Free Stay by C.C. Jackson Page B

toward me again and this time I did
not hesitate. I lifted my leg and kneed him in the groin with all
of my might. He crumpled over clutching himself, and I followed up
by delivering a massive blow to the left side of his face.
    His head flew back with the force of my fist,
knocking him off balance. He landed onto the floor with a thud. I
leapt on top of him, straddling his waist. He struggled to sit up
but I would not let him. I raised my fist and landed blow after
blow to his face.
    I could not stop myself. The rage and despair
from the events that took place over the last week came boiling out
of me with every strike of my hand. I could feel my tears burning
my eyes but I ignored them. I wanted nothing more than to hurt
Brokk, just as he had hurt me.
    I heard my name echoing through the depths of
the tunnel, but I never relented. I continued my onslaught of
punches until I felt warm hands grab onto my elbow just as I was
about to land another blow. I snapped up with eyes blazing to see
who was blocking my fury.
    I stared at Kailen with hate in my eyes for
just a moment. Then the realization of my actions hit me like a ton
of bricks and I slumped over against his chest and sobbed. My hand
throbbed from the abuse that I had just put it through and it was
starting to swell. The skin around some of my knuckles was cracked
and bleeding. I clutched it to me to try an ease some of the
pain.
    Kailen pulled me off of Brokk and rested his
back against the tunnel wall as he held me to him. A deep sorrow
filled me, and then remorse. My tears soaked his shirt as I cried
for my parents, and for the life that I could no longer have. I
cried for the pain that was still sharp in my heart from Brokk’s
betrayal. I cried out of desperation for having no place to go. I
had never felt so lost and alone.
    As my tears began to slow, I remembered where
I was. I raised my head to see that Kailen was watching me. He
still held me cradled in his arms as he wound his hand in my hair
and stroked the back of my head. He had been whispering sweet
encouragements in my ear, but I had never heard them. I was too
lost in my own grief to hear anything.
    I looked over my shoulder to see that Brokk
was still lying in the middle of the tunnel. His arms were splayed
out at an awkward angle and his head was turned to the side, facing
me. His left eye was swollen and a dark purple bruise was spreading
across his left brow and cheek.
    “Is he alive?” I asked Kailen in a quiet
tone.
    “Yes, he is alive.” He said with a chuckle.
“But I think he will be out cold for a while. I don’t know about
you, but I do not want to be around when he wakes up.”
    “I think you are right.” I said as I started
to stand.
    I wiped the remaining tears from my face, and
brushed myself off. Kailen picked up my backpack and helped me put
it on, and then pulled on his own.
    “We better move fast, I doubt that the rest
of the guards are going to be far behind him.” He said gesturing to
Brokk.
    I looked at Brokk for a long moment. It was
hard to believe that it had only been a little over a week since I
was in the tunnel with him. I remembered how easy trusting him had
been, even after all that he had done. I never would have
considered myself that naive. There was just something about him
that drew me to him, even when my entire being was screaming to me
that I should be afraid.
    The way he penetrated me with those eyes.
Just the thought of them filled me with a deep regret. I thought
that I was falling in love with him. I looked at the ring on my
finger as it held my swollen hand near my heart. I wished that
things could have turned out different, that we could have had a
life together. I guess it was just never really meant to be.
    I debated on whether or not I should return
the ring to Brokk. When he first gave it to me, I had taken it as a
promise of a future that would be full of love and wonder. I guess
that I had been hoping for a fairytale. I just did not see how