Chapter 47

Morice and Breccia made it back to the hotel alone. Riker stayed behind with the other remaining Executives, still silent.

Kelly and Sanchez insisted they stay with him.

"Hang on..." The elevator still a busted wreck, they were trudging up the stairs. They made it to the second floor when the sharp pain in Breccia's back became too much and she had to stop, struggling to catch her breath.

"Just give me a minute." She managed another foot or two before leaning against the railway, exhausted.

"I got you." Morice came behind her, hooking an arm behind her knees and scooping her up in his arms. Clearly in pain himself, he struggled to hold her for the first couple steps.

"Morice I'm fine."

"Yeah, you're fine now, quit squirming."

Breccia wanted to argue further, mostly because she feared being dropped.

"I need to call Riker first thing tomorrow." She said out loud,having meant to keep it as a thought. "See how he's doing."

"How about you focus on yourself right now?" Morice deposited her in front of the hotel room door. "We'll worry about that later." Pushing the hinge ajar, both of them limped inside.

"I'll be feeling this in the morning." Breccia complained, throwing her purse on the couch. "I need a shower."

"I think we both do." Morice adjusted the bandages wrapped around his upper arm. "You can go first if you want."

Stumbling to the bathroom once she picked a change of clothes out of her sparse wardrobe, Breccia murmured something to herself before coming back into the living area. "I'm gonna need help with the clasps." When Morice responded with an uncomfortable silence, she added: "Don't get too excited, I'm wearing a slip."

She was too sore to reach her arm around back and undo the zipper. On top of that, the buttons were welded closed. "Just tare it open." Her friend did as instructed, grabbing the collar and ripping the singed svelte material all the way down.

"Shit." Morice cursed, getting a good look at the bruising on Breccia's back. "Arlia really did a number on you."

Breccia felt a shiver when his cold hands touched her back through the silk fabric of her slip. "Is it bad?"

"Understatement of the year." Almost every rib could be seen, hued brown, through her skin. It was as if someone took a marker and colored each one in turn.

Making it to the shower, Breccia found it a struggle just to bend over and adjust the knobs.

An attack in Isador

Her mind raced.

I hope Maddie and the others are okay.

In the living area, Morice pulled his shirt off over his head, trying to get a better look at his own injuries. He was bruised too, though not as severe. The burn on his upper arm still throbbed, though the nurses did the best they could. They had to scrape the first layer off, a pain he wasn't very fond of. The term '3rd degree' was tossed around, meaning it would add to his every growing collection of scars.

"Shower's open." Breccia was in the bathroom for a collective half hour before coming out in an over sized t-shirt and shorts.

Morice was in the process of digging through his own collection of clothes when she got a decent look of him shirtless. She swallowed. "Y-you can go in if you want."

"Hmmm?" He glanced up. "Oh, that didn't take you long." He noticed when Breccia looked at the wound on his arm. "It's fine, just sore."

"No." Breccia motioned. "Your shoulder." There was a deep, protruding scar running the length of Morice's collar bone.

"You've been in the slammer." Morice chuckled: "Fights happen...had some nut ball come at me with a shiv. I didn't notice I was bleeding until after the fact." He pointed to another, smaller, mark at his side, above his hip. "He got me there too."

Approaching Breccia, Morice, gentle, secured her by the chin, getting a good look at the marks on her throat. He could see the outline of her attacker's hands on her neck, ten purple and blue fingers, crushed down on her windpipe. "Bastards." He swore. "If I had been there..."

"You gave them a piece of your mind eventually."

"Not when I should've." Scraping a thumb over her swollen mouth, Morice sighed. "After what happened to Tess, I should have been more vigilant."

Breccia moved in a little closer, welcoming when he placed his hands on the small of her back. "Stop it. You did the best you could." She too ran the tip of her slender fingers across the scar on his shoulder. "You can't always be the superhero, don't hate yourself." Locking her vision onto his, she never noticed how perfectly hazel his eyes were. Within them swirled a connection of orange and brown, as if they were a perfectly combined puzzle that was already solved. "The...shower's open." She spoke this, her mind blank.

"I'll take care of it later." Moving one hand so it was positioned behind her head, Morice pulled her in. Without warning or provocation, he brought her close before clasping his mouth onto hers.

Breccia didn't respond at first. Her thoughts fogged over into a jumbled mess. Eventually, feeling his free hand rub the length of her back, she went from tense to lax and fell against him.

Truth be told, she hadn't been kissed before.

There was a neighbor boy who lived next to her mother's in Saffron who pecked her on the cheek when they were ten, but that didn't really count.

Then there was her father, bless his soul, who ran off anyone who tried to court her in her teen years.

I wonder what he'd think now.

Not sure what to do, Breccia went with the flow when Morice took the kiss deeper. She felt her legs quiver, as if they'd give out at any moment. The muscles in her stomach shook and her grip tightened.

When his tongue gently coaxed hers, she couldn't help herself. She stiffened, a plank of wood in his grasp. Morice must've took notice, because he backed away, letting her go despite his warmth comforting her.

"I-I-" She couldn't speak, choking on the words like a stone in her throat. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Morice muttered, glancing away.

He appeared agitated, something that put her on edge. Had she done something wrong? Was he mad? She didn't have any experience, was it obvious?

"I'll go take that shower." He spoke after a drawn out, awkward silence. "You can take the bed tonight, I'll give Riker the couch if he comes back in."

He walked away from her then, without so much as a cursory glance. Grabbing a change of clothes, he went to the other room, shutting the door and leaving Breccia in complete silence.