The stranger watched as Ryan carried Aria to the bed, his piercing brown eyes bore into their souls as he leaned against the wall. A faint scent of smoke clung to his worn out leather jacket.
"You two know each other?" The stranger asked with his husky deep voice.
Aria opened her mouth to respond, her lips parting slightly to answer but Ryan cut through, his voice harsh . "It's none of your business," Ryan said, his tone brooking no argument.
The stranger nodded, his expression unreadable. "Cool," he said with indifference.
Aria shot Ryan a sideways glance, her eyes narrowing slightly at his tone.
Ryan's eyes remained fixed on the stranger stupid face.(^^)
The stranger couldn't force the words out of their mouths when he didn't even want to tell them his own name.
"Suit yourself," The stranger said, his shoulders shrugging in a fluid motion as he turned back and walked out of the room. The faint scent of smoke and sweat lingered behind him.
"What's wrong?" Aria whispered audible over the sound of the wind outside.
Ryan's expression remained guarded, "I don't trust him," Ryan said low and even.
Aria eyes darted towards the door and she nodded."Me neither," She agreed.
The silence that followed was oppressive, punctuated only by the sound of the wind rustling through the trees outside.
Aria tried to remove her backpack from her back, wincing in discomfort as she lay on the creaky bed.
"Sorry," Ryan said quickly moving to her side and gently lifted the backpack off her shoulders, He was supposed to remove the bag from her back for her to lay comfortably.
"Thanks," Aria whispered with relief, her eyes closing briefly as Ryan dropped her bag on the creaky wooden floor and settled near the dusty window, his eyes shutting in exhaustion.
The faint moonlight filtering through the grimy window highlighted the sharp angles of his face also showing the dark circles under his eyes.
Aria struggled to sit back up, leaning her back against the creaky wooden wall. Her wounded leg throbbing in protest.
Ryan opened his eyes back at the sound of movement, his gaze moving to Aria.
"What are you doing?" he asked with concern.
"Give me my bag," Aria said extending her hand.
Ryan looked at her, hesitating before carrying it over and handing it to her.
Aria opened the bag and removed the first aid kit. "I want to change my dressing," Aria explained, gesturing to her leg wound.
Ryan stood up and stepped closer to Aria, his face was accentuated with exhaustion lines on his forehead.
"Let me do it," Ryan said, his deep voice gentle and was laced with a soothing calmness.
Aria shook her head, her long ponytail swishing against her neck.
"No," she said firmly with a set jaw, meaning she meant business.(^^)
"Rest, take a nap. I can see you are exhausted. You have been up since, watching over me, protecting me from those... from those things." Aria said.
Ryan's brows furrowed in protest "I'm fine," he protested calm.
"You're not fine," Aria said, "Dark circles under your eyes, tired posture...you need rest. Your body needs to rest."
Ryan's shoulders sagged, his resistance crumbling under the weight of his exhaustion. His eyes drooped, and he nodded his head forward.He truly needed rest; his body ached for it. The weight of his exhaustion threatened to consume him, and he knew that if he didn't surrender to sleep soon, his body might give up on him.
But he couldn't shake off the unease that settled in his stomach. He couldn't sleep with that stranger in the same cabin as Them.
The stranger presence made Ryan's instincts scream for caution. "I'll rest," Ryan said finally, "but keep an eye on him, okay?" he whispered to Aria.
Aria nodded, "I will," she whispered back, barely audible over the creaking of the old cabin's wood.
Ryan turned to walk back to the window side to sleep, his movements slow as he's joints creaked from fatigue. His worn boots scraping against the wooden floor.
"You can sleep on the bed," Aria called out to him with concern.
Ryan looked sideways at Aria, his eyes narrowing.
"There isn't enough space for me," he replied deep.
Aria quickly struggled to move, her injured leg protesting with a sharp pain.
"See, space," Aria said wincing and she patted the empty spot beside her, her hand gesturing invitingly.
Ryan's head dropped and he sighed with a small smile on his lips, this lady is really stubborn, he thought, shaking his head.
"Thanks," Ryan whispered, moving back to the bed.
"Sleep, I will keep watch," Aria said, smiling softly as she gazed at Ryan's weary face.
Ryan's eyes that was heavy with exhaustion drooped, and his dark eyelashes brushed against his cheek.
"Your gun is loaded," Ryan said, sitting down beside Aria, he needed her to be prepared if that fucked up stranger tried anything funny.
Aria nodded, she doesn't have to ask how he loaded her gun, she just needed him to sleep and relax a little.
She reached out a hand and brushed a strand of hair from Ryan's forehead.
"Sleep," Aria said low, as she and Ryan held eye contact. The small torch light flickers casting shadows on both of their exhausted features.
The sharp lines of Ryan face softened, and he fell his back onto the bed, his body relaxing, his chest rising and falling with each breath he takes in.
The cabin fell silent, the only sound was the wind that was moving through the night air and Ryan's gentle snores.
Aria carefully went back to treating her injured leg, she cleaned and dressed her wound, wincing as the antiseptic stung her torn flesh. "Fuck" The pungent smell filled the air, mingling with the scent of wood smoke, damp earth, and the faint tang of sweat.
*****
If there's anything that you don't understand, please tell me in the comments, I read them and answer to them (^^)