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Tae curled into himself as he waited for Amani to come to her door. The last time he remembered hurting this much, he had just woken up in the hospital after the accident. The memory ignited the ever-present soreness in Tae’s body and he winced as he cradled his right arm against his body, now unsure of what hurt more - his body or breathing. He had lost his sense of time and couldn’t tell how long he was outside before his friend opened her door.
Naturally, she reacted with shock but when she spoke, her voice sounded far away and Tae could barely make out what she was saying. He wanted to say something, anything to her, but when he opened his mouth to speak, all he could produce were the harsh sounds of his breath, which at this point felt more like a chore than an instinct. He felt himself being lifted up by something and moments later, being placed down on what felt like a bed. He wasn’t sure of what she was going to do but he wasn’t really in a state to protest, even though he typically preferred to handle his injuries and his pain himself. He trusted Amani though and figured it would be better to just let her do whatever it was that she was going to do.
As she began working, the feeling of comfort consumed his pain. It was a warm and pleasant feeling, not unlike that of a mother’s embrace. As he felt his pain subsiding, Tae was able to open his eyes wider and actually process his surroundings. He was in Amani’s room, lying on her bed. He watched as she finished up with the magic he assumed she was using to heal him. She asked him again what happened, this time he was able to immediately understand her words and he was somewhat confident that he could answer.
“I’ve been there before. Trust me, I looked way worse.” He quipped in a mumbled tone when she compared him to someone on the verge of death, making his tone light even though his voice was hoarse. “I fought with Renlin. It ended with him choking me.” He explained, resisting the urge to add ‘…but I’m fine’ to the end of his sentence. He was still trying to wrap his head around what happened and he knew it was in his best interest to not lie to Amani. He couldn’t believe that he had been the one to start it. Well, he had thrown the first punch at least. His cousin had started it by bringing up Tae’s biological relationship to his brother, which had always been a touchy subject for him.
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@Kristi - Amani