The Fateful Heart 2

"Yeah, I think that -- I think that would be me. Having to... deal with that," Evaline said with a quiet strained voice, sliding the blankets off his chest. Luckily, the blankets were soft and did not affect the tender opened wound. Thank goodness.

She glanced up at James's face to move the blankets under his head again, but then had to do a double-take when she saw how pained he looked.

"Hey," she said with concern, voice and eyes immediately softening as she peered over him. Her hand instinctively went to his forehead again. Still hot, still sweaty.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? I'm sorry I didn't cushion you. It all happened so fast."

"It's okay," James said. His head was still spinning, and he attempted to reach out to her arm. All he hit was air, and his hand wavered, unstable.

"There's two of you," he said with a weak almost-laugh.

"I think one is enough," she said gently, finding his shaky hand and rubbing his palm with her thumb. She let their hands linger in mid-air for a moment before placing his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm right here."

She softly smiled down at him and, with his hand still on her shoulder, began to re-pile the blankets behind him again so that she could prop him up and finish bandaging his wound.

James kept his hand on her shoulder until two Evalines started to turn back into one. By that point, she'd propped him up again, and his head wasn't throbbing quite as much. He let his hand drop to his side so her arms would be free.

"I guess... it's a good thing we ended up here," he said quietly. "If I was already a day away from being sick."

At this point, the blankets were back to being propped behind him, and Evaline could focus back on cleaning up the wound. She sat in front of him, leaning over and peering down at his chest to focus dabbing the area with a dry washcloth. She opened the salve and began applying it on him with gentle circular motions.

"It is," she agreed. "Almost like fate."

James's chest and stomach tensed for a moment as he pushed down another laugh.

"It's almost like fate doesn't want me to die," he said quietly.

"I think you're giving fate too much credit," Evaline said without hesitation, still focused on swirling the salve over the stitched wound. It likely stung James, and she felt him tense up just a little.

"I wouldn't want you to die, either. Even if fate did." She finished applying and then rubbed her finger against the washcloth before closing the jar's lid.

"I can be pretty stubborn sometimes."

"Stubborn," James repeated, thinking back on their time together. His mind still felt muddled, but he could remember all of the times that she stubbornly deflected questions and turned the conversation back on him. In that way, at least, she was stubborn.

"We both can be stubborn," he said softly.

"I suppose," she said, gingerly placing the gauze on top of the stitched wound and then beginning to wrap the bandage around it. "Just in different ways."

Evaline wasn't normally a stubborn person—at least for things she knew she had to do. In conversation, she knew she could be pretty stubborn. She was a private person and didn't like to talk about herself. James was too, but at least he was willing to be more open than she was. And unlike her, he had some stubborn moments himself. She was often there to give him the small push he needed.

"Remember our first day or two together when we came across the river for the first time?" she asked, her mind drifting to the old memory. It felt like ages ago. That was back when he didn't know she was from Earth, and she still called him Yoen.

"I told you to get in the water, but you refused, so I gave you a little push."

Looking back on it, it was a pretty mean thing to do. She had observed him walking with a slight hobble, but she thought it was merely a past leg injury. Now she realized she must have pushed him at a tender spot where the wound was infected.

Evaline glanced up at his face with a small smile. "That's how I knew you were stubborn."

James tried to laugh, but his energy levels felt like they were dropping suddenly. Like he'd hit one peak, and now his mind was entering the feverish sludge from before, lacking all sense of clarity.

He pictured that memory again. The pain that had shot up his leg, and the freezing cold water shocking all of his senses. It had panicked him, at first.

"You know..." he said, trying to blink away the glaze over his eyes (and failing). "I thought you were going to steal Elliot or something. Take everything I had... leave me in the freezing river. I was surprised when you didn't."

He paused, half-closing his eyes.

"I didn't want you seeing me like that..." he said slowly. "I figured you'd... take advantage of me. And that's why you kicked my wounded leg."

Another pause, as he looked up at her with unfocused eyes.

"I'm glad I was wrong."

Evaline found herself slowing down her movements to wrap the bandage across his chest and back, and she stopped completely when James finished talking. She looked up at him with concern and empathy in her eyes.

"I would never do anything like that," she said softly, finding the need to defend herself even though it was clear she didn't act upon any of those fears. "I'm sorry if I led you to believe that I would."

She looked down at the bandages in her hands.

"To be honest... when I saw you like that, my first instinct was to run away. But... I'm glad I didn't."

"I wouldn't have blamed you if you did, though," James said, taking in a shallow breath. "You didn't know who I was. You had no reason to trust me."

Evaline wasn't sure if she should be blunt with the truth. If she had ran away, she would be in worse shape than if she were to stay with James. Back then, staying with him was purely strategic. There wasn't any personal feelings. She didn't think she'd be with him very long to begin with, but he was someone who wasn't aggressive, and therefore an ally.

She could feel his blame and self-pity return once more with its vicious cycle, and she didn't think the truth would help.

"I did trust you, though," she said, lifting the bandage roll to start wrapping again. "The night at the cave when it rained. It was the same week. Maybe same day. I don't remember, but... that was the day. That was the day I realized you were someone I could trust."

She looked up to meet his eyes, trying to search for something in them. Meaning or significance, maybe.

James looked up at Evaline, trying to understand.

"I think... when I learned you were from another world, it was strangely a huge relief," he said slowly. "Because I thought - if you're not from Nye, then you would have no motivation to turn me in. And you were wanted too, so I felt like you would understand."

It was odd that it took them months to have this conversation. It seemed that the two of them had been skirting by day-by-day, only looking out for their survival. But now, here in the oasis, they didn't need to do that. And it was like they could now have these conversations without the weight of uncertainty pushing down on their backs.

Although, it didn't have to be that way. And they still had trouble with James being sick. It also made Evaline nervous that Butch could catch up to them the longer they stayed. She could only hope that he was now off their trail.

"I can understand that," she said, finishing up wrapping and tying the bandage off. "I think that night was a pivotal moment for both of us, but I don't think trust is gained overnight. It happens little-by-little."

She flashed him a small smile after tying the bandage, but then traced the wrapped wound on his collarbone. It also needed to be changed.

"I'd like to think we're past the point of needing to gain trust, though."