TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: TROUBLING THOUGHTS

VIOLET was the only thing that Margo could think of, she wondered if the girl would wake by the next day, or if she would remain in her silent stupor.

She hoped for the first.

She wanted to see Violet glare at her again before letting a small laugh slip past her lips.

"Where'd you disappear to?" Margo questioned, they were the only words she could force her brain to form, and yet, it still didn't seem like it was the right thing to ask, as if she'd intended to ask something else entirely.

"I went off to see a friend, to get you some clothes." she nodded her head as a response of sorts, not that his statement required one, just because she felt she needed to show she had heard him.

She wasn't sure why, but she did.

Neither of them spoke, mostly because they didn't know what to say.

They sat there for a few moments before Margo stood from the bed and nodded her head in the direction of the door, "I want to check on Violet."

Shifting from his spot on the bed, Mitch couldn't exactly deny her, mainly because he knew she would go off on her own to look for the girl's room if he didn't take her there himself, so, he did.

And when they arrived, they found her in the same condition they'd left her in.

Not that was surprising in the slightest, in fact, Mitch would've been surprised if she was awake.

He watched as Margo pulled one of the chairs as close to the side of the girl's bed as she could before he stepped out into the hall to find a doctor, maybe he could check and see if they had any updates on the girl's condition, maybe they even knew why she wasn't waking up.

He could see Samantha and Grayson walking together, it was no secret that Grayson had a major crush on him, which he thought to be odd as from what he had previously seen he could've sworn the boy wasn't into blondes, but anything was possible.

Taking a few steps further into the hallway, Mitch offered an apologetic smile as the two stopped in front of him, "can I steal you for a minute Sam?" glancing to check that he was alright with it, Samantha quickly strode away from Grayson and forward towards the next room where Mitch followed in after her.

"Is there any update on her? I can't just walk back in there with no answers."

Casting a look over her shoulder at the boy she'd been walking with moments before she lowered her head almost as if she was ashamed to have to answer, "they gave her some medicine, she should be fine, as long as we keep her body temperature regulated she'll wake up soon." Mitch smiled, that was what he'd been hoping to hear, what Margo had wanted to hear, and now she would.

Turning to leave, he was stopped by Sam gently grabbing his forearm to pull him back, "Mitch, William's taken an interest in her, something about her genetic structure, he says there's something abnormal about it, if I were you..." she paused adjusting the sleeve of her shirt.

"I'd not so nicely make it clear that any and all testing is off the table, and as long as you don't throw me under the bus I'll back you up when you go against him and the commanding officers."

"Thanks, Sam. I really appreciate that, let me know if there's anything I can do for you." smiling she softly nodded in response, since he'd come to the compound she'd always lingered around him, mostly because she found him intriguing and the other bit being because he had a deep shoulder wound that she knew would need to be closely monitored, and by being around him for so long she'd made a friend, one for life she hoped.

Before he was able to walk off, Sam cast a nod in the direction of the little girl's room, "so, new girl, you two seem to really know each other, have you told Morg yet?" there it was, the catchline, he should've expected it, not that it worried him, because he knew Sam wouldn't say anything to Morgan, she could be trusted like that, but because he'd forgotten how perceptive she was.

It was almost hard to believe that before all this she'd only been a med student and not working for some jackass like Stan.

"No, I'm still trying to figure out what to tell her, but I do intend to, I just need some time to think about how I'm going to, I don't wanna be an ass, you know?" Sam nodded, she knew exactly what he meant, and frankly, she felt bad he had to explain the whole thing to Morgan.

"Well. good luck with that, you should go tell the girl her little friend will be fine, I have some people to check on now, if that's all you needed?" Mitch nodded his head in response watching in silence as she walked off to rejoin Grayson before they began down the hall once more. He waited till they rounded the corner to return to the room Violet laid within.

As he entered, he took note that Margo had snagged her clipboard from the footboard of the bed and begun to look through it, and while he knew there wasn't anything too bad on it, he still worried about what she may find on it, he could handle William on his own, the last thing he wanted was for Margo to have another reason to worry. He knew that would only make things worse.

She didn't bother to look up at the sound of his boots softly thumping against the tile floor, it wasn't like there was much purpose in doing so, she knew he was there, he knew she knew, so why'd she have to acknowledge it?

"The doctors say she'll be fine, might even wake up tomorrow, it just depends on her."

Now that, made Margo look up.

She found herself blankly staring at him, she knew she should've been happy, should have been smiling, but there was something about how he'd said it, as if there was more than he was letting on, she wasn't going to push it though, she knew when not to ask questions, and she could tell by the slight furrow of his brows that he was already figuring out how he was going to handle whatever information he was withholding from her.

"Who's Morgan?" she questioned glancing down at the clipboard as the words left her mouth, Mitch replied, maybe a little too quickly for her liking, "she's someone I work with, I used to watch her little sister."

Now that, that had been a flat-out lie, one he knew she'd see through as soon as she caught sight of the girl, not once, had he ever thought he'd have to lie to Margo.

But here he was, defying all the thoughts he'd ever had towards her, all the things he'd willed himself not to do, he felt a bang of guilt strike him in the chest, was this what it felt like? To experience guilt instead of grief?

If it was, he hated it, and he never wanted to experience it again.

Mourning her had been easier than lying to her, which was odd to him, seeing as he was lying to try and protect her, at least, that's how he saw it.

Margo didn't reply, which only led Mitch to believe that she believed his lie, for now. He'd have to tell her soon though or he'd risk losing her too, which was the last thing he wanted.

But as he watched her set down the clipboard and lean her head into the palm of her hand to gaze upon Violets still body he couldn't bring himself to think of it, he wouldn't ruin this for her, not when she'd only just arrived and learned that Violet would be fine, that would be unfair in more ways than he could count.

He'd wait, wait until he'd figured out how he wanted to tell her, and then he'd talk to Morgan.

Until then, he sat in the second chair in the room and watched as Margo eventually drifted off with her knees drawn into her chest in the chair, it wasn't long until he followed suit, his brain betraying him as he attempted to stay awake.

When he awoke, he found that Margo was still sleeping, the dark circles under her eyes making her look much paler than she was, she looked so much younger when she slept, as if the tolls of life didn't exist to her.

He liked that.

But he knew she'd wake up, and with it, she would become the cold observant girl he'd first met at the barn, and he knew he couldn't change that. He wouldn't ever get his Margo back, just a shell that resembled her.

He wondered how she'd be with the girl, if he'd see the girl he'd known so well those few months ago, or if he'd see the girl Stan had so diligently and delicately trained, he wondered if he could live like that, loving someone that he hadn't ever loved. Someone so unfamiliar to him, for a few moments he thought he might not be able to, but he knew, in his heart, that he'd never be able to let go of her, and that seemed to be the only weakness that ran through his veins, almost like a poison.

Instead of letting his thoughts hang over him like rain clouds, he quietly slipped out of his chair and out into the hallway to grab a tray from the cafeteria, he knew she'd be hungry when she woke but too stubborn to go down and get food she thought she didn't need.

It wasn't until he returned to the room with the tray of food that he felt some of the guilt slip away from his heart, there sat Violet, her big doe eyes wide with curiosity as Margo leaned over her with a smile, a smile Mitch hadn't seen in ages.

Leaning to glance past Margo, Violet furrowed her brows, "you must be the dumbass that asked me if I had dead or alive bodies with me."

Mitch couldn't help but laugh a smile taking over his lips as Violet let a laugh slip past her own, he could live like this, the three of them, together, happy.

Like a little family.

He could imagine it, hell, he could imagine himself enjoying it with every fiber in his being.

Setting the tray down on the counter directly across from Violet's bed, he made his way to the empty side of her bed and extended a hand out in her direction, "I'm Mitch." he spoke as she gently grabbed his hand and shook it.

"I'm Violet." she responded letting her hand fall beside her on the bed, "you can call me Ass Kicker though."

Pursing his lips together, he shook his head before smiling, "Violet it is."

Still staring at Mitch, Violet furrowed her brows once again, "you know, I've heard a lot about you, some on my own, and some from others, still can't figure out if you were worth almost dying over."

Mitch gave a short nod of his head, "fair enough, I'd be a little annoyed too if I was in your position." he returned to the counter across from her bed and retrieved the tray before bringing it over to her bedside, "so, as my apology, I brought you cake."

Violet leaned forward towards the man her brows still drawn together before she leaned back, "hopefully you didn't almost get it killed."

Margo rolled her eyes at the remark as Violet let out a laugh, "oh come on, I was joking!" she exclaimed watching as the man in front of her returned her smile and gently set the tray on her lap, "I think I liked it when you were sleeping, nice and quiet." he teased pulling his seat back to her bedside as he'd done the night before.

"Ha ha, so funny." she spoke shifting in bed to sit up before she picked up the fork on the plate and plunged it into the chocolate cake.

She chewed through the contents in her mouth for a few moments before turning her gaze to Mitch, trying her best not to spew food, Violet found her words slightly mumbled as she began to speak.

"This is really good, I think I might forgive you."

Both the adults let out laughs of their own smiles resting on their faces as they watched the girl.

TORN FLESH

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE: TROUBLING THOUGHTS