covers his face with his arm as if he's expecting to be hit or something. It tears me apart inside to think that he's been so badly abused you can't even touch him without the poor little thing expecting pain, and possibly even a fist about to strike him.
Gently, I remove his hand from his face as carefully as I can without hurting him, and run my fingers through his jet-black hair as I take a seat beside the bed. I should probably spend as much time with him as possible to try and get him used to me, and get him to understand that I'm not going to hurt him. It could take a while though; he's been through so much that he's not going to heal overnight. Noticing he's squinting from the bright light shining on him from the window, I leave him briefly and pull shut the curtains in the hope the darkness will make him feel more comfortable. It's not long before I'm back at the side of the bed.
"Kakashi?" he whispers softly.
"Yeah, it's me, Kakashi," I smile, and as much as I want to throw my arms in the air and jump around the room in joy from the fact that he remembers me, I stay calm and subdued, but only just though. "Everything's going to be alright. I'm going to look after you now, ok?"
I'm not completely sure, but I think he smiled for a brief moment. Even if I was imagining it, I want to believe that's what I saw. It hasn't been that long, but he's already looking a bit better. He's still horrifically thin and you can still see pretty much every bone in his body, but all the swellings have gone down now, and the once dark bruises and angry wounds covering his body are starting to heal and slowly fade away. He's even got a little bit of colour back, not much though, but at least it's something. I know he's going to be alright and now I just have to be patient with him and let him recover at his own pace, both inside and out.
As much as I love him, I've accepted that I'll probably never be with him romantically. He's just too damaged and I doubt he's ever going to want anyone to touch him intimately again if he can help it. I mean, who can blame him? But a guy can still hope. Although in all honesty, I don't think he'd even know how to return love and affection, it's probably an alien concept to him as I doubt he's ever really experienced it before. I hope he proves me wrong, but I'm not going to push myself on him or force him to do anything, even though it's breaking my heart that I'll never have him. But if anything does happen, it has to be his choice and his choice alone. At least I can always have the comfort of knowing he's safe, he's going to be well looked after and he'll never end up as a neglected, abused sex toy ever again. I'll die before I'd let that happen.
Lost in my thoughts, the sound of Sasuke coughing again instantly snaps me out of my dream world. I can see the tears swell up in his eyes as he struggles to cope with the pain of it, each convulsion of his chest putting more and more pressure on his sore ribs. His throat is completely raw from all the coughing he's had to endure over the past few days. Tsunade gave me some medication for him to help numb it, but it doesn't really seem to be helping. Feeling appallingly helpless right now, there's nothing I can do except hold him, run my hand through his hair, whisper reassurance and wait for the coughing fit to stop. I better get him his pain medication also to help him cope with his broken bones and the constant pain in his chest.
I will never forgive the people who did this to him, and I swear if I ever come across them, I will beat the crap out of them then and there. The thought of them makes me so angry that I have to take deep breaths to stay calm. How can they live with themselves knowing that they've shattered this boy's life? Sasuke is innocent and he never deserved any of it. Watching him suffer like this is tearing my heart in half, even more so than the thought of never being connected with him romantically.
Almost as quickly as it started, the boy's coughing fit appears to stop, thankfully with minimum blood involved. Tears run down his face as I lay him back down onto the bed to administer his pain medication just like how Tsunade showed me. It will take a while for it to kick in, so I'll stay by his side until he feels a bit more comfortable. Hopefully he'll fall back to sleep again soon afterwards.
I pull the blankets over his exposed body. I'll need to get him some clothes of his own eventually; he's too small for any of my clothes and I can't find anything in the house that fits him. He'll just have to put up with that old shirt for the time being until he puts on some weight.
Eventually he calms down enough and his eyes start to flicker closed. I think it will be alright to leave him now. Before I can walk away, I feel his delicate hand lightly connect with mine and his fingers wrap around my own like he doesn't want me to leave. I can't stop smiling to myself.
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(Sasuke's point of view)
I can't really explain it, but I feel safe around this man. He isn't like the majority of people I've encountered in my life. Perhaps it's because he's the only person who has ever really been kind to me, and the only one who cared enough to treat me like a human being ever since I was forced into prostitution. I don't really why know for sure, but I don't mind him touching me that much. Usually I'd rather chew my own arm off than let somebody touch me if I was given the choice. I guess I just don't like people near me, not that I've ever really been given the choice in the past, but even I find it strange that I'm alright with Kakashi being near me, even touching me. I don't think he'd hurt me, but it's not unusual for people to turn on me, so I'd better be cautious.
He's about to leave and for some reason I don't want him to go, I want him to stay here beside me. My body oversteps the mark without me even realising it until it's too late as my hand reaches out and grasps his. Shit! I've just done something a slave should never do! I guess I'll find out right now if he does have it in him to hit me. I screw shut my eyes, expecting to be hit, but a few seconds pass and nothing happens. Instead of punishing me like he should do, instead he takes my hand firmly into his and sits down again beside the bed. He's not going to leave me. Maybe he is worthy of my trust after all.
End of chapter 11
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Thank you for reading! I think there will only be two more chapters of this story left before it's finally over. I don't want to draw out too long on the initial stages of Kakashi and Sasuke's relationship because I don't want to bore you all lol! The next chapter will involve a jump a few months into the future where Sasuke has recovered and he experiences some strange emotions he's never felt before. Please review! Your feedback is always appreciated and keeps me writing :D
See you next chapter and sorry again for the delay, I'll try to post the next chapter up extra fast to make it up to you!
Laura xx
