Desk duty and death glares at the DSA hadn’t changed. Yet I went through the day with a smile on my face. It had been a few days since John and I chatted at the pond and deciding to pay him a visit on my lunch break gave me something to look forward to.
I even chose some reading material from my personal library for him, something to read if he got bored. I had to guess his taste but something easily digestible and humorous seemed like a good start.
When I arrived, his room was empty. A sterile blank space greeted me, the bed striped of linens, no personal effects anywhere.
“He left this morning.” Aaron stood in the doorway. “Signed out against medical advice and another survivor picked him up.”
I sat the book down, feeling stunned. Where was he now? Would we ever see him again?
“Don’t take it too hard,” Aaron said. “I’m hoping that he’s just testing the boundaries here. He needs to see that hecanleave. Then maybe he’ll choose to come back.”
“And if not?”
“Don’t take it too hard,” Aaron repeated. “Trusting people isn’t something he’s capable of, not after what he went through. Relearning trust has been a hard lesson for him.”
He hadn’t even manifested his supernatural side. What would happen to him now? I thought I reached him. It felt like we connected.
"The person he’s staying with still comes into the DSA to work with us,” Aaron said. “He isn’t completely off the grid. This isn’t my favorite call, but I’d almost be able to live with it. John’s resilient and determined. I just wish he were making some progress from a mental health standpoint or that he had a support system to discuss this with."
The other victims were all staying in contact with each other and would help somewhat, but they had their own trauma to work through.
Not having many bright sides to offer, Aaron switched to a different approach. “Merritt’s making steak for dinner tonight. Wanna come over?"
I managed a smile. “I’ll be there."
Though relations with others in the DSA were strained, Aaron was one of the few friends I had here. A night’s distraction sounded better than worrying in my new apartment alone.
A chime sounded as Aaron received a text message. He frowned down at his phone and his scent spiked with anxiety. "Oh no. The word on the street is people are asking around about our John Davis."
"What? Word on the street, what street?"
"It sounds like Accelerant. Guess they didn’t enjoy somebody raining on their parade and wanna settle the score."
"And you know this how?" I asked since the friendly empath wasn’t exactly dialed into the seedy underbelly of the city.
"I have a confidential informant," he declared, raising his chin defiantly.
"Can someone who isn’t in law enforcement have those?"
"Look, all I know is they wanna find the guy who showed them up, and my guess is not to offer congratulations. They reached out to a mage I know. He’s my friend in low places.” Alarmed brown eyes met mine. “John’s in danger. What are we going to do?"
~
John
“Keep it together, Delores. Don’t cry…”
I rolled my eyes while grabbing my backpack. Yes, the professionals hadn’t approved of me leaving yet, but there’s no reason to pout and sob about it.
The floor nurse hurriedly dabbed at her eyes with a napkin while handing me a plate of home-baked lemon squares and it hit me she wasn’t pouting.Oh yeah,I remembered. Sometimes human beings aren’t absolutely awful and care about other human beings.
“People leaving is good,” Delores told herself. “It means they’re getting better, so no blubbering.” She sent me a fond, watery smile. “I’ll miss you.”
Huh. I’d probably been missed before, but I was usually in the other position, watching people leave the basement and scared about the unknown they were heading towards and the danger they faced.
“Can I give you a hug?” she asked.
Wow, really not expecting that, but the biggest shock of all was yet to come.
