𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬. sam uley

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

❧

It all happened quickly. The four men turned to look in her direction, ears perked because of the noise she made as she circled herself around. At first they were tense, getting in defensive positions in case they needed to protect themselves against the invader.

And Sage thought they were going to have to, at first. When she first arrived in the room, she took in her surroundings; two queen beds were placed in the room, taking up most of the space while a dresser and a desk made up the rest of the room. She saw the men, one sitting in a desk chair, two sitting on each of the beds, and one pacing the room like he's got nothing better to do.

Sage could not see any of their faces at first, so she thought none of them were Sam, that her shadows had led her to a dead end. Felix had been lying to her. Sam was dead, and she escaped for no reason.

But then, their faces morphed into something decipherable when they came into view and Sage saw that the one who was pacing was Sam, and her heart lurched in her chest. She didn't run to him like her feet wished her to; she remained planted to the ground, staring at him with wonder in her eyes, her stomach clenching in a way that was new but not uncomfortable.

"Sage," he said, gazing at her with disbelief. Then, he smiled, and his shoulders relaxed and he said, "Sage!"

And then he was in her space, picking her up, spinning her around, his arms secure around her tiny body.

Sage tensed, for a moment, thinking that this was an attack, but then everything settled in her body, the sensation familiar to one she's had before; she felt how right this was, being in his arms. She allowed herself to hug him back, to fold her arms around the back of his neck for a short moment, to hold him and relish in the fact that he wasn't killed by Felix. He was alive. He was burning underneath her palms, sturdy and real. And something in her ached at how much she missed him in her short time being without him.

But she could not understand why. Why did she miss a man who she had never met? Why was he so familiar when he shouldn't be?

When he placed her feet back on the ground, Sage wanted to complain. She wished to ask him to hold her once again, to keep her huddled in the cocoon of warmth his body exuded. There she was secure--there nothing could get to her. If she had his arms around her, nothing bad would ever happen to her.

Sam pulled her back until she was an arm's length away, still touching her, not quite letting go of her. It was almost as if he wanted to keep her close, too. He still had a smile on his face, eyes warm and brown and rich with relief.

"How'd you get here?" he asked. "How did you escape?"

"Felix instructed me to do so," Sage responded, grinning up at him. "I did not really understand his reasoning behind it, but I did not question it. I--" She struggled on the sentence. Should she tell him? Sage stared into his eyes, searching for a reason not to admit anything, but all she found was openness. Warmth. "I had to make sure you truly were alive. I did not want his words to be deception."