6 Scars

For the next week, she and her mother took turns tending to the injured boy. Although it had taken some time, he had started to allow her to change his bandages without flinching away. Those small changes had caused a feeling of hope to arise within her. However, there had been something nagging at her recently. When he had grown more comfortable with him she had asked him his name seeing as he hadn't mentioned it before, but she was met with silence. At first, she thought he was still scared and didn't want to say anything to her. But as the days passed and the more she talked to him, the more confused she had become.

Even though they had made it to a point where he would no longer flinch when she was around, he continued to ignore every workd muttered to him. When she found herself talking to him, he would often turn away with a look in his eye that she couldn't quite decipher. Her mother had taken notice of the situation. One night when they were eating dinner, she had mentioned the idea that he might not speak English. Suddenly, she felt stupid. She recalled the times in which she would hear the boy talk in his sleep, but could never comprehend the words he was muttering.

She returned to her now shared space with her mother's words on her mind. As she sat down on her pile of blankets, she noticed that the boy's attention was on her. His left eye was no longer swollen, only deep shades of yellow and purple remained. His eyebrows furrowed as he pointed to her and then to the spot on the bed next to him where she would usually sit. She only ever sat there to try and talk to him, but now that she had come to a realization she had felt hopeless. With a soft sigh, she got up and placed herself on the bed next to him. His eyes were wide and questioning as she turned herself towards him. It was silent for a few moments before she decided to speak.

"You don't speak English do you?"

His eyebrows furrowed further confirming her question as he tried to comprehend her words. It was only after her earlier discussion with her mother that she now noticed the way his body stiffened and his eyebrows furrowed every time she spoke. She could almost see the smoke coming from his ears as he continued to think over her words. After a moment, he hesitantly looked up and her and shook his head.

Her eyes lighted up at the movement.

"Did you understand that," she asked quickly.

His eyes widened as he quickly avoided her gaze while shrugging. Her shoulders sagged at his response. She wanted nothing more than to be able to communicate with him but she knew that would take time. With a deep breath, she tried one more time.

"I'm Maia."

Her soft words caused the boy to turn and look at her. His eyes wide and focused on her mouth, causing her to flush. Clearing her throat she pointed at her chest.

"I'm Maia," she said once more.

His eyebrows furrowed and he lifted a bandaged hand to point at his chest.

"I'm Maia", he muttered in a questioning tone.

Her eyes widened at his words. It was the first time since they've met that he said anything. His thick accent was prominent as he spoke the foreign words. She gently shook her head and pointed at herself once again repeating her name. She then pointed to him again. His eyes were big and confused as he looked at her hand. He thought about it for a moment before his eyes lit up.

"I-I'm Jungkook", he said poking a finger at his chest.

A small gasp slipped from her lips he spoke. With a soft smile, she repeated his name, causing the boys to face to light up. His smile was wide causing his eyes to crinkle. It was the first time since they met that she was able to see his smile in full bloom. They still had a long way to go, but at that moment she couldn't be happier.

_

Soon a month had passed and then two; summer officially in full bloom. Over those months, Jungkook's body had slowly been healing. It was only within the past few days that he was able to walk around the cottage without any assistance. Whilst he was bedridden, she had been teaching Jungkook English as best as she could. He still had a long way to go but he had worked to memorize the phrases she had taught him along with a few words he could say so she would know what he was talking about. It hadn't been easy, but she wanted to help him out, seeing as no one had ever cared enought to try until now. She was currently occupied with changing the blankets on Jungkook's bed when a hesitant voice spoke from behind her.

"M-Maia," his careful voice spoke.

His body lingered in the opening of their room as he nervously played with his fingers. She could tell that he was thinking about what he wanted to say. At times she wished he wasn't so nervous around her, every time he was it made her feel like they were taking one step backward rather than forward.

"Yeah," she questioned, watching as his eyes rose to meet hers.

He was quiet for a moment before he decided to speak.

"Bath," he whispered gesturing to his body.

Her eyes widened in realization. He hadn't bathed properly since he arrived. When he was finally able to move his arms without being in pain her mother had filled a basin next to the bed and a cloth for him to clean himself off with. She assumed his wounds were finally beginning to scar over, although as much as she tried to check them to make sure they were healing properly, he wouldn't let her near them.

She quickly nodded her head as she moved past him and towards the bath in the adjacent room. His steps were heard as he trailed lightly behind her. She pulled out some cloth for man and laid it next to the tub. Putting her hand up she told him to wait and proceeded to leave the room. Several minutes later that bath was filled, streaming hot from the previous boiling she had to do. She used a few words she knew to tell him that it was hot and he needed to wait. He gave a silent nod before she exited the room, leaving him to his privacy.

The house had been rather quiet recently. Her mother had left a few days prior, to visit her grandmother in the east. During the day it was just her and Jungkook until her father returned at night. In the middle of preparing dinner, a shrill yell startled her. She quickly dropped whatever was in her hands and took off in the direction of the scream. Without thinking she opened the door to the bath. Jungkook's half-naked body writhed on the floor, back leaning against the tub as he grabbed at his leg. His face contorted in pain as he winced. She moved to help him but suddenly stopped moving; seemingly frozen in place.

Jungkook's skin was blood red from the knee down. His fingers barely ghosted the hot flesh before he was screaming out in pain. However, that wasn't the only thing that caused her body to tense. It was the first time she was able to see the expanse of Jungkook's skin since the first day they met. The freshly scarred skin on his legs hurt to look at as they inflamed a deep red. Her eyes trailed over the rest of his skin, eyes settling on the long scars that covered his chest. A feeling arose deep within her as she gazed upon the scars. Before she could acknowledge the familiar sting behind her eyes a harsh voice broke her gaze from the risen skin.

"Get out."

His voice was harsh as his head dropped, long hair covering his downcast expression. She wanted to speak to help him but before she could make a move towards him his voice broke her frozen form.

"GET OUT!"

Her breath caught in her throat at his outburst. With teary eyes, she quickly left the room and returned to the kitchen. She knew she had messed up. No matter how many steps closer she had gotten to him, this felt like a million steps back.

_

A few hours later she found herself sitting across from her father, silence engulfing the room. After the previous events with Jungkook, she had immediately left the cabin to clear her mind. To no surprise, she had found herself in the meadow once more. Staring enviously at the flowers as her tears finally fell. It was when she had returned, yellow carnation in hand and an apology on her chest, that she had found her bedroom door closed and an eery silence within the house. When dinner was ready she had placed the bowl outside of their door with the flower lying next to it and knocked. It was only with the sound of her footsteps fading that the door opened, and the guilt that had settled came crashing back in full force.

Her father didn't ask anything about Jungkook; her guilt-ridden features being enough to confirm that something was wrong. But that didn't stop him from trying to comfort her.

"He'll come around," he spoke as he shoved another spoonful in his mouth.

"You don't even know what I did."

At her words, he set his spoon down and turned his attention towards her.

"I can tell you both care a lot for each other. Give him some time. He's still learning to open up."

Her father was right. His scars were something he would never let her see. At that moment he was completely vulnerable and put on a show. She knew he felt ashamed of them without voicing it. Sometimes she had let her caring nature get the best of her and this had been one of those moments. After dinner she found herself sitting in their garden as she stared at the array of stars that swirled above her. Lost in the sea of twinkling lights, she didn't notice a regretful pair of doe eyes that watched over her from their bedroom window.

_

Upon entering the house, she noticed the door to their room had been opened. Honestly, she had half a mind to sleep on the floor of their kitchen, but she had failed to retrieve her blankets earlier. His last words to her still had her shaken. What if she walked in their room only to be told the same thing again?

The faint light emitting from the room illuminated the dark hall. As she walked through the threshold, her eyes landed on the wide doe-eyed boy that was watching her silently from the bed. He watched as she quickly avoided his gaze as she made her way to the heap of blankets on the ground. She had planned to cover up and quickly fall asleep but the hushed voice of the boy kept her from doing so.

"M-Maia."

His voice was timid as he whispered her name. Her breath caught in her throat at his voice. It almost sounded sad. Turning her head slightly, she met his awaiting gaze. An unknown emotion reflected in them as he pointed to her and then the spot on the bed where she usually sat in the evenings. But their encounter from earlier had left a heavy feeling within her.

Turning her back to his frame she muttered out a soft, "Not tonight."

However, that didn't stop Jungkook from trying.

"Please," he whispered.

Her resolve cracked as she pushed the blankets aside, feet gently padding against the floor as she made her way to the bed. As she got closer, she took notice of the yellow flower twirling between his fingers. Jungkook was silent, but his eyes watched her every move as she settled into the bed. Her hands were tucked beneath her, toes barely grazed the floor. It was silent between them. Too scared to say anything she just watched as his fingers played with the petals of the flower. However, the silence was soon broken as he spoke.

"Ugly," he muttered.

Her eyes widened at the word. She thought he was talking about the flower. But his next words had her heart-shattering in her chest.

"I-I'm ugly."

Tears gathered in her eyes as she shifted her body towards him. His head was still downturned as he refused to meet her gaze. She felt her body move before either of them could react. Her arms wrapped around his small frame as she pulled him into her embrace. His body stiffened at her movements but eventually relaxed. They stayed like that for a few moments before she shook her head.

"You aren't ugly Jungkook," she choked before she began to break down.

She couldn't hold it in anymore. Her heart filled with rage at the thought of whoever did this to him. The person who made him believe he was nothing. Her body wracked with sobs as she pulled him closer. The flower, now lied long forgotten on the bed next to them as he pulled her into his arms. It was when his body began to shake that she pulled back.

Long pieces of hair stuck to his cheeks which were now red with tears. She gently brushed them away as she took his face into her hands. His wide teary eyes stared up at her in wonder.

"Not ugly," she whispered as she caught sight of the scars peeking out from beneath his overly large shirt. Her fingers carefully reached out towards it. She heard him sharply inhale, but he didn't stop her hand from moving towards the raised skin. Carefully she ghosted her fingers over the soft skin , watching as his eyes fluttered closed.

"Beautiful."

The whispered words caused his eyes to open and more tears to fall. She gently smiled at him as to be pulled her closer. It was that night that they found themselves enjoying the feeling of one another as they fell into a deep slumber. But at that moment something had changed between them. As she listened to the sound of his breaths and watched his chest rise and fall, a new emotion arose inside of her. One in which was unknown and evoked a sense of fear within her.