Saved By The One I Ruined Chapter 05

Saved By The One I Ruined Chapter 05

Jared’s temperature was alarmingly high–it was frightening just to touch him. 

I wrung out the towel and gently placed it on his forehead. Water droplets trickled down the bridge of his tall nose. The storeroom became our 

makeshift infirmary, and the medical kit Paul brought was barely adequate. 

Paul adjusted his glasses and pierced a needle into Jared’s hand. “Concussion and wound infection. Had I arrived two hours later, we’d be planning his 

funeral.” 

I bit my lower lip tightly. Jared’s face was ghostly pale, flushed with an unnatural, feverish red. His chapped lips quivered intermittently, but he couldn’t utter a complete sentence. 

“Why would he save me?” I stared at the IV fluid dripping down the tube and sighed, “He was already so badly injured.” 

Paul abruptly yanked open Jared’s collar, exposing a vicious scar below his collarbone. He said in an icy tone, “Do you know how he got this? Three years ago, during the Safe Zone’s black market raid, he took a bullet from Andrew while covering the orphans’s escape.” 

My fingers trembled. That scar was barely an inch from his heart. 

“Mr. Stevens always says he never makes losing deals.” Paul sneered while repeating Jared’s pet phrase as he pulled a yellow candy wrapper from his wallet’s inner pocket. “Then why would he keep this?” 

The strawberry print had faded, but the foil wrapper still shimmered faintly. It was the candy I’d given. that girl all those years ago. 

“His sister…” I murmured. 

“Jasmine. Twelve years old, diagnosed with congenital heart disease,” Paul said as he adjusted the IV drip. “During the riot, the pharmacy was locked. The fever reducer you gave her eased her suffering.” 

He paused for a second and added, “When Mr. Stevens found her, she was already gone… But she was still clutching this in her hand.” 

I felt a lump in my throat. So those unnaturally bright eyes I remembered must have been signs of her raging fever. 

Paul continued, “Do you think he’s been following you for three years just to say thanks?” 

“At first, he wanted revenge,” Paul said, putting away his stethoscope. “He thought everyone in the Safe Zone was heartless–until he saw you sneaking medicine to the dwellers.” 

Jared suddenly broke into violent coughing, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. I hurriedly propped him up. My palm pressed against his feverish back, where I could feel every labored breath. 

“M–Manda,” he murmured, his fingers grabbing the sheets. “Don’t… be afraid… I’m here…” 

Paul gave me a knowing look. “During his three–day high fever, he called out your name 82 times.” 

As night fell, Paul went to fetch more medicine. from the car. Left alone with Jared, I carefully moistened his chapped lips with a damp cotton 

swab. 

Moonlight filtered through the skylight, accentuating his sharp features in soft relief. Without his usual roguish grin, he looked unexpectedly tender. 

“You know,” I whispered, “Andrew would never step in front to shield me.” 

Memories came flooding back. When I sprained my ankle on my first mission, Andrew just said, “Hang in there.” 

Last year, when we ran into a horde of zombies, he told me, “Hold them off.” And in the end, he closed the car door and said, “You’re thoughtful.” 

But Jared, that man with a teasing tongue would always shield me behind him whenever danger struck. 

I wiped the tears from my eyes and muttered, “Idiot, do you enjoy playing the hero so much?” 

Jared’s eyelashes fluttered slightly. I held my breath, but he merely turned over, exposing even more scars on his back–each one containing an untold 

story. 

When Paul returned, I was gently wiping down Jared’s body. The cotton swab traced across his rough, uneven scars–each one like a brutal chapter in an untold epic. 

“Here,” I said, pointing to the round scar on his waist. “Is it a gunshot wound?” 

“Dum–dum bullet from the rebels.” Paul handed me a fresh towel and added, “He took it saving a little girl he didn’t even know.” 

When I moved to his left arm, I noticed an unusual incision. I asked, “And this?” 

“It’s from the chip removal.” Paul suddenly lowered his voice before saying, “The Safe Zone implants tracking devices in high–priority surveillance targets. Mr. Stevens was among the first batch of test subjects.” 

My hand trembled. I finally knew why Andrew found our hideout so quickly. 

“Why is he wanted?” I asked. 

After a brief hesitation, Paul pulled up a file on his phone. “Check this out.” 

The screen displayed the Safe Zone’s top–secret official seal. Beneath the title “Project Jasmine” was a list of dozens of names–Jared’s at the very 

top. 

“Human experimentation?” I asked. 

“The antiviral serum requires live human testing,” Paul said, the glare on his glasses accentuating his grim tone. “They specifically target homeless. drifters with no family.” 

My stomach churned. So Jared’s lab and those serums of questionable origin… 

“He used himself as a test subject,” Paul said, as if he could read my mind. “Every improved serum was paid for with his life.” 

At 3 a.m., Jared’s fever finally broke. Exhaustion claimed me, and I fell asleep. I dreamed of twelve- year–old Jasmine offering me a piece of candy amidst the flickering flames. 

“Take good care of my brother,” she said with a sweet smile. “He cries a lot more than you think.” 

I woke upto find my fingers entwined with Jared’s. His eyes were squinted, and a weak smile played at his lips. “Morning, my Sleeping Beauty.” 

His voice was wrecked, but that didn’t stop him from flirting with me. I wanted to snap back with a sarcastic remark, but my eyes suddenly welled up with tears. 

“Don’t move.” I pressed down on his arm as he tried to lift it. “You’ll reopen your wound.” 

He lay back down, but his gaze never left me. When I turned to get the medicine, I heard him whisper,” Thank you.” 

Just two simple words, yet they made my eyes sting. This lunatic nearly died for me, and he even wanted to thank me. 

I shoved the pills into his mouth. “Try playing the hero again, and I’ll strangle you myself.” 

Jared smiled, a faint flush returning to his pale face. “To die in your hands…” 

“Shut up.” I pressed my hand over his mouth, feeling his warm breath on my palm. Seizing the moment, he planted a gentle kiss on my hand, his eyes gleaming with startling intensity. 

Paul cleared his throat at the door. “Safe Zone patrol is heading this way.” 

I sprang up to close the window and heard Jared say, “You guys leave first.” 

“No way,” Paul and I protested in unison. 

“Listen to me,” Jared rasped, struggling to prop himself up. “I’m their primary target. Splitting up is safer.” He fixed his gaze on me and said, “Go to Green’s basement. The password-” 

“My birth date. Got it.” I grabbed my backpack and said to Paul, “Paul, get him out. I’ll draw them away.” 

Jared suddenly grabbed my wrist, his voice urgent as he called out, “Amanda Miller!” 

It was the first time he ever called me by my full name. I turned back and saw a storm of raw, burning emotion in his eyes. 

“Trust me, alright?” I leaned down and pressed a kiss on his forehead. “Just as I trust you.” 

My gesture left both of them stunned. As I bolted out in panic, I heard Jared shout urgently behind me, “The third safe, remember to check it.” 

The sunlight stung my eyes painfully. Wiping away tears as I ran, I thought to myself that if that 

bastard just died, I’d never forgive him.