All of the air left her lungs as he tenderly brushed his thumb over her cheek where some of the blood had dribbled down. Color flooded her face and her heart raced in her chest. This back and forth between showing her affection and then apathy was going to be the actual death of her.

The breathlessness didn't last long however, as he seemed hell bent on moving. Stupid, stubborn men refusing to see logic ever! If he was trying to be chivalrous, Torie wasn't hearing it. "Anthony!" She gasped, mouth agape as she watched him stand unsteadily. "Don't be ridiculous, you can't die from a broken ankle, but a head injury is serious!" Why, why didn't he ever just listen to her when it was important?

Torie then scrambled to her feet once more, though she still couldn't bear weight on the one side. Her pain, though it seemed to radiate throughout her body, was mostly localized to the ankle, so thank Merlin for that. She'd been doing fine trying to get out before he'd gotten here, she wasn't going to let him have the satisfaction of calling the shots here. If he wasn't going to listen to logic, she would carry on herself and just hope he didn't pass out on the way.