Page 44 of The Wolf and the Monarch

Benji released a breath and nodded. “Great.”

He didn’t say anything in response. He just chewed on his lower lip and nodded once. The thought of talking to Cole about everything put a pit in his stomach. Sawyer wasn’t even sure why. Cole was a pretty nice guy all things considered. Perhaps it was just the fact that asking him for such a big thing really felt like Sawyer was quitting. But he needed to get out of there. After what happened with Milo, he really believed that he was going to die there if he didn’t. Not to mention he couldn’t stand working for him anymore. He was sick of it. He needed a change. He needed to start his own life.

Cole had to understand that, right?

He sure hoped he would.

Chapter Twenty Two

Sawyer

Just as Sawyer had said, he did, in fact, check out the schedule. He made sure to do it mid afternoon because that was when most were off doing jobs. Milo was typically one of them. The last thing he wanted was to run into his uncle. What would he even say to him? Probably nothing good so it was really just for the best.

The schedule was pretty typical. They never sent everyone out at once just in case something happened and backup was needed in some way. From what he could see, there were a few days in the next week where a good chunk of the bunker would be gone. Thursday and the following Monday. The earlier they left the better, most likely, but the weather also played a factor. And Cole.

The thought of asking Cole for his car made Sawyer want to vomit. They weren’t not close but even asking someone you were close with for their whole fucking car seemed like a big ask. And he doubted that Cole would ever see the car again. Who in their right mind would just be willing to give that up? How would he even get home? He supposed that he could just steal the car but that didn’t feel right. Sawyer wasn’t a car hijacker and Benji didn’t particularly look like one either.

The only thing he really could do was ask. As much as he knew that he should ask Benji about what day he preferred, he didn’t. He just went straight to Cole’s med bay.

Well. Almost.

For a while, he just stood around the corner, trying to hype himself up but it wasn’t really working. And the more he attempted, the more nervous he got. Sawyer had half a mind to just turn around and go back downstairs but that wouldn’t help anyone. So before he did that, he just walked towards the door and knocked on the frame a couple times. He peered his head in and was so happy to see that Cole was alone.

He lifted his head from the crossword puzzle book he was doing and quirked his eyebrow. “Didn’t expect to see you today,” he paused, “Or any day, really.” Sawyer didn’t go to the med bay very often. Usually Cole found him. “How’s that back doing?” Cole stood up from his seat and presented the bed towards Sawyer.

“It’s okay.”

“Let me take a look.”

“I didn’t–”

“Lay down, Sawyer.” Cole stated clearly then moved to grab some gauze and bandages.

Sawyer obviously hadn’t come to him for that but it probably wasn’t a bad idea to get it cleaned and rebandaged. He closed the door behind him and moved towards the bed, like he was told. As gingerly as he could, he pulled the shirt off his torso and sighed.

Cole came back over and placed the supplies down on a table then put on a pair of gloves and began to gently pull the old bandages off. He hissed and Sawyer turned his head. “Sorry,” he muttered, “Just looks like shit.”

“Isn’t it your job to make it not look that way?”

“I did what I could. You know it’s gonna look worse before it gets better.”

“Do I know that?” Sawyer asked, clearly sarcastic.

Cole shook his head. “Smart ass.”

The two were silent for some time while the medic dabbed at the wounds with some antiseptic and bandaged them back up. There was a large part of him that was rather curious about how the wounds looked, but he also didn’t want to see it. It would likely just make him sad. For so many reasons. He didn’t need that right now. He needed to focus. Once satisfied with that, Cole grabbed a stool and brought it over so he could sit while he rebandaged his hand. Sawyer supposed he would get a good look at that one. That would be more than enough.

He kept his gaze steady upon his hand while Cole unwrapped it and the moment he saw it, his stomach dropped and a wave of nausea hit him. “Oh my God,” Sawyer groaned and closed his eyes with a shake of his head. The wound looked absolutely horrendous. The outer edges of the hole were scabbed over. The stitches were barely doing anything. He didn’t know he had stitches but he supposed that something had to be done about it. Sawyer was going to need to see a doctor about it sooner than later… And thinking about it, it was a miracle he could still feel and move his hand at all. He had noticed that his ring and middle finger weren’t moving like they used to but he would take the three out of five, he supposed.

“Yeah,” was all that Cole said while he shook his head.

Sawyer finally reopened his eyes so he could gaze at the man before him. He wasn’t sure when the best time to ask was but now was as good of a time as any, right? “What kind of car do you drive?” What a way to kick it off…

Cole didn’t think much of it. “A two thousand two Chevy Trailblazer.”

“Oh, yeah. Right, right,” he said with a nod.

“Why?”