I watched his beautiful face and memorized his blazing eyes as the world around me grew quieter and colder. I love you. I always have, and I always will.
I knew the words never left me. For some reason, I felt too weak to say them, but my love for him burned brightly all around me.
The last thing I saw was Davin’s look of agony, as the blood poured out of me and smeared over his hands. There was so much blood.
Then, darkness claimed me.
24 – RECOVERY
Heaviness filled my body. Deep, dark heaviness. Everything around me was empty. Cold.
As I drifted in nothingness, a sound reached my ears. A steady beep beep. The sound was jarring. Different. But something urged me to hold onto it, to not let it go. Everything else around me was silent.
Vacant.
I followed the sound. It was then I felt things. Something hard beneath me. Something smooth covering me. My other senses began to awaken. Light beyond my eyelids grew. I felt so heavy and so unbelievably tired, but I knew if I sank into the nothingness again, I would disappear.
Open your eyes.
It was a struggle. An immense fight to blink my eyes open. When I finally managed to, I noticed two things. I was in a room that I didn’t recognize, and I lay on a bed while Davin sat quietly in a chair beside me.
His elbows rested on his knees while his hands cradled his head. Strong forearms rippled as he massaged his scalp. His hair looked greasy, as if he hadn’t washed it in days. Coarse stubble covered his cheeks.
“Davin?” The word croaked out of me.
His head snapped up. “Meghan!”
He bolted to a stand and appeared above me. The movement had been a blur.
Leaning closer, his eyes frantically searched mine. “Meghan, can you hear me?”
“Yeah.” My voice sounded awful, like rocks running over gravel. “Where am I?”
“Reservation 1’s hospital. Do you remember what happened?” He frantically reached for a button on the side of my bed and pushed it. Over his shoulder, he yelled for the nurse. Turning back to me, his eyes were as dark as the ocean. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”
I moved, or tried to. My shoulder felt stiff, and my upper right chest hurt. “Yeah, a little.”
“Where?”
A nurse in green scrubs strode purposefully into the room. She approached the bed and pushed Davin aside. “Meghan? Can you hear me?”
When I nodded, she proceeded to ask me strange questions. If I knew my name, where I was, what day it was, if I remembered what happened to me.
I grew more confused by the second. “Why am I here?”
Her eyes softened. “You’re recovering from a gunshot wound.” She placed a blood pressure cuff on my arm and put her fingers to my wrist. The machine hummed as the cuff inflated. “I’ll get the doctors when I finish. They’ll tell you about the injuries you suffered.”
“I was shot?” My voice rose.
“Yeah, Dr. Roberts shot you.” Davin’s face grew hard. “He was aiming for me, but you lunged in front of me and took the hit.”
My eyes widened as foggy memories surfaced. The crowds around the gate at Reservation 1. The buses leaving with the Kazzies inside. The MRRA soldier giving us a ride to my car. Walking with Davin at my side.
Dr. Roberts appearing from around a building with a gun in his hand.
My eyes widened in horror. “Oh my God, I remember. He did shoot me!”
Davin’s hands clenched into fists. A muscle ticked in his jaw.
I winced when I turned my head to face him. “What happened to him? Where is he?”
“They took him away. Last I heard he was in some mental hospital recovering from the gunshot wound that MRRA soldier nailed him with.”
More memories returned to me. I was relieved that my memory was still intact.
“Do you know that a Kazzie deliberately killed Dr. Roberts’ wife and daughter?”
Davin cocked his head but gave no other reaction.
“That’s why he hates you and all of the Kazzies so much. In a twisted way, he feels that all of you are as bad as the guy that killed his family.”
That muscle in his jaw ticked again. “That’s hardly an excuse for everything he’s done.”
The nurse finished assessing me and mumbled something about getting the doctor. She scurried from the room.
“Davin?” My voice still sounded hoarse and weird, but I forced myself to talk. It didn’t help that my throat was so dry, but the emotion on Davin’s face trumped all of that. “Are you okay?”
His arms fell to his sides as anguish distorted his features. “He shot you because of me, Meghan. You should never have lunged in front of me.”
“I…” I didn’t know what to say. Instinct had roared to life inside me when Dr. Roberts had raised his gun. I hadn’t thought. I’d simply reacted.
Davin crouched by the bed again. “You could have died, Meghan.” The emotion that swam in his eyes tugged at my soul.
“But I didn’t. And I’m fine.”
He guffawed. “You have a bullet hole in your chest. You’re hardly fine.”
Before I could respond, a team of doctors and nurses entered the room. The next hour passed in a blur. They took me for tests and did blood work. Apparently, this was the first time I’d woken up in three days. I was informed that I’d been shot in the upper chest. The bullet had just missed an artery.
The doctor said if it had hit my artery that I probably would have died. When he said that, Davin’s entire body tensed. He raked a hand harshly through his hair again and again. The agitated movement garnered a few concerned glances from the hospital staff.
When they finally left, I sank into the bed. I felt exhausted, like I’d just run a marathon. “I’m so tired.”
Davin settled again on the chair at my bedside. “Go back to sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
As my eyelids fluttered closed, I was filled with memories of my time in the Sanctum when I’d been bedridden after being exposed to Makanza. Davin had stayed by my side then too.
TWO DAYS LATER, I was scheduled to be released from the hospital. My parents had also been at my side periodically. Apparently, they’d been on the reservation the entire time but had been out of the room the first time I woke.
My parents, along with Sharon, the twins, and Davin had all been staying together in the Kazzie town. Despite it being Christmas, none of them wanted to leave until I was okay.
Due to my injury, I wasn’t allowed to drive for several weeks. It was a good thing my parents were here, otherwise someone else would have had to drive me to Sioux Falls. I knew Davin would have in a heartbeat, but I also knew he’d been under enough stress. Right now, it was more important that he travel home and get settled into his new life. We had our entire lives in front of us. A few weeks apart was nothing.
As the nurse wheeled me out of my room, Davin walked at my side while Sharon and the twins trailed behind. My parents had returned to the Kazzie house they’d been staying at to collect their things.
Harsh fluorescent lights shone brightly above us, and the soft squeak of the wheelchair filled the hall. My heart ached knowing what was coming.
Within the hour, I’d be returning to Sioux Falls while Davin moved to Rapid City. Even though only a five hour drive separated us, I still hated the distance. Sooner or later, we’d have to figure something out. We’d spent too much time apart.
Davin strode closer to my side. Walking beside me, he reached down, a sad smile on his face while he entwined his fingers through mine.
I squeezed his hand, holding tightly to him.
Cold winter wind blew outside when the hospital doors opened. The nurse pushed me out and made sure I had all of my belongings before retreating inside. Davin bundled a blanket around my lap. His attentiveness hadn’t lessened despite my being awake.
On the horizon, I spotted my parents’ car. They drove steadily down the road.
Right on time.
During the past twenty-four hours, Davin and Sharon made sure to keep me informed on how the Kazzies were doing. There had been a few incidences in several cities where the Kazzies with more prominent physical changes had relocated. They’d been harassed by angry neighbors. Other than that, there weren’t too many cases to report. I knew that could change. I knew at any time the public could turn on them and more protests could ensue.
It was my hope that as time passed and people realized they would not become sick that everything would die down. I had no idea what kind of lives the Kazzies would now lead, but at least they were free.
My parents pulled up in their station wagon as cold wind whipped hair around my face. Just as my mother opened her door, the car that had been following them pulled up behind them.
It wasn’t until my dad stepped out of the driver’s door, that I realized the person behind them was also emerging from her vehicle.
I made a move to unlock the wheelchair’s brakes when Davin’s breath sucked in.
The woman from the other vehicle strode toward us. She appeared to be around my age. She had long blond hair, a curvy build, and only wore a light jacket. Her eyes were glued to Davin’s.
I glanced behind me and realized he was staring at her. My stomach sank. I didn’t know why, but I felt like something bad was about to happen.
“Meghan, how are you feeling, kiddo?” My dad bustled to my side just as the girl reached Davin’s.
I didn’t reply. My gaze didn’t leave Davin.
Davin’s face turned white. “I… How…”
Sharon’s eyes turned to saucers. “Jenna? Is that really you? What are you doing here?”
My stomach sank even more. Jenna. I knew that name.
And in that moment, my eidetic memory roared to life. The letters I’d found under Davin’s mattress flashed through my mind. Every single page burned behind my eyelids, like hot coals that someone pressed against my skull.
Jenna smiled. “Hi, Sharon, it’s so good to see you again.”
My mother and father both stood at my side, collecting my things. Neither seemed to be paying attention to what was transpiring right beside them.
My dad picked up my bag and put it in the back of the car while my mom fussed over the blanket on my lap. It was the first time she’d ever fussed over me in my life. That flustered me even more.
“Are you going to introduce us?” The words bubbled out of me. My stomach had turned into knots and more than anything I wanted to twist my hands together.
Oh,” Davin muttered. He still wore a shocked expression. “Um, Meghan, this is Jenna.” He seemed to make the introductions on autopilot, as if the words that escaped his mouth weren’t really his.
Jenna held out her hand.
I automatically shook it. Her hand was warm, not like mine which was ice.
“I’ve seen you on the news, Dr. Forester. I’m so thankful for what you’ve done for Davin.”
“You’re welcome.” My words were so quiet I barely heard them.
Sara’s narrowed gaze told me she’d picked up on my anxiety. I’m sure the mental chaos rolling off me right now was extreme.
She stepped forward. “And who exactly are you, Jenna?”
I was grateful that she didn’t beat around the bush.
Jenna turned to Davin, her eyes dipping down as long lashes rested against her cheeks. “I’m Davin’s old girlfriend. I haven’t seen him since before the First Wave. I thought he had died.”
Jenna glanced up at him, unspoken questions swimming in her gaze. “I know we said we’d meet in Rapid if you were ever freed, but I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to see you.” Tentatively, she placed her hand on his arm.
And then I saw it – the words on the letters that my memory had captured like a photograph the moment I’d seen them, yet words I hadn’t wanted to read so I’d buried them away.
I can’t wait for us to meet again. And I agree, meeting in Rapid would definitely be nostalgic. If you’re ever free, that’s where we should meet.
I clenched my eyes tightly closed as pain ripped through me.
“And I agree…”
That meant Davin had agreed to meet her. Even though I’d never seen his letters to her, I didn’t need to. Those three words said it all.
Davin had planned to meet her despite his feelings for me. Despite my feelings for him.
The feeling of absolute betrayal fired so deeply inside me that nausea rolled my stomach.
My mother and father had finally sensed that something was going on. Both stood quietly at my sides.
“I need to go!” The whispered statement escaped my lips.
My mother leaned down, her eyebrows knitting tightly together. “What was that, Meghan?”
Tears filled my eyes. “I need to go! Now!” I placed my hands on the wheelchair and grimaced when pain shot through me.
My dad steadied me just as Davin looked my way. I couldn’t meet his gaze. Not now. Not ever. He’d willingly agreed to meet his first love while knowing about my feelings for him. While telling me that he’d never give us a chance as long as he was contained on Reservation 1.
Yet, he’d made plans to meet with Jenna should he ever be free. He hadn’t kept her at arm’s length. Only me.
I’ll never forgive him.
In a blur, Davin appeared at my side, worry rolling off him, but something else did too. Guilt.
“Meghan?” He placed his hand over mine.
I snatched my hand back as if burned. “Don’t!”
My parents shared a concerned look before stepping closer to me. My dad’s brow furrowed. “Meghan? Are you okay?”
“Get me out of here. Please!”
Jenna stood frozen, her full lips downturned.
My eyes sought my dad’s. When he saw the tears I was barely controlling, his face tightened before he shot Davin an accusing look. Shouldering passed him, gratitude filled me when my dad’s body blocked Davin from view.
My mother also seemed to notice the tension and pain oozing from me like a wound gushing blood. “Take my arm, honey. We’ll keep you steady.”
With my parents flanking my sides, the scratchy feeling from Sara entered my mind.
Meghan? What’s going on? Who is this girl?
I bit my lip so hard the coppery taste of blood hit my tongue. I can’t Sara. Right now… I just can’t.
I felt the twin watching me, but she didn’t push.
Behind me, Davin’s presence loomed. I felt his pain.
His guilt.
It was his guilt that was my undoing. With my parent’s help, I hobbled into the backseat of their car. When they slid into the front seat and began driving us away, I didn’t look back.
25 – NEW BEGINNINGS
I spent the weekend at my parents’ house in Vermillion. Sara and I spoke every day through our bond. She knew I was horribly upset, but I couldn’t talk about it. Not yet.
It didn’t help that Jenna had taken up residence in Rapid City. Sara said Jenna had been over to the house a few times. She would know since the twins were living with Davin and Sharon. But every time Sara tried to go into details, I stopped her.
I didn’t want to know.
My heart was breaking, and it was everything I could do to keep myself together.
“Can I get you anything, dear?” My mother’s words pulled me out of my trance. I was sitting on a chair in the living room staring out the window. Our Christmas tree, with its twinkling lights and homemade ornaments, stood behind me. Christmas had come and gone while I’d been in the hospital. And now, the New Year loomed.
I turned my gaze back to the window. My words sounded hollow when I replied, “No, I’m fine, thank you.”
She checked her watch. “Your next dose of pain medicine is due in an hour.”
I ju
st nodded. My mother had been surprisingly caring since I returned home. She made sure I took my pain meds on schedule and helped me dress since it was hard to bend my arm.
Despite her urging me to eat, I’d lost weight. I couldn’t help it. All I could think about were Jenna’s long eyelashes and beautiful blond hair.
It was all so painfully ironic. Davin was finally free, and his old love had returned.
I hadn’t spoken to him since I came home. It had been three whole days since I’d heard his voice. He called my cell phone every day, sometimes several times a day, but I never answered, and I didn’t listen to the messages. It was all I could do to keep myself together. If I spoke to him, I’d break down.
“Would you like to go for a walk outside?” My mother perched on the chair beside me with her back ramrod straight. Her blond hair was in a bun while her sharp hazel eyes watched my every move.
“Maybe later. I’m kind of tired right now.”
“The doctor said you need to go for walks every day. You’ve been sitting here all afternoon.”
Tears filled my eyes. I hastily blinked them back so she wouldn’t see. “Okay, can you give me ten minutes?
She continued watching me. A tenseness hung between us. I knew I hadn’t hidden my tears as well as I thought.
She finally stood and turned, but she only took two steps toward the kitchen before turning back. Her mouth opened then closed before she simply nodded.
“Sure. I’ll come back in ten minutes.”
Outside, snow fell as the winter sun shone down on the earth. Everywhere else in the country excitement was brimming. Things were returning to how they used to be. The economy was speeding up. There was talk of opening country borders, and the Kazzies were free. It should have been the happiest time in my life.
A knock sounded on the front door as I stared at the snowy landscape. I waited to see if my mom would get it, but since rustling sounded from the kitchen, she probably hadn’t heard it.
Pushing up from the chair, I grimaced and supported my weak arm as I hobbled to the door.
Section 12: Book #3 in The Makanza Series Page 26