Revolution- Runaways 3 [EDITING]

Chapter 28: Peyton

Eli slept most of the day, which I didn't mind. I was just beyond grateful that he made it back safely. But when Michelle told me she had an urgent message for him, I didn't hesitate to wake him up.

I brushed his shoulder gently, trying to stir him. He didn't respond, so I shook his shoulder more aggressively. Finally, he rolled over and groaned. This was his usual reaction when I had to wake him up, but we didn't have time for this at the moment.

"Eli," I told him. "Michelle requested you. She said she has some pretty important information." He mumbled something into his pillow. "Eli."

"What time is it?" he asked.

"It's after five in the afternoon. You've gotten a pretty good amount of sleep by now."

Grudgingly, he sat up. His neck was already purple from his dad's hands, and he was holding it at a weird angle. I cradled it with my hands as tenderly as I could. He had been wincing if I touched it the wrong way. Not to mention his head had been killing him, and he had thrown up several times since he got back. Everyone said that it was nothing a few days wouldn't fix, but it still scared me.

"How do you feel?"

He groaned, blinking slowly. "Not great. What does Michelle want again?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea. She didn't say. But she requested to speak with you specifically. I was going to come along for moral support." He cringed as I moved my fingers, inspecting an area of his neck with deeper shadows than the rest.

"Are you sure you don't want a brace? I'm sure they have one, and it'll let it heal faster. And it won't be so difficult for you to keep your neck in a comfortable position."

"No, I'm okay. Why can't Preston or Alex help again?"

I didn't really have an answer for that. Their abilities were complicated, but to my understanding, they were limited to fusing things back together. For instance, my ankle or the bullet wounds. My bones had been shattered, so Alex had to force them to reform into their original position. Preston and Alex had both caused organs and skin to rejuvenate when several others had been shot. But a bruised neck and a concussion were beyond their reach. Eli's body would have to heal on its own. I tried to explain this to him as best as I could, but he didn't seem to really understand. His concussion had left him a little foggy.

I really wished he would have chosen to wear a brace, but I didn't want to force him. The medics on staff had said he would be okay without one. It was a similar injury to Luke's from the men in the forest, and he had felt normal again after a week or so, even though it took longer than that to heal.

He placed his hands in mine as I pulled him to his feet. He swayed a little. "Feel nauseous at all?" He grimaced, but he said he was. Typically, the sudden movement would hurt his head too much. I wrapped my arm around his waist in a way that looked natural and not as though I was supporting him. "I'll walk you to her office." I didn't have to tell him that meant I would sit in on the whole conversation. He already knew that.

When we reached her office, she didn't comment on Eli's state. She had been informed of his injuries, I'm sure, but clearly, they were not so bad as to ward her coming up to our floor to meet with her. She asked us to come to her instead.

She glanced at me as Eli took a seat in front of her desk and raised her eyebrow. "Are you staying here to listen?"

I nodded. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, of course. The information will be released to everyone in the building in a little bit, but I figured Eli should hear it first because of his personal relations."