Page 24 of The Wolf and the Monarch

With some minimal help from Andi, the shirt was on and next was the pants. Once again, Sawyer made brief eye contact with him and there was no hint of him not wanting him to proceed, so he stripped off his bottoms completely. He slipped on a pair of his boxers and some light pajama pants. They weren’t the warmest things, but at least they were dry. “That should help,” he offered softly and stood back up, folding his arms across his chest. Andi, again, just nodded and folded his own arms. Sawyer really should have tied him back up but he could give him some time to recover. It wasn’t like Milo would be coming back down any time soon. Sawyer stepped away from Andi and took a seat on the mattress.

Even with the new clothes, Andi was still shivering and chattering his teeth. There wasn’t much he could do about that except go and find a blanket. But he doubted that would go over well. And to be honest, Sawyer was pretty keen on staying as far away from the upstairs as he could for the time being. So, instead, he just stared at him as if his gaze would be enough to inject warmth into his body.

“Y-You’re s-s-staring at me.”

Sawyer turned his gaze down. “Sorry.”

“I-I don’t care… Just noticed.”

“You care enough to mention it.”

Andi shrugged but it was barely noticeable from his intense shivering. “W-Why are you s-staring at me?”

Sawyer blinked at that question and turned his gaze back towards Andi. “I just…I don’t know.”

“You do.”

That was true. Sawyer did know why he was staring. “I feel bad.”

“Y-You didn’t d-do it.”

That was true but that didn’t mean that he didn’t feel awful for everything that had happened. He wasn’t there when they initially took Andi, but from the way they spoke about it on the trip back, it sounded like it could be quite traumatic for him. Sawyer just felt guilty by association, even if he was trying to do everything in his power to distance himself from his uncle and everyone else there. “Yeah…”

“So don’t feel b-bad.”

Sawyer appreciated that notion, but he still would. It was just who he was.

Standing up, he unzipped his hoodie and walked over to Andi so he could sling it over his shoulders. Sawyer could tolerate being cold down there. He wasn’t the one who had possible hypothermia. Andi turned his head a bit and looked up at him as he wrapped the hoodie around him tighter. He didn’t say anything but he could see the appreciation in his eyes and that was enough for him. Though, really, Andi didn’t owe him any thanks. He just wanted the guy to be okay.

For the next few hours, they didn’t say much of anything. It was mostly just Sawyer watching Andi while chewing on his thumbnail. He was really expecting him to get better and better, but that didn’t seem to be the case. In fact, it was quite the opposite. By the end of the second hour, Andi was slumped down in the chair. His shivering had subsided for the most part but when Sawyer had placed his hand on him again, he was still ice cold. “Andi, hey.”

Andi moaned, “What?”

“Tell me what’s going on. How are you feeling?”

“Bad.”

Sawyer sighed, “Right. I figured as much… You’re still freezing.” The hoodie hadn’t helped at all.

“Cold and hot.”

His brow raised. “Both?” Andi just nodded. It had to be from the wound. He lifted up his shirt to check on the wound and it had just gotten worse over that time. “Shit.” It had to be infected. Sawyer wasn’t sure what was the more pressing issue. He could still hear people walking around upstairs so that pretty much made up his mind about what to handle first.

“Can you stand?” Sawyer asked and Andi just shrugged one of his shoulders. “Well, let’s test it.” He wrapped his arms around him before he lifted him up. Andi attempted to help but as soon as he was up on his feet, he just collapsed against Sawyer. “Okay, okay. Relax, I got you. You’re fine.” It was bizarre to be saying that considering everything. Andi had been drugged and kidnapped then tortured for information. One would likely say that he was anything but fine. But with Sawyer, he was. He would make sure of that.

Luckily for them, the bed wasn’t that far from where Andi was hanging onto Sawyer for dear life. He moved with the man in that direction and as gently as he could, he laid him down onto the mattress. He watched the man’s body collapse immediately onto the plush of the mattress. Even if the thing was old and not in the best shape, it had to be far more comfortable than anything he had experienced in the last few days.

Crawling onto the mattress as well, Sawyer kicked off his shoes and laid down behind Andi. At first, he just laid on his side, staring at the back of his head. Are you really going to do this? It wasn’t like he had much of a choice. The last thing he wanted for him to die of hypothermia. Andi didn’t deserve that. He hadn’t deserved anything he had experienced, to be honest, but certainly not that. Swallowing hard, he wrapped an arm around Andi’s waist and pulled the man back against him. He then moved his arm underneath Andi’s and across his chest.

Even with the exhaustion, he expected Andi to fight or punch or kick him. But he didn’t. He didn’t combat him at all. For a few moments, his body was stiff. But after a while, he just sank back against him. He was so fucking cold. Andi was just shuddering against him. He wasn’t even sure if he had enough body heat to warm him up, but it was better than nothing. “I got you, Andi,” Sawyer said, “You’re going to be okay. I promise.”

Andi’s hand clutched Sawyer’s arm. His palm was ice cold. “Am I?”

That was truly a loaded question. It could mean so many things at that moment. Would he be okay after the hypothermia? The infection? From Milo? Sawyer knew it was risky saying anything more but he couldn’t help it. “Yeah, you are.”

“Okay, S-Sawyer.” Andi practically whispered as he kept his back pressed against Sawyer’s warm chest.

Chapter Fourteen