Hey guys, I just published ch. 7 about two hours ago, and immediately got 2 reviews, gimme a break , that's about 33% of my reviews, and I'm up at 11:45 p.m for this, mostly out of joy. To lazy girl and can't spell, I hope you read the rest of the story and found out where the romance part is going to come in, and I hope the rest of you give me a piece of your mind and leave a review! Don't worry though, I hate those pricks who withhold chapters just to squeeze a few reviews out of people, people will review when your story is bigger and worth reading.
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"How are you so calm?"
"Well, I've seen him hurt badly before, and with all those dirt naps he's been taking absorbing those blast cores, Hell, he's sleeping about a quarter of the time we're together. And with that, I leave you to it. I gotta go work my shift."
"Take care Zeke." As Zeke started to walk away Kuo grabbed his arm. Then quickly let go when she saw him try to hide a flinch.
"Hey, if you could just not tell Cole about anything that happened back there, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Zeke took a long hard look at her. She could see the outlines of his eyes, but couldn't tell if he was sizing her up. "I ain't about to lie to my Brother. But… if he doesn't ask, I won't mention it."
Kuo didn't feel comfortable enough to sit down until she heard the door close behind Zeke. She took her seat next to Cole's bed. He was set up to an I.V., though puncturing his skin had proven to be a bit of a struggle. He looked extremely peaceful, despite his more than chaotic life. Kuo thought about Cole's life. It hadn't been the most peaceful thing growing up, a less than accepting Father who was constantly working , a Mother who would also be gone from home taking up any extra shifts she could manage, and despite it all, he still grew up to be a hero. While, she knew the truth, that he was constantly stressed about being good enough. He didn't gain anything from the people marching the streets for him like most people thought. Without thinking about it, she began slowly stroking his head. The stubble tickled her hands. She absent-mindedly kept stroking his head until she remembered that she hadn't had any physical contact with Cole, like this, since her hit on her back at Arlington Cemetery. Her heart fluttered until it almost broke when she realized that the only reason she was doing it was because he wasn't conscious to deny her. She took her hand away, only to hear a grunt from Cole.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Unnnhhhh."
Does he? Could he want me to? Kuo put her hand back on Cole's head. He made another grunt, but this one sounded pleasant. Blushing a bit she decided to keep it there as long as she could.
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Cole was dreaming. In a bit of his head, he knew it. He was in New Marais, with Trish. The rest of his mind pushed the truth as far back as it could, even Cole knew that Cole needed this.
"What are we doing here, Honey?"
"What, I can't spend a little time with our best man?" Cole asked with a smile on his face. "Tisk, tisk. Even after I decided to bring my whole family with me when you said you were fine staying back at Empire."
"Not so loud Cole," Trish scolded him. "You'll wake Tommy up. You know he doesn't sleep as soundly as Amata."
"I know. I'm just glad you're here with me."
"But Cole, we're not. We never were."
"What are you- ." Cole began to question when he noticed that Trish was fading away.
"Cole, you need to understand. We can never be. For all those people, in the future. You did this to yourself, despite it all."
His mind was in a daze. Allowing himself to remember some things, allowing him to have a conversation and think about what he was saying, despite not letting him know that Trish wasn't real.
"But I did that all for power. Not to be more powerful, but to be ready for anything. I'm ready for anything, anything to save you. My family."
"Cole, you still can. You can still save the memory of what you could've had."
"But why would I need to?"
"Because you know that this," Trish gestured to their home in Empire that was suddenly there, "is all a lie."
"What do you want from me!?" Cole asked in anguish.
Trish went behind him and started stroking his hair, "I want you to forgive yourself."
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Cole opened his eyes. He was facing a wall. He didn't move. Then he realized that he still felt Trish's hands. He turned to face her, hope combined with grogginess clouding his senses.
"Cole, you're awake!" Kuo said taking her hand away. Cole quickly snatched her hand back.
"Kuo." He said with an expression that Kuo would've read as disappointment if she hadn't read his eyes. Was it regret?
"Hey, are you ok? Are you alright? Where are we?"
"Calm down, Cole. We're at one of Zeke's safe houses. How are you feeling?"
"I'm… great. Well, not really. Kuo. We have to talk."