Chapter 48: Desperate Plead

"Hayden! Hayden! Don’t scare me like this! Wake up please…please!" I shouted so loudly, and I felt like I was about to lose my mind. I have never felt this desperate before in my life.

I looked down at Hayden’s unconscious face with his eyes closed and I started crying even harder, my teardrops falling down onto his face.

I’m so sorry, Hayden. This all happened because I decided to run off. Why didn’t I listen to him when he told me to stop or when he told me again and again that it was dangerous? I’m so stupid…and now Hayden is hurt because of me…because he tried to protect me…

I squeezed his hand in mind tighter as I brought it up to my lips. I buried my face into his hand as I continued to cry. How can I get help?!

"I won’t disobey you again…I’ll do anything…please wake up Hayden. Please…save Hayden…" I said desperately as more hot tears ran down my face.

My whole body shook, and my eyes stung with tears. What would I do if I lose Hayden here? I didn’t even get the chance to thank him? How am I supposed to live with myself?

"Do you…mean it?"

I heard a weak whisper and realized that it was Hayden speaking. I looked down at my lap to see that Hayden had opened his eyes and was staring up at me.

"Hayden…thank god…" I said as relief flooded me. He’s awake…he’s conscious.

I was so overjoyed that I instinctively pulled Hayden in for a hug. I hugged his body close to mine, cradling his head against my chest. Hayden’s going to be fine. I wasn’t sure if I was hugging him to comfort him or to comfort myself. I guessed, I probably needed more comforting than he did…

"Why are you crying?" Hayden asked, sounding confused.

"Hayden…you’re bleeding…" I said weakly, my voice cracking.

"I’m ok…it’s just a scratch…" Hayden said as if his wounds were nothing.

No…it’s not…

"Are you ok? You’re bleeding…where does it hurt?" I asked. I felt so worried about him.

"I’m ok…" Hayden said as he began to sit up.

"You shouldn’t move!" I protested quickly as I grabbed his shoulders to support him.

"If I don’t move then how are we supposed to get out of here?" Hayden asked.

I was shocked at the seriousness of his tone. Even when he’s this hurt, it seemed that Hayden was more in control of the situation than I was. I watched in amazement as he slowly sat up and rubbed his head.

"Your head is bleeding…Hayden," I whispered softly.

"This much won’t kill me, don’t worry your silly little head," Hayden said casually, brushing off my worries.

I wasn’t sure if he really meant what he said or if he was just saying these things to stop me from worrying. Regardless, I really appreciated his effort in trying to calm me down and of course, what he did to save me from harm. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the state my body would be in if Hayden hadn’t used his body to shield me from the impact of the fall.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Hayden swung his arm around as if checking for other injuries. He seemed very satisfied with the state that his body was in as he stood up. I slowly got to my feet too. Hayden began feeling the pockets of his pants before reaching in and pulling out his phone.

Oh…thankfully Hayden had his phone with him.

"Shit…there’s no signal. What a joke…seriously…" Hayden said as he stared at his phone.

"There’s no signal?!" I exclaimed in shock. We’re in the city, how come there’s no signal? Did I run that far into the forest?

"Yeah…can you walk?" Hayden asked as he looked me up from head to toe.

"I’m ok…I’m not hurt…thanks to you," I mumbled as I felt his eyes on my body.

"Good. Let’s go," Hayden said as he extended a head towards me.

I reached out my hand and took his immediately, feeling thankful for his warm touch. The feel of his hand reassured me that he was ok…that he was alive. Hayden began walking in front of me, but I called for him to stop.

"Hayden…wait!" I cried out to him.

"What is it?" Hayden asked as he glanced back at me, stopping in his track.

"Umm…let me support you," I said.

I quickly walked to his side and linked his arm with mine. Hayden looked at me with a surprise look before he smiled gently at me. That smile really took me by surprise. The way his emotionless face transformed when he smiled was breathtakingly beautiful. Despite the dire situation that we were in, I felt my heart skip a beat shamelessly…

It was dark and I was starting to wonder where we were headed or if Hayden knew where we needed to go. I walked patiently by his side as Hayden guided us away from the cliff that we had just fallen down from.

"We can’t climb up the cliff but if I remember correctly there’s a way that we can circle around and go back…that or we find a place where my phone can pick up signal and call for help," Hayden explained to ease my worries.

"Ok…sounds like a good plan…" I whispered.

That wasn’t what I really wanted to say to him though. What I truly wanted to say was to thank him for saving me and to apologize for my stupid and selfish action that led us into this mess. However, I couldn’t bring myself to voice those thoughts, I was scared of what he would say to me if I did.

I couldn’t read Hayden at all so I couldn’t tell what he was feeling or thinking. However, I was sure that he was angry at me because if I were him, I would be as well. Suddenly, I felt very ashamed of myself, and the burden of the blame felt a hundred times heavier than it did before. I followed behind him wordlessly as I hung my head low.

--To be continued…