Take Me Away novel Chapter 131

The weather in P City always felt like spring all year round. Even during the early hours of the morning, the temperature felt hot. Spencer was dripping with sweat when he woke up. After dabbing his forehead with a towel, he lifted the quilt from Fiona so that she did not feel too warm. Having done that, he walked out of the room to wash up.

Fiona felt a bit chilly as she stirred. With eyes half-closed, she reached for the quilt and pulled it back over her. She had never been one to get up late in the morning, but that day, she wanted nothing more but to stay in bed. Also, she felt like her temperature was a bit high.

Last night, Spencer made love to her a little too forcefully. She vaguely remembered how he stroked her back as he held her.

Recalling this, Fiona jolted up in her bed and touched her back. Her skin felt smooth. There was no trace of the scars that used to mar her complexion. Spencer must have noticed it, too. But why didn't he say anything?

Doubt and worry crept into her heart but she didn't know what to make of her thoughts.

She had been staying in Spencer's room for the last three days without going out. Every now and then, her temperature would climb and she would suffer from a slight fever.

One morning, Fiona had just finished breakfast when she heard that George wasn't taking his medicine or eating his meals. She immediately rushed to the infirmary.

As she approached the ward, she heard a loud noise coming from his room.

"I said I don't want to eat! Leave me alone!"

She was still a short distance from the door when she heard George growl. She quickened her pace. She was about to enter the room, when she bumped into a nurse leaving George. She was carrying a tray of food that looked untouched. When she saw Fiona, she merely shook her head.

"Let me try," Fiona said as she held her arms to receive the tray. "Can you hand me his meal?"

"Okay." The nurse nodded and gave the tray of food and medicine to Fiona.

After thanking the nurse, Fiona gently opened the door and called out, "George..."

"I said, get out! I don't want to see anyone!" George was lying in his bed staring out of the window. Even without seeing his face, she could tell that he was seething.

"George..." Tears ran down her face as soon as she saw him. She stood still and sobbed. Her voice trembled when she opened her mouth, calling out, "George..."

"Fiona..." George immediately turned as soon as he recognized Fiona's voice. With both concern and guilt in his eyes, he asked, "Why are you here? What I said earlier, that wasn't meant for you."

"Sorry, George! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Fiona lowered her head as tears streamed freely from her eyes. She cried so hard she almost choked.

"Fiona!" Anxious and worried, George sat up and pulled off his quilt to go and comfort her, only to remember that he couldn't walk. His face fell as he clenched his fists and slammed them on his legs.

This action caught Fiona's attention. Seeing George angrily beating his legs, she quickly put the tray down and grabbed his hands to keep him from hurting himself. "George! What are you doing?"

"I'm a useless man now. I can't even comfort you," George said fiercely. His face contorted to an expression pain. "My legs... are useless. What does it matter if I hit them?"

Unable to say a word, Fiona merely held George's hands. Guilt and self-reproach consumed her. It was as if all the nerves in her body twisted in sympathy and pain.

The ward instantly became so quiet that only Fiona's gasps and sobs could be heard.

"Well, please don't cry." George raised a hand to wipe off her tears. "At least, I can still use my hand to wipe your tears. If you cry, people who don't know us might think I'm bullying you."

Hearing George's gentle words, Fiona could help but burst out into tears.

Her body shook like a leaf. She could no longer tell whether she was crying out of guilt for having caused George's injury or for all the pain she had suffered in the last decade. She just let the tears stream freely from her reddened eyes.

It took a few minutes before Fiona finally declared, "I won't cry anymore." George raised his head and looked up to Fiona with a smile on his lips, even though his own eyes also looked red.

"George..." Fiona sniffed and continued, "It's all my fault. If you didn't have to rescue me... I'm so sorry..."

"I volunteered." George's voice was soft when he spoke. "I know I can no longer stand up, but I will never regret saving you. I'm happy that you're safe and that I didn't let someone down."

Fiona blinked back her tears and asked confused, "Someone? Who are you talking about?"

"Spencer." George shifted his body to make room for Fiona to sit beside him. Fiona sat down and looked at George with a puzzled expression.

"We received an email from X. They said that they had Celine. They asked to meet with Spencer alone. There was nothing Spencer could do about it. He had to rescue Celine by himself. But before he left, Spencer trusted me with the most important task of rescuing you. Of course, I had to give it my all, right?" he said with a smile.

'So it wasn't Spencer's own choice to rescue Celine?' she thought. Her heart softened a bit, but more questions entered her head. "What is X?"

"It's a criminal organization founded by Charles."

"X..." It was then when Fiona understood the mark on her shoulder. Her heart sank, thinking that the X on her skin was an even more painful reminder than the scars she used to have.

As they talked, the atmosphere in the ward shifted to a newfound calm. Outside, two young nurses who had observed what was happening whispered to one another.