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“How are you holding up?”
She looked at me, her dark eyes bottomless. I could get lost in them, and I found myself thinking how I couldn’t even imagine never being able to look into them again. “I’m okay, actually. They gave me some anti-inflammatory meds and they must have kicked in because I feel better than I did before for sure. They said the x-rays were normal. We’re just waiting on the scans. If there’s no bleeding or anything in the results, they told me I could go home.”
“About that,” I started. “I don’t want you to be alone, Sky.”
She squeezed my hand. “I’m fine. Really.”
“I know that. I know you are now. Right now. But you weren’t, and I don’t think you’re going to be. Here’s the thing. I know you don’t really believe in all of this stuff beyond what you can scientifically explain away. All of that remains in that grey area of your brain that you can’t necessarily ignore but don’t put too much stock in. But you can’t deny what happened tonight. There’s absolutely no scientific explanation for it. And what happened was a demoniacal attack.”
She bit her lip and then shrugged a shoulder. “Okay, yeah. I can’t find anything to explain it, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to praise god for saving me.”
“Sky . . .” I warned.
“No disrespect intended, Pax. Not really. Okay, maybe a little. But I’m still an atheist. That hasn’t changed in the last handful of hours.”
“A priest friend of mine once said that you’ll never find an atheist in a haunted house.” She smiled as I intended, and I returned the grin. “But, Sky, there are two sides to that coin. You can’t deny what happened tonight. You may not want to put into words what that was, but I’ll do it for you. You were physically affected by a negative diabolical intelligence. And once they get a foothold, it doesn’t stop until they get what they came for.”
“What’s that?” she said and snorted. “My soul?” Her voice dripped with derision.
“Yes.”
She laughed. “Okay,Padre. I don’t want to argue with you. I’m just too damn tired. Can we just agree that there was some really whacky energy tonight? I’m fine. Honest.”
I shook my head. “You’re not. And your extra snark proves it.” I pulled my hand away from hers and scrubbed it through my hair. “But all of that aside, until we know more and can narrow down what might be going on in that house, I would feel better if you weren’t alone. You probably shouldn’t be alone anyway given the injuries, even if they do clear you to leave the hospital.”
She sighed. “Okay, listen. I’m too damn tired to argue with you, and it’s a stupid thing to argue about anyway. You can sleep on my couch. It kind of sucks, but you can.”
I looked at her, hoping she’d agree to this. “How would you feel about staying at my place? I have a comfortable spare.” I hoped this next little bit might convince her. She was a woman of logic, after all. “And it’s closer to Lamour.”
“Okay, all right, I see what you did there, you sneaky bastard. Playing to my sense of logic. Fine. But only because I really like your house. I didn’t know you were such a good decorator. Should I start calling you Martha Stewart?”
That made me smile. “You like my house?”
“I do,” she said. “When I went to get your clothes, I was super impressed. I love the colors you chose, and it’s so homey. And extra points for not having creepy crucifixes hanging and sitting on every flat surface.”
Something inside me warmed at the thought of her liking my haven. And the holy objects were there, they just weren’t overt. It was one of the reasons I really wanted her in my place. We would be protected there more than we would be in other places. But if I were honest, it was only one of the reasons I wanted her in my space. The thought of her among my stuff made me feel things I wasn’t sure I wanted to think more about quite yet.
The nurse came in then, a big smile on her face. “Ms. Liu, I have excellent news. The doctor said that the scans were all clean. You are free to leave. I’ll start drawing up the paperwork now. But she said she would like you to have someone with you tonight just in case. Is that possible?” She looked at me, and I turned to Sky.
“We were actually just talking about that,” Sky said. “It’s covered.”
“Excellent,” the nurse replied. “I’ll be back right quick with your discharge papers to sign. Here’s the other paperwork for your visit with us tonight. Blood work numbers, scan and x-ray results, diagnoses and recommendations. You know, the usual.” She handed a bunch of papers to Sky and hurried from the room.
Sky leafed through the stack quickly and then flipped back to the beginning, suddenly becoming still.
“What is it?” I asked. “Did they miss something?” With her science background, she could likely understand it all. “Do we need to call her back?”
“No, it’s . . .” Her brow furrowed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen my blood type on paperwork before. I know that’s weird, but I don’t think I have. And I’m not sure I remembered what it was, either.”
“Okay.Whyis that important?”
“Because with the stuff that Mom and Dad went through with that major car accident they were in a few years ago, I knowtheirblood types. Dad is A+ and Mom is O+.”
“And?” I prompted.
“I’m B-. That’s not possible, Pax.” She looked at me. “Not if they’re my parents.”
CHAPTER13
