Save Me If You Can by Christina C Jones

your leg !”
    Savannah closed the bit of distance between them to lend her support to get him back to the bed. Just that little bit of movement had him sweating in pain as she eased him back down on the mattress.
    “Are you crazy?!” she asked, lifting the leg of the basketball shorts he’d changed into after an incredibly awkward, but much needed shower earlier. She frowned, shaking her head as she checked his bandages, which were quickly soaking with blood. “You probably tore your stiches, being stupid.”
    “Trying to get to you. To keep you from leaving. To make you understand that I—”
    “I know, Harrison.” She dropped her eyes again, then looked away from him, at the bandages and other medical supplies piled on the table against the wall. “I… get it. I understand. But it doesn’t make it hurt less.”
    After a deep breath, Harrison reached out, grabbing Savi’s hand. He was surprised when she didn’t pull away. “I love you Savi. Still . I would never put you in danger. Never do anything that might cause you harm. That is the only thing that has kept me away from you.”
    Savi’s lips parted, then closed and he could see the movement in her throat as she swallowed hard. “I… I need to tend to your leg.” She slipped her hand away from his and hurried across the room, coming back with handfuls of bandages and gauze. She left those, then went back for alcohol and other things, then proceeded to clean and change the bandages on his leg.
    Her hands were quick, moving deftly across the wounds to disinfect and cover them. When she was done, she went back across the makeshift hospital room to wash her hands. She shuffled in her medical bag for a moment, and came back with familiar pills in her hand. “Inez told me you’ve been refusing to take any meds.”
    Harrison shrugged. “No telling what these crazy motherfuckers might try to give me.”
    “Only what I gave them to give you. Pain relief, so you can sleep. So you can heal.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t trust them. Only you.” He plucked the pills from her hand and put them in his mouth, swallowing them with the cup of water she offered. Afterward, she insisted that he lay down, claiming that he looked exhausted – which was probably spot on, considering how he felt.
    He hadn’t slept, not really. Partially because of the pain, partially because of Savi. He knew she was pissed about what he’d revealed, knew she was probably hurt, and just the thought of that made sleep an elusive goal. The painkillers would put sleep right in his hands.
    He moved to the middle of the bed, taking care not to disturb his fresh bandages. Savi’s expression was still pained. On a whim, Harrison lifted a hand and beckoned her to him, knowing that the chances she would oblige were slim. She lifted an eyebrow, and shook her head, but… she eyed the empty space beside him.
    Feeling a sudden surge of hope, Harrison lifted the covers. “Come here,” he said, quietly, insistently, silently praying she would. At first, she shook her head, but then… she shifted a little on her feet, and Harrison realized she was slipping off her shoes.
    Savi climbed into the bed beside him in wrinkled cargo shorts and a tee shirt, but Harrison didn’t care. She could have been wearing a burlap sack for all he cared. The only thing that mattered was that six years after he’d last felt her touch, she had her warm body pressed against him.
    He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, unbothered by the moisture that slowly spread across his chest as she cried against him. He grabbed her chin, tipped her face toward his, and took a chance on pressing his lips to hers. She didn’t resist.
    So he kissed her harder. Slipped his tongue into her mouth, tasting her, devouring her like he was making up for the last six years. He held her face between his hands as their tongues moved together, in concert, like no time at all had passed since they last kissed.
    He could have