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10
Three days later
Marius pushed himself up in bed and pulled the blankets off. He was wearing a clean shirt and pair of sweats Maya had given him and was feeling his strength return. The last three days, he’d taken it easy, allowed the healing to take place, but he couldn’t just sit in bed anymore. He had to get back in the swing of things, had to walk around, build up his strength that way as well.
He sat on the edge of the bed for a moment and breathed out. For the last several days, Maya had been tending to him, nursing him back to health, and he was in her debt. Without her, he’d have died; that was a fact.
He told her he’d leave once he was better, and he would if that’s what she truly wanted, but he hoped he could show her how helpful he could be, how he could protect her if need be.
Marius wanted her to see that having him around would be beneficial. This was, after all, the kind of place he’d been hoping to come across. It had everything that would ensure them to survive: water, land to grow things, a secure location.
It was also because he wanted Maya, and with each passing day, he found that desire for her growing. She kept her gun close, was on alert, but there were moments when their eyes would lock, when they’d just hold each other’s gazes for a second.
The door opened, and he looked over to see Maya coming in with a tray of food. Steam rose up from the bowl, and she was smiling, but as soon as she saw him sitting up, she scowled. Sherman, the black lab that had gotten warmer toward him, came trotting up and butted his head up against Marius’s thigh.
“Hey, boy.” Marius rubbed the old dog’s head and lifted his gaze to look at Maya again.
She set the tray down on the bedside table and glared at him. “It hasn’t even been a week yet.”
“I know, but I have to get up and start moving, have to start earning my keep, Maya.” She seemed to glare harder at him, and he chuckled.
“You’re going to end up hurting yourself all over again, and then you’ll be right back where you started.”
She was right, but he couldn’t lie here anymore. He had to move around. Standing, Marius felt the twinge in his side from his stitches pulling slightly, but he was careful. When he stood upright, he breathed in, feeling his muscles stretch.
He needed to get his strength back. He was eating solid food again, his stomach settled enough that he was used to the thicker substance.
He was becoming stronger, but in the back of his mind, he kept thinking about the man who stabbed him and how he’d run off. What if he came back? What if he’d been planning on coming after Maya and he’d seen Marius instead?
He told her about stabbing the guy but not of his worries. He hadn’t told her any of that, because he didn’t want to frighten her, but the possibility that the fucker would resurface was real.
Marius might not want to frighten her, but Maya wasn’t a shrinking violet. She could hold her own and deserved to know the worries he had. She seemed to trust him a little more, but he could still see she was wary. He didn’t want her questioning who or what he was, or if he’d hurt her.
He wanted to prove to her that he could hold his own too, could watch over her with his life, and that he could help her take care of things here.
The more days that passed, the more that resolve filled him.
“You doing okay?” she asked and reached out as if she meant to help him.
“I got it,” he said and smiled at her. Sherman whimpered and butted his head against Marius’s leg again, and he chuckled. “It’s all good, boy.” They made their way out of the room, and he braced a hand on the wall to steady himself. He hadn’t been out of bed in the last six days anymore than was needed to go to the bathroom.
His body had been healing, and he wasn’t accustomed to moving around. But he’d have to get used to this, because too much time had passed with him worrying if that psycho would come after them. Marius could not let Maya get hurt, especially not because he could have inadvertently brought that fucker to her place.
They walked out into the living room, and he sat on the couch, feeling his side start to ache.
“Let me get your food, and you can eat out here.” She left for only a moment, and when she returned, she had the tray in hand and set it in front of him on the coffee table.
