Chapter 333 - Not My Fault
Cage wasn't sure that he was alive.
For a long time, all he could see was the black smoke pluming in the distance. He could see the sky, too. It was beautiful, clear blue with a speck of white where the clouds glided through the blank canvas. He hadn't seen a sky this beautiful in years.
He stared and stared until his eyes closed. When he opened them again, he wasn't exactly sure what was happening. Indeed, he must have been dead. There was an angel hovering over him. His own personal angel. Except, something was gravely wrong. She didn't have a smile on her face as usual. Her face was ashen, literally covered in smudges with streaks of her skin flashing through the tracks where her tears had rolled down.
She was so upset that he wanted to pull her into his arms. Her lips moved like she was yelling but he couldn't hear a thing.
He raised his hand and cupped her cheek, his eyes slightly glazed over.
"What are you saying?" he whispered.
Katherine choked when she heard how scratchy his voice was.
"I was so worried," she sobbed.
Stephen was standing behind them, watching over with an expression of terror in his eyes. His phone was plastered to his ears as he fired off commands into it. He was shouting at security, talking to the media, and replying to texts all at the same time as he tried to push back the undeterred terror that would seize him if he stopped working.
Katherine was hugging Cage. He winced slightly, making her freeze up. "I'll call the medic!"
His fingers tightened around her and his slightly glazed eyes seemed to focus a little more.
"No," he croaked. "Stay. Please don't go."
Katherine didn't need to be convinced. She slumped against him and let him hold her. Tears escaped her eyes, and he blinked. "Don't cry."
"I'm not crying," she protested, wiping her tears away. She pulled away and saw the look he was giving her. She even sniffled as she admitted to it. "Fine, I am crying. But I am not going to stop because you said so. Stop ordering me around. Who do you think you are?"
His lips twitched. This was not how he envisioned the time after his death. "This isn't how it's supposed to be," he grumbled.
"What?" she asked, confused.
"Am I not dead?" he breathed.
She wanted to smack him and she did. He grabbed onto the location of the sting, his eyes wide. "It wouldn't have hurt if you were dead."
She was too scared to even think about what he was saying. Thank god, he was not dead. She had to admit, she might have followed after him if that was the case.
"How long was I out for?" he asked.
"You were in shock. We have a doctor check on you. You just wouldn't respond." Katherine sighed when he gave a nod. "Stephen called your parents already, don't worry. You were dazed for an hour or so."
"I'm not hurt. Then why are you crying?" he asked, stroking her cheek.
"Miscommunication. Nothing much," she sighed. "Giselle was taken to the hospital. She has burns but the medic said she would be okay."
"When I saw her fall... man, I really wanted to run to her. It was all my fault." His eyes never wavered from her face.
"It's not your fault. It was someone else." Her voice cracked.
He took a deep breath. "I know. I remember the conversation clearly. But... was anyone else hurt?" The bodyguards gave him a brief about the situation and Katherine for the first time heard that Cage had tried to rush into the fire.
"Do you think you are Batman? How could you go in? You must think you have superpowers." She was crying again.
"Batman didn't have superpowers," he commented.
Katherine glared at him. "He has gadgets that supplement him. He doesn't need superpowers. What do you have?" she hissed.
"A handsome face?" he replied apprehensively, trying to joke it off.
Katherine pressed her lips together into a think line. She was very close to losing it and she didn't want to.
"Katherine..."
"I'm sorry. I just..." she didn't say anymore.
Cage turned to Stephen. "What's the bad news?" he asked his friend.
Stephen knew what he wanted to talk about. What was going to happen on the set.
"It's pretty bad." Cage grimaced but put on a stoic face. "Katherine was on live stream when it happened. Hundreds of thousands of people saw it in the background. The media knew immediately. It's all over the news. Speculation is running wild and fingers are being pointed."
Cage nodded. "How much do they know?"
"Not much. That is what is causing chaos. There is speculation about deaths on the set. I've cleared up that you are alive. Giselle's agency has done the same. I'm talking to the director and the police about how much to reveal. We'll probably have a press conference."
That was all fine. Cage sighed in relief.
"There is something else," Stephen said tentatively. "It's not Katherine or my fault..." he trailed off.
"What?" Cage wrinkled his brow in confusion.
Stephen pulled his phone out and pulled up images and handed him the phone. "Media got some pretty good shots of the scene. The one most circulated include Katherine. It's splashed all over the internet at this point."
Cage finally took a look. Katherine was peering at the screen too.
"Holy hell," they muttered at the same time. It was Katherine. She was at the barricade, arguing with the police while tears streamed down her face.
"And there is the video," Stephen added. He swiped right and showed it. It was Katherine slowly panicking when she realized that something was wrong. "This wasn't my idea. I had nothing to do with it. But Katherine's numbers are going through the roof." Neither of them reacted.
Cage groaned and looked up at the sky once again. "Oh god."
They settled down slowly and Cage fell asleep. His eyelids closed and he drifted off. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating.
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