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“Fuck.” William releases my hand, lowering his head into his hands. He doesn’t say anything. Anger rolls off him in waves, infiltrating me and Bryan. We both exchange nervous glances, watching and waiting to see what William will do.
Finally, he raises his head, looking at me. “I’m so sorry, Irelynn. None of that was supposed to happen.” He releases a frustrated sigh, leaning back into his chair, his gaze raised to the sky. “Any idea where Damian is?”
Bryan pauses, his gaze lowered to his shoes. “That’s the crazy thing. No idea. It’s as though he vanished.”
We sit in silence, not knowing what to say.
The sun disappears behind the clouds, shrouding us in shadowy gloom, and the wind blows harder, as though it’s warning of a threatening storm about to hit us unexpectedly.
I’m afraid this storm will be named Damian.
Chapter fourteen
Max
October9,2018,9:30p.m.
I doze fitfully in my hospital bed, my shoulder and upper chest region where the bullets pierced my skin throbbing. I’m exhausted, yet unable to remain asleep.
Either the pain medication is wearing off, or something else is wrong.
My breaths saw in and out of my lungs, prompting Darin’s gaze to move from his laptop to me, concern wrinkling his brow.
“I’m calling the nurse.” He’s already on his feet, setting his computer on the chair he just vacated, pressing the call button to dispatch the nurse before I can stop him.
Sweat beads across my forehead as the pain ratchets through my body, making me grit my teeth.
What the fuck is going on with me?
A nurse rushes through the door, her brow wrinkling as her assessing gaze sweeps my body. She rushes over to me, studying the equipment surrounding me. Pressing a button, her gaze locks with mine, and for the first time, terror courses down my spine.
Despite how hard I’m trying to downplay my symptoms, my body gives me away, trembling beneath the blankets covering me, my body a raging inferno that causes me to drip with sweat, soaking through my gown. “W-w-what’s wrong w-with m-m-me?” I barely grit out those words as my body overheats.
A team of medical professionals burst through the doors and surround me, their medical jargon reaching my ears, but it sounds like a foreign language to me. I don’t understand a word of it. They strip me out of my gown, bath me with tepid water, and pull off my bandages to assess my wounds.
Finally, the doctor puts a hand on my shoulder. “We are going to give you some antibiotics for the infection you’ve developed and something for the pain.”
A nurse holds out a cup of pills and some water, putting them into my mouth before I can say a word.
Once I’ve swallowed them, they re-bandage me, making me flinch and moan whenever they touch my wounds. My breaths shudder as the pain causes me to feel faint. I bite down on my lip so hard that the coppery taste of blood fills my mouth.
I haven’t been a spiritual person since the night my family was savagely taken away from me, murdered by my brother, who also nearly killed me. But I plead and bargain with God to spare me, for her.
Please, God, let me live so I can rescue Irelynn. I’ll do anything, no matter the suffering and agony, to save her. Just please, heal me now.
Tears leak down my face as I stare at the ceiling, cold sweat rolling down my back and chest.
Damn it. This is unfair. All I want is to live a long, happy life with her.
I’d give anything,any damn thing in this world, to make her mine forever.
My eyelids droop as my fever climbs, heating my body yet again. I’m tormented by the agonizing burning sensation in and around my wounds.
Squeezing the blankets so hard my knuckles are white, I shake uncontrollably as the fever grips me. Random pleas fall from my lips, begging for this agony to end and my life to be spared.
Finally, I succumb to the misery and pass out.
The bright sunshine nearly blinds me as I hike toward the woods, unsure where I’m at or where I’m going. My backpack digs into my shoulders as it bounces behind me, maintaining a brisk pace as I step into the shadows of the thick forest. When the sun shines through the trees, the bright autumn tones of red, yellow, and orange weave a magical world of color.
