I always hated when my scars started to fade, because as long as I could still see them, I knew why I was hurting. 

- Jodi Picoult, Handle with Care

When Leah woke she was lying down, her head resting on a rolled up sleeping bag and her injured leg propped up against a tree. Her jeans had been ripped off at the top of her thigh and replaced with cotton and gauze. She glanced around and found a tangle of branches above her and a small creek to her left. The grass underneath was soft and damp, a stark contrast to the packed earth she'd been sleeping on for the past few nights.

"How are you feeling?"

The voice came from her other side, and Leah swivelled around to find Jared. Her vision blurred with the movement and she let out a quiet groan. Jared had been leaning casually against a nearby tree, but sat up quickly and moved over to her.

"Do you want some pain killers?"

Leah blinked up at him, letting her vision return to normal. "No. It's okay."

She glanced at her leg once more and tried an experimental flex of her thigh. It sent a throb of pain up her spine and she lay back with a huff.

"On second thought, pain killers would be great."

Jared nodded and retreated to grab the first aid kit from his bag. Leah watched him silently. His hair was greasy and there were sweat patches under his armpits. The exhausted sheen that ran across his skin was one she hadn't seen before and she couldn't help but wonder how long she'd been asleep, and how far he'd carried her.

"It'll get better." He said, returning to her side with some pills and a water bottle. "You lost some blood, but you got lucky. The bullet missed any major arteries, and people heal quickly here. You'll probably be okay by tomorrow morning as long as you rest."

Leah eyed him curiously.

"How close was I to dying?"

"Close enough."

Leah tipped the tablets into her mouth and washed them down. She was oddly disturbed by that information. If this incident had happened in the live world, would be she have died? Would she be back here with no escape route?

Jared was watching her quietly, his brow furrowed. She wasn't sure if his defences were getting worse, or she was getting better at reading him, but she could sense a question hanging at the back of his throat.

"What?" she asked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jared's head cocked to the side, his gaze curious. "Why didn't you run away?"

"What?"

He lent forward, watching her carefully. "When I started fighting, you were meant to run."

"I did run," Leah said defensively. "I just didn't want to lose the camp, so I came back once I ditched the officers that were chasing me."

Jared raised an eyebrow. "We must have different definitions of 'ditched'."

Leah gave her best impression of a glare, however she was fairly certain it lacked its usual menace. "I got distracted and one of the other officers found me."

"Distracted by what?"

"I heard voices and I thought you might've need help."

Jared leant back against the tree, folding his arms loosely around his legs. His eyes held hers and Leah felt his gaze down to her bones. It was the kind of penetrating look that made her feel both vulnerable and defensive.

"You were worried about me?" Jared asked.

The unexpected question threw Leah off balance.

"No," she spurted out quickly. Too quickly.

She wanted to kick herself when Jared's mouth twitched up into a wicked grin in response, a knowing glint within his eyes.

"I mean, yes," Leah revised hastily. "I didn't have a weapon. If you got hurt we would've been caught."

Jared shifted subtly closer and Leah froze. She wanted to back away, but was unwilling to give him the satisfaction of seeing her discomfort.

"So, you were selfishly worried?" he clarified.

Leah nodded quickly. "Yes."

Jared's eyes flashed and Leah instantly regretted agreeing with him.

"Just because I was hurt, it didn't mean you couldn't have gotten away," he said. "I'm sure you could've figured out how to get to the whirlpools yourself."

Jared was close now. Close enough that she could see that his eyes weren't solely blue, but streaked with green and brown.

"Um," Leah said, overwhelmed by his proximity and her recent blood loss. "Well, yeah, I could've."

"So since what happened to me wouldn't have overly effected you, why were you worried?"

Leah's mouth opened, but no sound came out and Jared's grin widened. She could feel a blush rising in her cheeks and she glanced around once more, desperate for a change of topic.

"Where are we?"

Jared eyed her for a moment with a smirk, before leaning back. Leah felt her chest decompress as her air cleared of him. She was uncharacteristically annoyed that he'd managed to fluster her so easily and she shot him a glare for good measure.

"We're just south of Port Macquarie," Jared answered, ignoring her disgruntled stare. "About a kilometre from our camp this morning."

Leah's eyes bulged. "You carried me that far?"

Jared shrugged. "It wasn't the best day I've ever had, if I'm being honest. But yeah, I did."

Leah wasn't entirely sure what to say to that so she leant back and allowed her eyes to slip closed once more.

"This is all getting too complicated," she muttered. "I just want to get to these stupid whirlpools before someone else attacks us."

Jared chuckled. "We're close now. We only have a couple more days of walking."

Leah kinked one eye open to look at him. "Really?"

"Yup," Jared said. "Soon you'll be rid of me forever."

His words polluted Leah's mind and she felt something inside of her lurch, like she wanted to heave them back up and out of her system. She realised belatedly that she'd been staring at Jared for an uncomfortable length of time. He cleared his throat and stood up, running a hand through his messy hair as he glanced down at her.

"You should probably try and get some sleep," he said. "You'll heal faster."

Leah nodded and closed her eyes, the uneasy feeling sitting in the pit of her stomach evaporating quickly as sleep claimed her.

...

Jared could pinpoint the exact moment Leah fell asleep. Her brow furrowed characteristically and incomprehensible words began murmuring past her lips as she recovered yet another memory. He sighed and looked away, staring blankly at the creek. He'd given up trying to fight the dread that settled in his gut every time Leah started dreaming. It was a pointless and exhausting battle and he'd accepted that he would remain in this mind-numbing limbo until the morning she woke with memories of him; of who he was and what he'd done.

He almost wanted it to happen. In fact, he needed it to. Her trust in him was screwing with his mind. She was making him forget their reality, and despite his better judgement he couldn't shatter the peaceful naivety this world allowed. It was too enticing to give up voluntarily, particularly when Leah kept looking at him like he was someone else.

Someone who verged on good.

He wasn't entirely sure when this regard for her opinion began, but if he could rewind time and smash it's origin to a million pieces, he probably would. Because none of this would make a difference. Not to anything that mattered, at least.

Jared looked over at Leah once more, checking her leg was still elevated and there was no new blood on the bandage, before standing up. It was probably time for another dose of reality. Lord knew he needed it.

With a final glance at Leah's still form he twisted the ring on his finger and vanished, hoping she wouldn't wake up before he returned.