Chapter 447: Cindy’s suspicions

"You look in pretty bad shape, boy."

As I stood there with Cindy beside me, trying not to put too much weight on her arm, Marlon approached. His eyes moved over me from head to toe, the bruises on my face, the dried blood near my ears, the torn clothes barely covering the bandages around my ribs.

"Yeah," I replied shortly.

"Looks like you got yourself beaten up pretty badly," he added.

"Is that the first thing you tell him?" Cindy shot back, glaring at him.

Marlon looked toward her, then let out a low chuckle.

"No. I’m more surprised he made it out alive." His expression softened slightly as he looked back at me. "You’re quite tough, aren’t you?"

"Not really," I said quietly.

The answer came out before I could stop it.

I was far from tough.

I was supposed to be the King Host of Dullahan. I was supposed to be the person fighting at the front, protecting the people around me when things got bad. Instead, I kept getting beaten down. I kept ending up injured while everyone else had to worry about me.

And when it truly mattered, I still could not reach the people I cared about.

Mei was only a few miles away from me.

Yet I had stayed back.

I had told myself it was because I needed to be careful. Because rushing in without a real plan would get everyone killed. Because sending someone else to get her out was safer than trying to force my way through Callighan’s territory alone.

All of that was true.

But it was true because I was weak.

Gaspar’s words came back to me before I could push them away.

"You didn’t even have the courage to come to Brigantine and take back that pretty girlfriend of yours."

His words hurt almost as much as his attacks.

What would Mei think when she found out I had left the plan to rescue her to someone she barely knew? Would she understand? Would she think I had abandoned her? That I had decided she was not worth the risk?

Yeah, sending someone else was safer for her.

But it was only safer because I was not strong enough to go there myself and get her out.

After fighting Gaspar, I could not even lie to myself about that anymore. If I had rushed into Brigantine like an idiot, Gaspar would have caught me. He would have crushed me before I ever got close to Mei.

Maybe I had made the right decision.

That did not make it feel any better.

It only made me more aware of how weak I really was.

What was the point of having a Symbiote if I could not properly use it?

Sure, I was stronger than ordinary people. I could kill Infected in large numbers. I could fight Hybrids. I could survive things that would kill most people.

But none of that had been enough against Gaspar.

Not even close.

I lowered my gaze, my hands tightening into fists at my sides.

Anger mixed with anxiety until I could barely separate one from the other. My bandaged ribs hurt when I breathed, but I barely noticed. All I could think about was Gaspar standing there with that smug look on his face, acting like he had already won because he knew exactly how far behind him I was.

Then someone suddenly hugged me.

I blinked and looked up.

Summer stood in front of me, her arms around my waist. She rested her face lightly against my shoulder, careful not to press too hard against my injuries.

"I’m glad you’re okay, Ryan," she said quietly. "And thank you for stopping that."

For a second, I did not know what to say.

Summer had walked away from me earlier. She had barely been able to look me in the eyes. I knew I had made things awkward between us. I knew an apology did not erase what I had done or make her discomfort disappear.

Still, she was here.

She had come close anyway.

I slowly lifted my right hand and rested it against her back, patting it gently.

"I’m okay," I said.

It was not completely true, but I did not want her worrying more than she already was.

Summer pulled back after a moment. Her eyes moved over the bandages around my torso, her expression tightening when she noticed the blood staining part of my shirt.

"You’re really injured," she said.

Rachel had done what she could with the supplies she found in the abandoned building. It had not been much. She had cleaned the worst of the wounds and wrapped my ribs as tightly as possible, but we had no proper medicine or equipment there.

She had even wanted to leave the building and search for supplies during the night.

I had stopped her.

There was no way I was letting her run outside or anyone else, with Infected still roaming around, just to find better bandages for me. I had told her Ivy could look at me the next day.

"Do you want me to treat them?" Summer asked.

"I don’t think he needs your help, sweetheart," Marlon cut in quickly.

His voice was stern enough that Summer turned toward him with a dry look.

"Dad, he’s injured."

"I’ll call Shawn for that," Marlon said. "He’s a doctor. Unless you became a doctor without me knowing sometime in the last day?"

"I treated him enough every day after you beat him up like a ruffian," Summer shot back. "I know the basics."

Marlon gave her a look.

"I was training him."

"You were beating him up."

"He kept getting back up."

"That does not make it better."

Despite everything, Cindy let out a small laugh beside me.

"It’s fine," she said. "Ivy is here. I’ll get her to come over. She knows pretty well how to deal with Ryan’s injuries."

Cindy glanced at me, and there was something tired but gentle in her expression.

"She’s used to it."

That was not exactly comforting.

Summer looked at Cindy for a moment. Her expression became hard to read again. Then she gave a small nod.

"Okay."

She turned back toward me.

"Then..."

Our eyes met.

For a second, Summer looked like she wanted to say something else. Maybe ask whether I was really okay. Maybe bring up what had happened between us. Maybe tell me she was still upset.

Instead, she quickly looked away.

"See you," she said quietly.

Then she turned around and walked off toward the people working near the damaged barricades.

I watched her go without saying anything.

There were too many things I wanted to tell her, and none of them felt right to say in the middle of a ruined street surrounded by exhausted people, broken homes, and the aftermath of the Screamer attack.

Cindy stayed beside me.

Her hand lightly took hold of my arm again, ready to support me if I stumbled.

I did not pull away.

Without saying much, we started walking together.

Cindy walked beside me for a few seconds in silence, still keeping a light hold on my arm whenever my steps became uneven.

Then she glanced in Summer’s direction and smiled a little.

"She seems to like you a lot."

"She’s a friend," I said.

"I see."

Cindy nodded slowly, and I could not tell whether she actually believed me or was simply deciding not to push it.

Honestly, I was too exhausted to bring up Summer.

There were already things I needed to tell everyone, and they felt much more urgent. Maribel. Carmen. The decisions I had made during the Screamer attack. The fact that so much had happened in one night that I barely knew how to start explaining it.

Speaking of Maribel—

As Cindy and I approached the Emerald Hotel, Maribel turned in our direction.

The second she saw me, her eyes widened.

She froze for a brief moment.

Then she rushed toward me.

Before I could say anything, she threw her arms around me and hugged me tightly.

The sudden movement almost made me lose my balance. My ribs hurt when she pressed against me, but I did not pull away. Her grip was tight enough that I could feel how worried she had been. She held onto me like she had been expecting the worst and was only now letting herself believe I was actually standing in front of her.

Cindy took a small step back, giving us space.

She did not say anything, but I knew she had noticed this was not just a friend hugging someone after hearing they had been injured.

I slowly returned Maribel’s hug, resting one arm around her back.

"I’m sorry for worrying you," I said quietly.

"It’s fine," Maribel replied, though her voice shook a little. "I’m just glad you’re okay."

For a second, neither of us moved.

Then a familiar voice came from behind us.

"Here I was, wanting to be the first one to hug Ryan in a moving reunion like this."

Sydney.

Maribel immediately stepped away from me, her face turning red as she realized everyone nearby could see us.

Sydney approached with a long sigh, though the smirk on her face made it clear she was enjoying this far too much.

She looked at Maribel first, then at me.

"I think we already had our reunion last night," I said.

"Not as moving as the one you just had with Maribel," Sydney replied immediately.

"Very important," Cindy said with a tired eye roll. "Where is Ivy?"

Sydney lifted one hand and pointed toward the hotel entrance.

"Just over there. It’s time for Ryan to get treated by his favorite nurse."

"Go help people instead of wandering around just to annoy everyone," Cindy told her.

"Got it."

Sydney nodded without looking offended in the slightest. Before turning away, though, she glanced at Maribel again.

"I saw it coming from miles away."

Maribel blinked.

"W...What?"

"I mean, I saw it coming," Sydney said, her smile widening. "Not seen you coming. Don’t be so dirty-minded."

Maribel’s whole face went red.

"I didn’t ask about that either!" She snapped. "You perverted bitch!"

"Now that’s rude."

Sydney looked completely unbothered.

I decided not to get involved.

After everything that had happened, I did not have the energy to deal with Sydney teasing Maribel. If anything, I wished Maribel luck. She would probably need it from now on.

Cindy moved closer again, gently taking my arm as we began walking toward Ivy.

"Maribel seems to like you a lot too," she said.

"She does," I replied awkwardly.

The words felt strange the moment they left my mouth.

How was I supposed to explain it?

How did you tell one of your girlfriends that you had somehow added another girl to your roaster of girlfriends?

Without sounding like a complete scumbag?

It was difficult.

Thankfully, Cindy did not question me further.

She only gave me a small smile, one that was impossible to read completely, and kept walking beside me toward Ivy.