The Perfect Machine: Kingdom Of Glass (GxG

30. She misses you

"She is asking for you," Mary says, coming out the door with a cup of tea for me.

"Thank you," I say, taking the warmth into my hand.

"I know. I can hear her," I murmur and rub my drained eyes before tasting my green tea. River asked Mary lots of questions without understanding what happened or where we are. The worst part is that she doesn't know why I left the bedroom. Why I left her and why I haven't come back to see her. She sounded weak and in a lot of pain. Arthur gave her some painkillers to ease the agony for her.

"She misses you," Mary smiles lightly, and I look at her, confused.

"River didn't say that," I raise my eyebrow and Mary rolls her eyes.

"I don't need her to tell me she misses you, you idiot. I can tell by the look on her face," She punches my arm in annoyance.

"You don't have social skills, do you?" She chuckles, and I feel offended by her words, but it's true, I am not very bright when it comes to communication.

"Go to her. She needs you,"

I shake my head.

"I can't," I sigh.

"Yes, you can," She argues.

"Okay, let's see it this way. I go up there, tell her how I feel and then what? I am dying, Mary!" I almost shouted in anger, but it's not her I am mad at. It's me.

"I don't have much left," I say and look at my arm that is surrendered with a curse that I can't stop.

"You can prevent it," She raises her eyebrows at me.

"No, I can't," I tell her.

"Yes, we go to the lab and get you the pill that you need to stop this," She says, but I shake my head.

"We will all be dead before we can even make it to the entrance," I sigh, it's a heavily guarded fort and I am not bulletproof.

"Maybe we need some help," Mary says, thoughtfully.

"I heard about a place that might offer some assistance," She says out loud, but I am not sure if she was talking to herself or me.

"I am going to talk to Arthur and you'll go and talk to River," She points her finger at me as if it was a threat.

"Fine," I say, and she smiles before leaving me. I take a deep breath as I feel my heart beating extremely fast now. It's not often I get nervous, but now I am. I find my way up the stairs slowly to think about what I am going to say to her or what she might say to me. The door to the right where River is lying is half-open. I take a deep breath before I enter the room.

Her eyes are closed; she must be resting now.

"Harlow?" I was about to exit the room when she called my name. A smile appears on her face as she sees me with her half-opened eyes. The last time we talked, she barely even wanted to look at me. Now, she is smiling at my presence.

"How are you feeling?" I ask as I stand in front of the bed with my hands resting at my back, trying to keep a certain distance from the woman.

"As if I was shot," She says, and a loud cough from her makes me rush over to her side.

"Are you okay?" I ask as she stopped coughing and our eyes locked. Her brown eyes, staring right into mine, which makes me self-cautious. I move away from her and back to the end of the bed.

"You cut your hair," She smiles. I am not used to people taking notice of me like that. It's usually my eyes and my scary appearance that grabs their attention.

"I like it like that," She smiles again, and I feel my knees wanting to give in on me. I decided not to respond to her. I don't know what to say.

"You look tired," River seems worried now.

"I think we all are," I give her a small smile trying to avoid the attention on me.

"Arthur has been amazing," I tell her, and she nods lightly. I might not be good at reading people, but I can tell this is uncomfortable and awkward.

"I'm going to let you rest now," I say, turning around to leave the room.

"Please don't go," She begs, and I can't help but stop in my place. I turn to face her, and the look of sadness on her face hurts.

"I don't want to be alone," River says, and I nod as I find my way over to the chair next to the bed. She smiles at me the second I sit down. Her tired eyes looked at me as if she were lost in space. She is fighting to keep her eyes open to look at me. I am not used to someone actually wanting my presence or someone desiring to watch me.

"Please, don't leave," She reaches out her hand for mine and I give it to her. I don't want to make her sad or hurt. River grabs my hand into hers, the warmth of her skin. The feeling of her touch is pleasant. I try not to show it; I don't want her to know that I do care for her.

Even though I do.

Deeply.