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I wanted to believe him when he said he wasn’t involved anymore. I really fucking did. I couldn’t rationalize the Caleb I knew with the monsters that formed the Crimson Ring. It didn’t make any sense to me, but then again, I was never great with the details. Maybe I had let my emotions get the better of me? I’d been craving the kind of connection Caleb offered me, so maybe I just ignored all the signs? He had tried hiding from Kyler in the jail. He had known about the Ruby Room at the Center Of Betterment. He had dropped the case at his detective agency pretty easily.
Was he ever working a case to begin with?
So yeah… maybe I had been tricked.
I opened my jaws and let out a roar that rattled my own rib cage, undoubtedly startling the people below me peacefully picnicking in Griffon Park before the shadow of a pissed-off dragon blotted out the sun.
Eventually, my wings started to grow tired, and the hurt inside me started to freeze over. Almost on autopilot, I dipped and started to fly south toward the tall building with a floating green caduceus as its crown. I landed and shifted, going down to the lobby of the hospital before being let up to Amelia’s room.
Every step I took through the hospital halls felt weighed down with lead, growing heavier and heavier as I got closer. I didn’t know what I was about to find. I just knew that I had to see my best friend. Maybe she could give me some advice about this mess. She always had smart things to say, always knew how to make things seem simple for me. It was a skill she utilized as my best friend quite often.
I just hoped she could still speak.
I passed by the empty nurses’ station and knocked on the door to Amelia’s room. It was already open, but I liked to knock every time. She didn’t say anything. Maybe she was sleeping.
I braced myself in the doorway. This was going to be difficult. But I had to do it. I couldn’t avoid her in these last moments of her life, all because I was scared to see her suffer.
“Amelia, I?—”
Her bed was empty. The paintings all around the room were gone. The bedsheets were folded, and the tiny nightstand that had been stacked with books had been cleaned off.
Empty. Like no one had ever been in this room.
I was too late. I had lost her. And I couldn’t say bye. I couldn’t be there for my best friend when she needed someone the most. She had to die alone. Likely terrorized and in pain as her body succumbed to the steel. The doctor would have likely intervened before she was completely consumed. I wasn’t here for her. I lost her.
I lost everything.
The emotions slammed into me. My lungs compressed, my eyes snapping shut. It was a futile attempt to block the tears. They still spilled out, uncontrollable. This was too fucking much. How was I not expected to shatter under this kind of pain? I couldn’t even show her the paintings she’d been hoping to see before she passed. I felt like a failure. Any and all confidence I had in myself evaporated, hissing out of me like air from a popped balloon.
A noise brought me back into the moment. Footsteps. Through my tears, I saw a concerned-looking nurse enter the room. He held a trash bag in his gloved hands. “Everything okay, sir?”
“My friend. Amelia. She was in this room. When did she pass?”
“Pass?” The nurse looked like I had asked him to drop his scrubs. “Amelia walked out of the hospital earlier today. She was cured. It was almost miraculous—everyone on the floor was pretty shocked.”
“That’s… that’s impossible. Steel Skin doesn’t have a cure.”
“I know, that’s what made it so wild. She’s supposed to come back for more tests. She could help save a lot of lives.” He started tossing out trash from the smaller bins around the room. I expected him to start laughing any minute now. It was a seriously twisted and fucked-up prank, but what else could explain this? He couldn’t actually be telling the truth. Amelia would have told me if she were able to get up and walk out of here.
Or…
I called her, not expecting any answer. Because why would she answer if she were dead?
“Hello?”
“Amelia… Amelia. What the fuck? Are you cured? What’s going on?”
“I think we should talk about this in person. Can we meet at our old hangout spot?”
“I’m so confused right now. Just a few days ago, half your body was steel. How… Amelia. The paintings.” My body felt numb. The pieces began to fall into place. I didn’t want them to, but they did. The picture was becoming clearer and clearer.
