Chapter Two Hundred Thirty
GAYLE
When I come to, I’m lying on the floor next to my bed and my body is completely capped of energy I have no idea whose face it is floating above me like a spirit of unrest until I lash out.
“Get back, demon!” I hiss, swiping at the thing with my somewhat drunken limbs. “You’ll not have him!
“Joor–sumusss!” a familiar voice chimes out. “Chill out the spirit snarls leaping backward and out of my reach
Tac?” I mumble, relieved that it is, in fact, her and not some wayward ghost I pissed off by refusing to lan
and gaze at my bedroom door. It remains closed and intact, the dead bolt still securely in place. Although this is mollifying in sy to aid in my discombobulation. “How the fuck did you get in here?
The sudden thought that Cane may have let her in has my head snapply in the direction of my bed. Sadly, he remains in ti
position he was in when I marked him for the second time. Still and lifeless. I can see from here that he’s still not breathing and although the actuality of it hurts, I won’t let it deter me. I will not give up.
He will breathe again. I know it.
“I’ve been knocking for thirty damn minutes. When I warned you to answer me and you didn’t, I scaled the side of the
in the window. She turns her worried eyes toward me, her gaze reaching into my soul. “What are you doing. Gayle s her head.
Tears fill my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. I don’t know if I can take one more person looking at me like I’m about to beak with a prod lift of my chin I walk over to Cane. My heart wrenches when I allow myself to look down at him and observe my untested.
Tandora’s eyes follow
and she gasps. Gayle…”
I hold my hand up defensively, stopping her before she has a chance to reach for me. I know what this looks, but I pre not what this is!”
“Oh no?” Taedora hisses, crossing her arms over her chest in annoyance. “Are you sure? Because what it looks marked him twice. Depleted yourself, twice! Despite that his condition hasnt changed! What it looks like to me refusing to let go of someone who is already gone! And making your friend – his sister–suffer alongside you to let him go, Gayle! He deserves to move on!”
Somewhere in the middle of her little reprimand, I started crying. Suddenly, I’m not feeling so confident anymore. My eyes hum an heart trembles with the fear of her words being true. What if she’s right? What if I imagined everything I’ve been feeling simply be to believe that he’s not gone? Could that be? Could I have imagined the golden warmth of his touch and phantom pain of his toru?
Just now, I’m beginning to worry that she’s right. I reach back in my memory of what I felt in the jeep and I can’t s felt so strongly that he was alive. He’s made no progress. My marks haven I even healed!
Am I sure I felt something in the jeep? Did I imagine it?
No, I hear the word like a whisper in my head and my back goes ramicd straight, my tears drying instantly.
That was not my voice.
I turn around slowly, frantically searching my room for the source of the voice. The male voice. When I don’t notice anything attention grabbing, I return my gaze to the bed. To Cane.
“What the hell were you looking for, Gayle? What were you doing?” Tagora asks. She steps in front of me, blocking my danch Cane’s motionless back and I shove her away to drop down on my bed next to him.
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Chapter Two Hundred Thirty
I can only imagine how crazy I must look to her right now, but I refuse to allow it to bother me, I know what I just heard.
Throwing a protective arm over Cane’s side, I shake my head at Taedor, I don’t care what you think I’m doing! I don’t even give a fuck that you think I’m being selfish… because you’re right, I am being selfish. I am refusing to let him move on! Most of what you said is accurate. Most. Not all. Yes, I marked him twice, and I know his condition hasn’t changed, I’m not fucking blind Tae! Nor am I stupid! And I’m aware that Lilah is going through it, I understand that, trust me I do. Hut you need to understand something as well. I turn away from her, stroking my hand over the warmth of Cane’s chest when I speak, He’s not gone, Tue. I know this. I realize that none of you believe me and I know marking him again makes me look crazy, but I don’t care, Hócause I know what the fuck I felt! I know what I heard! He’s not gone Tue! And if 1 give up on him now, after everything I’ve been feeling Ell never get over him! Not ever! I’ll always be wondering – what if. If you guys take him from me before I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are right and I am wrong I will certainly lose my fucking mind! You can count on it?
“Heard?” she asks, tilting her head with worry. “You… heard something as well?”
Oh far fuck’s sudes.
If they don’t stop treating me like a basket case, I’m going to kill them. All of them.
I ignore her, busying myself instead with the task of redressing Cane’s torso- the wrap probably came loose when I turned him over the last time and his bloody waistline is exposed. My eyes lock on the beautifully chiseled ridges of his punctuated abdominal muscles and I suddenly have the urge to clean off the dried blood. Pushing him onto his back, I reach up to ruffle his hair, frowning when I feel how hat his forehead is. Strange… does he have a lever?
“Tae, can you go into my bathroom and grab a – AAAAAAAAHHHHELLE MAHAHA!!! I my mouth with two hands.
Oh my God! How did I not notice!?!
Omigod, omigod, amigod!
*What Gayle? What’s wrong?” Tandora shouts, shaking my shoulders.
I cut off with a scream, jumping up and covering
But I can’t answer her yet, I’m too busy choking on my tears. I’m moaning and sobbing into my hands as I do and soon, Taedora becomes frustrated enough to slap me.
ap out of it, Gayle! What’s going on?” she growls.
Snap
Finally I look at her, a very smug, very satisfied smile on my face. Touch him,” I say.
“What?” she asks, shaking her head. “No, Not doing that.”
“Touch
h him!” I insist, not even mentioning the best part of what I just realized.
“If I touch him, will you at least acknowledge that he might be gone?”
I nod happily. “If you touch him I’ll even come out of my room and make you a margarita.”
She flinches, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. “Okay… deal I guess.” She rolls her eyes, not even looking at him as she reaches out and slaps her hand onto his face. Her mouth opens to snark at me and then she freezes, her eyes bulging wide with shock. “Aaahhh!” she screams, drawing her hand back and jumping away from him. “Omigod
grin as she meets my gaze. He’s warm.”
She shakes her head, “No, he’s not warm! He’s burning up!”
“Look at his stomach,” I tell her. “He was ripped open, The. The gash was unmistakable.”
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Chapter Two Hundred Thirty
She looks and beface she even days anything I knew s
“The healed?!?!?” she gother
still can’t beat his heartbeat yet.
all the
1 smile. “Go get my future sister
Chapter Comments
KKN
OH MY GAAAAAAWWWD
Rene Marie Beck–Ware
Way to get the heart pumping!!!!!
