Saving Who?

Chapter 22

"But my legs are hurting." I whined like a small kid who didn't get any candy.

"Lean against me." Jon grabbed me by the waist. 

Talen stiffened a little which made me wonder why he was acting that way. "Talen, do I need to ask you to smile or is it too difficult." nana asked him sarcastically.

"No ma'am. Sorry ma'am." he said.

"That's better." she smiled satisfyingly.

"Now it's your turn to get in there with them." Richard held his hand open for her to pass him the camera.

"What? No, it's slippery." she made excuses and that's when I jumped into mock her.

"Get in here Rosa. Do I need to force you to?" I said in her tone causing everyone, including Talen to laugh.

"Fine!" she said.

 Later on that night, when everyone was fast asleep, I was wide awake, partially excited to get back to my kitchen and also because I didn't know what to do about Talen.

Since it was already 3 in the morning, and I had to be at work in another hour to start my usual prep work, I decided to indulge in an extra long bubble bath. When I was all ready to leave within the next half an hour, I heard grunts and someone talking loudly.

Making my way to the source of it, I found myself standing in front of the room Talen was residing in. Cracking the door open slightly and quietly, I prayed that no one else was in there with him because it would be fucking awkward if he was shacking it up with someone else.

But it was just him, having what seemed like the worst dream ever. There was a slick sheen of sweat that covered his forehead. 

"Don't hurt them. Don't hurt them. Take me. Let the rest go." he winced.

What was I supposed to do? I crept to the side of the bed and sat down. Gently, I grabbed his hand and ran my fingers through his now damp hair.

"Talen. Talen, wake up baby." I said softly.

Still no response, he kept on talking "I promised his family he would be fine. Leave them be." he said making my lips tremble because he had started to cry in his sleep.

"Shh shh, come on. Wake up. Listen to my voice Talen." I said as calmly as I could.

His eyes cracked open a little "Katerina?" he croaked.

Removing my fingers from his hair, I looked at his fear stricken face "Was I having a bad dream?" he asked me.

"Yea, you were. You want some water?" I handed him my bottle that I usually took to work.

He chugged half of it down and passed it back to me "Thank you... I don't know.. how to deal with this. Hopefully, I will in time." he leaned against the headboard.

"Where are you off to at this time?" he looked at me curiously.

"Off to work. I need to make sure the bread and pastries are made freshly every day. That takes a lot of time." I answered handing him a small towel to wipe his head. His blanket slipped down to reveal his impressive chest. 

"Mind if I come along?" he said causing me to be speechless momentarily.

"It's alright if you don't want me to." he quickly tried to cover.

"No, no it's fine by me. I just don't know why you'd want to come along when you can sleep. No one has ever followed me to work this early." I bit my lip trying very hard to focus on his face and not on his body as he starting getting out of his bed.