Chapter 5: "It was an accident"
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This is the beginning of a series of short chapters.
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Thank you for your nice reviews!
Dame Iris
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Something slammed her face so hard, Cara was jolted awake. When she opened her eyes, she saw Din jumping out of bed. He was so agitated that she was sure that he'd awoken from a nightmare . Without a doubt, his bad dream was much worse than the previous one.
He walked out of the room, panting and shaking, slamming the door behind him without paying attention to her.
She was so stunned that she remained as still as a statue for a while. Then she began to feel pain. Her lips were bleeding, and her cleavage was stained with tiny blood droplets.
I can't believe it! So, what am I going to do now?
It was difficult for her, but she was able to relax. When she reflected on what had occurred, she soon realized she needed to address one issue at a time.
I needed to heal this wound first, then find him and do whatever I could to help...
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When she entered the living room, she found Din had dashed out into the courtyard, leaving the bay window wide open.
She resented herself for not pursuing him.
When she examined her wound in the mirror, she noticed that her lips were slightly gashed. The skin had already begun to redden and swell.
It was not a serious situation, nevertheless it will be visible in the morning. Of course, it would naturally draw attention to itself.
Cara did notlike that idea.
While tending to the wound, she was furious on the inside. She'd faced far stronger enemies than Din in hand-to-hand combat before, but she'd never been hurt like that. So easy. As if I were a newbie. It wasn't even a true fight.
If she were awake, such a thing would never have happened. Life is quite ironic! She thought.
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She went onto the terrace after the bleeding had stopped. She did not see her friend, so she began searching the darkness for him.
The moonlight helped her find him sitting against the courtyard's back wall. He did not look up as she approached him.
Cara wasn't sure whether he was deliberately ignoring her or if he was really too confused to notice her presence.
It did not matter to her and she sat next to him. Their shoulders were almost touching because they were so close.
Din was anxious and nervous, Cara could tell.
At the time, she did notseem all that different. It was clear that she couldn't save him as long as she was acting like this.
She wanted to take some time to calm down before speaking to her friend. She took it and finally she said.
"Din, I will stay with you. You need it. We can talk, if you want."
He remained silent, ignoring her. Cara started to feel powerless in the face of his actions.
The courtyard was perfectly quiet as she struggled to find her thoughts.
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Finally, Cara's attention was drawn by grunts and odd roars coming from a nearby lane.
She guessed quickly that it was a dwarf-sized rancor held in a basement and used for illicit fights against dogs trained for combat.
She sighs heavily as she considers that there is still a case to be resolved.
"I think we should go inside right now." She dared to say. "You know you can't sit here until morning."
Din did not move, but she acted like he had heard her.
She stood up, encouraging him to do the same, which he eventually did.
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"I'll sleep on the sofa, and you'll be quiet," she said as she walked into the dimly lit room.
She took a pillow from the bed, opened a chest, and pulled out a sheet.
Din was still standing next to the entrance. She felt like she was being held back just as she was about to cross the threshold.
Din had crossed his arm over her stomach.
"What happened?" He inquired, his tone unusually cold.
She shifted her gaze to him. She could tell he was fully lucid just by looking him in the eyes. Then, she realized she'd made a mistake.
Is it possible that I'm that stupid? Unless, It's some kind of curse!
"Doesn't matter. Now, let me go," she replied, quickly looking away from him and toward the door.
"Cara..."
"Take your arm off or..." She responded in a threatening tone.
Din's voice was no longer cold. When he inquired, it was hoarse.
"It's me, isn'it ?"
When she looked him in the eyes, his worst fears became real. Din looked terrified at first, then something she had never seen in him before, something akin to anger.
She knew the extreme feeling was all about him when he took a step away from her and slammed his fists against the wall.
He froze, his fists pressed against the wall, and blood trickled down his fingertips
He had just taken his hands off when Cara, acting on instinct and as quickly as she could, prevented him from going.
She encircled him with her harms. He couldn't fight or push back as long as she kept him against her without hurting her.
Din had earned her confidence and she knew he would never do such a thing.
She could sense how nervous he was now that she was pressed up to him in this strange embrace.
She needed to help him in calming down. She cleared her throat and spoke to him in hushed tones.
"Din, calm yourself now. I'm fine."
He remained motionless for what felt like an eternity to Cara.
He then wrapped his arms around her waist without saying anything.
He tightened her so tightly, his face hidden in her hair, that she felt an unpleasant oppression in her chest.
She made no attempt to free herself from the grip. She, on the other hand, accepted it without even comprehending the significance of her abnegation.
"How could I...", he whispered, as she felt a warm breath on her neck.
- Din, it was an accident. She tried to comfort him by saying, "It's not your fault."
Her attempt was useless. She knew him too well to know his guilt she knew it wouldn't go away that quickly.-
"This would not have happened if..." He said, slightly releasing his embrace, "I had to leave."
He seemed more puzzled than anything else.
She tought: Don't expect me to let you get away.
If the situation had not been so dramatic, and she had not been so tired from a lack of sleep, she would have threatened him to use physical violence to prevent him from pursuing this idea.
"No, you stay", she said while gently placing a hand on his cheek and turning his head slightly to look him in the eyes.
"Listen to me, you are not going anywhere. This happened because you're not yourself, and that's all."
He sighed as he closed his dark eyes.
" Cara, I hurt you..."
" Come on! As if I haven't seen anything worse!"
She responded, then firmly grasped one of his wounded hands.
"You think I'll let you do something else like that again? Din, you'll need my help."
The bloody knuckles of his fingers drew the mandalorian's attention. He had not felt any pain until then.
"We'll do what we can and we'll find a way" Cara reassured him. "I don't see any other choice for tonight but to make sure you get a good night's sleep.
I'll get you a sleeping pill, and we'll see what happens tomorrow."
He nodded.
"Good! So give me one minute and I come back", she explained, releasing her embrace and exiting the room, carefully not stepping over the pillow and sheet that had dropped to the floor.
She did not take long to return to the bedroom, carrying the supplies needed to treat his wounds. When disinfecting, she said.
'It's nothing, we're lucky." She noted before adding. "Din, I'm serious. Never do anything like that again!"
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