Shipwrecked

Chapter 26

A Reuben/Freddie interaction in thsi one :)

Freddie's POV

We stood at the entrance of the cave, still shocked about the sight from outside. Wendy started sobbing quietly so I pulled her closer to me and hugged her, telling her that everything was going to be okay. She cried into my shirt and screamed softly, not louder than a human's voice normally speaking. She gasped and gripped on my shirt as if it was the last thing she'd do. I held her small waist, and buried my face into her wet hair. I didn't pay attention to the cave we were in, until I heard a weak voice whisper:

''Freddie? Wendy?'' I twitched and looked around. There were two figures laying in the corner of the cave. Wendy stopped crying and looked at the same spot as me.

''Who-who's there?'' I asked, stuttering.

''It's me.. Reuben.'' At that moment I realized that the person laying in his arms had been just the one I was looking for. Her and Reuben were covered by a blanket. Both Wendy and I walked over the the darkest point of the cave, still holding each other. She bent down and hugged Reuben, who responded weakly.

''Sshh.. Guys, please, don't wake her..'' he mumbled, directing his thoughts at the small blonde in his arms. When I finally looked at her, like, really looked at her, I couldn't prevent myself from gasping. She appeared terrible. She was full of cuts and wounds and bandages... I couldn't bear to see her like that.

I had still been standing, staring at the helpless girl I was in love with, while Wendy had already sat down and cuddled next to Reuben. I bent down on my knees in front of Sam, probably looking like a zombie, but I didn't care. I caressed her cheek and moved her damp blonde hair away from her face, then leaned down and kissed her forehead at what Reuben looked away awkwardly. Her eyes fluttered open, and met mine in only a second.

''Freddie?'' she asked confused, her voice weak and hoarse. I smiled sadly and tried to hug her, but she ended up wincing in pain. Reuben reacted almost immediately by putting his hand tightly over her chest, just above her right breast. I couldn't help but wonder why he did that... And why she didn't stop him.

''Shh... Sam, calm down. It's okay.'' he comforted her, keeping his hand on the same spot. She put her hand over his and buried her face into his neck, crying softly. What the hell happened to her..?

''It's okay, Sam. It's just Freddie... It's just him.. Everything is fine.. We're fine...'' he continued talking to her, so I stopped listening to them and looked down in defeat. I could feel someone staring at me. I lifted my head and saw Wendy giving me an ''I told you so'' look. I knew exactly what she meant.

Sam kept weeping quietly and pressing herself closer to Reuben. She gripped on his shirt and hugged him, putting her hand over his chest. All I could do is just watch them. Watch them and think how it would never be me in Reuben's place. I would never get to be this close to Sam, to actually be wanted by her..

Reuben slowly moved his hand from her chest to her neck. He started running his fingers through her hair, calming her.. He gently kissed the top of her head. Right then, a tear slid down my cheek, from my eye to my chin, it mixed with the drops of rain, that were still making my face wet, and fell to the ground. I couldn't have her. And I'll never be able to have her...

He gently whispered some soothing words in her ear, focusing on her, not caring about anything else. I got why she liked him... He was in love with her.. And he wasn't afraid to admit it. He loved her... And he wasn't ashamed of that.

After a few minutes, she relaxed and closed her eyes, falling asleep. Reuben had been gently caressing her cheek so she'd feel better. Finally, he looked up at me, and to my surprise, he smiled. It wasn't the I-am-the-one-she-picked kind of smile, it was just an I'm-happy-to-see-you're-okay smile.

''If you need anything, I have some stuff over there.'' he whispered, showing me a corner of the cave that had been full of different stuff. It was weird that I haven't noticed that before.

''There should be at least one blanket left.'' he said and used one of his arms to pull Wendy closer to himself.

''Could you, please, bring them over here?'' he asked. ''She's freezing.'' he signalized to Wendy. I nodded and got the only remaining blanket there was. I sat down next to Wendy and spread the blanket over us. She continued crying quietly, so I hugged her, and held her in my arms.

Reuben started whispering to her, just like he'd done with Sam. He told Wendy that everything was going to be alright, that she's needs to rest, that we will all take care of her... Finally, Wendy was sound asleep, too, leaning on one of Reuben's shoulders. The other one was taken by Sam. So, the only two people that were awake, were me and him.

He looked at me (I swear I thought he was gonna whisper to me, too).

''Are you okay?'' he asked me quietly.

''Yeah, I'm fine. Is Sam alright?'' I asked. He looked down at her sleeping peacefully in his arms.

''She should be fine. I hope... She said something about a tiger attacking her.'' He sighed and put his head on top of hers.''I'll assume, by Wendy's crying, that you saw what happened to Shane.''

''Uh.. Yeah, we did.'' I could still remember the way his eyes and mouth were opened in fear. I looked over to Reuben and saw him closing his eyes. At first, I thought he was going to sleep, but then he opened them again, letting a tear escape them. He blinked a few times, probably to clear his sight.

''Why are you crying?'' I asked him. A small sarcastic smile creeped up on his lips. I didn't get why he was sad.. I'd give anything to be in his place, to hold Sam in my arms, to be adored by her. But he was crying. ...Why?

''Do you know how she looked like when I found her?'' he asked, agony showing in his voice.

''No...'' I stalled. His sigh interrupted the silence between us.

''I could barely recognize her.. She was... drenched in blood. Her body was so pale I thought she was dead.'' he paused.

''I guess I'm crying coz, she didn't deserve everything that happened to her.. She's just a girl, for Christs sake!'' he whisper-yelled. ''Even though she doesn't want anyone to think she needs help... She does. She can't do all this by herself.'' he said looking at the little blonde he was holding. He then gently placed a kiss on top of her head. I didn't want to say anything, mainly because I didn't know what to.

''I hope she's gonna be fine..'' he sighed, and closed his eyes once again.

''Just try to get some rest, okay?'' he asked me, not bothering to open his eyes.

''Yeah, sure..'' I hated him. I hated every inch of his being. No, you're just jelous of him, a voice in my head said. No I'm not, I fought back. Then, why do you think you hate him, it asked. Because... Exactly, the voice said and disappeared from my mind. What was that?

I heard Reuben sighing, and sniffing sadly, so I opened my eyes and looked at him, only to see a few tears pouring down his face. Was he really crying? Was it because of Sam? Or Shane?

''I'll stay awake, Freddie.'' he started, his eyes still closed. ''Someone needs to stay awake and make sure nothing goes wrong.''

''Hey, I can do it if you want to.'' I offered, hating that he was being such a goody-two-shoes.

''No, I'm probably the only one here that's had enough sleep.'' he continued.

''Well, I want to help.'' I insisted.

''Just go to sleep. That will help out the most. You need to be well-rested, okay?'' he finally opened his eyes, looking at me expectedly.

''Okay... Fine.'' I answered him uneasily, leaned my head on the cold rock behind and closed my eyes. I drifted off to dreamless sleep, which was exactly was I had been hoping for.

How could this happen? She really likes him...

I know, I know.. Sorry for the long wait... Again. Hey, I'm sorry, I've been busy. Anyways, hope you liked the chapter, review! REVIEW!

-Alex :D