“Tessa.”
The voice echoed softly in the darkness, barely a whisper of sound against my consciousness. It comforted me at first. But each gentle wave grew in volume, amplifying the sound of my name to a roar. With it, my pain swelled back into awareness, robbing me of breath.
I fought to crawl back into the void, away from it all.
“Tessa,” the familiar voice called again.
Something gently brushed my cheek.
“Forgive me.”
The physical pain radiating from my shoulder was nothing compared to the emotional torture that consumed me at the echoing of that familiar, soft rumble.
Morik. He was calling to me. No, not calling to me. He was touching me.
I forced my eyes open, not believing what I heard. Yet, I didn’t doubt what I saw.
Morik leaned over me, looking wan and worried. Yellow dominated his eyes.
“You died,” I said weakly.
“Not quite. Lurel took me before I bled out. I’m sorry I was gone for so long.”
In the background, I heard sirens. “You need to leave.”
He shook his head.
“Never again.”
I wanted to argue more, but the cut-off wail of the siren distracted me. Instead, I whispered the words I should have said weeks ago.
“I love you.”
A pained smile crossed his face as he clasped my hand.
Closing my eyes, I listened to the voices that approached. Morik released my hand. Someone started to tug at my shirt and talk to me. I answered until they pushed on the source of my agony. Then, I cried.
Mom came rushing into my hospital room with a huge smile and tears in her eyes. She didn’t wail about my condition or ask how I felt. She knew the bullet wound wouldn’t kill me. And that was all that mattered.
“Morik is in the waiting room,” she said, kissing my forehead.
“Can you talk to the doctor and see if he can stay here with me tonight?” I asked weakly.
She nodded and touched my hand.
“Everything’s good now, right?” she asked quietly.
A nurse came into the room before I could answer. She and Mom started to discuss when I would be discharged.
Brian, in his fear, hadn’t taken time to aim. Or maybe he’d aimed, but his shaking hand messed it up. Either way, he missed anything vital. I’d have a nasty scar just below my clavicle and would need to be careful for a while because the stitches pulled every time I moved it.
The police had pieced together the story they’d needed. Brian, a bully from my past and the reason behind my switch to a new school and my family’s relocation, had tracked me down to finish what he’d started. I’d asked about Clavin during the interview and had expressed my concern over his well-being. They hadn’t told me much but had promised to check in on him. I hoped that he would recover from Morik’s uninvited influence in his life.
During the interview, I cried for Brian. What would have happened if I’d chosen him last fall instead of shunning his attention? I would have most likely saved his life. Well, extended it, anyway. In the process, I would have condemned our daughter to the same life I’d led up until Morik.
Even though I regretted what happened to Brian, I couldn’t regret my decisions. My stomach did a crazy flip just thinking of Morik.
“Morik, Mom?” I said, reminding her.
She and the nurse disagreed on what was best for me and left the room, still debating Morik’s presence overnight. A few minutes later, he walked through the door, wearing his ball cap and yellow glasses.
My bottom lip quivered at the sight of him.
He bent and kissed me softly, bumping a few of the cords connected to me.
“Don’t cry,” he begged.
“It’s a good cry. I can’t believe you’re here,” I said.
The nurse strode into the room and started to lay out the rules to Morik. No messing with my cords. She’d apparently witnessed the kiss. No giving me anything to eat or drink. If I asked for anything, he should get a nurse. No trying to sleep in the bed with me. I almost rolled my eyes at that one.
He listened to everything with a serious focus and promised the nurse he would cause me no duress. I already knew that.
With Morik and Mom by her side, the nurse wheeled me through the hospital doors a few days later. The colors of another setting sun decorated the sky.
Morik helped me into the car while Mom put all my stuff in the front seat. Despite his gentle care, his eyes swirled yellow and ochre behind his glasses by the time I was settled. He’d witnessed a few of my flinches even though I’d tried to hide them.
“I’m fine,” I whispered.
He made a non-committal noise, closed the door, and waved to the nurse before going to the other side to get in back with me. Mom met my gaze in the rearview mirror and smiled.
“We’ll be home soon.”
Morik wrapped one arm around my shoulders as she pulled forward. I rested my head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart. How I’d missed that sound.
Once we cleared the parking lot, Mom said, “All right. Get her home.”
In a blink, I lay in my twin bed with Morik stretched out next to me.
“Finally,” I sighed, relaxing.
Morik chuckled softly and kissed my temple.
Alone for the first time in days, I slipped a hand under his shirt and ran my fingers lightly over his scar.
“Tell me what happened.”
He stayed quiet for a moment as he tangled his fingers in my hair.
“I felt you put pressure on my chest and knew it wouldn’t be enough. As you moved away, I called for Lurel. She took me back to the cavern and fought to keep me alive for days. Even after I started to heal, I was too weak to return to you. She stayed with me. When I felt you—” He sighed. “Nothing could have kept me away.” He kissed the side of my head again. “Sleep. Your mom will be home in an hour with dinner and Stephen.”
I wrinkled my nose. Stephen had removed himself, unwillingly, from our lives after Brian shot Morik. Now that Morik had returned, everyone was putting their lives back in order, which meant wedding talk had resumed. And, everyone agreed I’d have no problem walking down the aisle in a few weeks.
After sleeping so much for the past several days, I couldn’t do more than doze next to Morik. When I grew uncomfortable, I shifted slightly. Morik immediately lifted me and moved me so I didn’t strain the stitches. I sighed when he settled me more firmly on his chest.
Someone tapped on the door, and he rumbled permission to enter. His easy presence here made me smile.
“She awake?” Mom asked.
“Mostly.”
“Can you bring her out?”
I felt him nod. In an instant, he stood with me in his arms. The abrupt shift from horizontal to vertical left me dizzy.
Opening my eyes, I looked up at him. He watched me, his silver eyes swirling with yellow. That color had been present to some degree since he’d returned.
“Can you hand Tessa my glasses, please?” he asked my mom while watching me.
She moved around us and grabbed the glasses from my desk. She handed them to me with a smile and left the room. I carefully fitted them on his face, using my good arm. As soon as they sat on his nose, he strode out toward the living room.
I could smell the sulfur of a freshly struck match.
“Surprise!” Beatriz and a few other familiar voices yelled when we emerged from the hallway.
A cake lit with seventeen candles glowed in the center of the table. My family, Beatriz, Tommy, Brad, Stephen, and Mona stood around the table. They all started singing to me, and I smiled as I tried to count back the days in the hospital. Had that much time really passed?
Morik set me on the couch and claimed the space next to me. Beatriz handed me several gifts while Mona and Gran cut the cake. I took my time opening the presents.
Beatriz gave me a gift card to her favorite store in the mall. A trap if I ever saw one. Gran, Mom, and Aunt Grace gave me a quilt for a larger bed, handmade following our tradition. Knowing they meant it for our bed, I blushed when Morik held it up for my inspection.
Brad and Tommy each gave me a card. Tommy’s thanked me for including him on the double-date. I could feel Morik’s eyes scan the card and blushed. He and I had a few things to talk about. Brad’s card simply stated, “I’m glad it’s no longer a count down. Get well soon and happy seventeen.”
I smiled and thanked everyone. No one stayed long. While the rest of my family quietly cleaned up, Morik carried me back to my room.
After he set me on the bed, he produced a small, brightly wrapped gift.
“Happy birthday, Tessa.”
Nestled in a soft bed of silk, a thin chain held a sparkling stone teardrop, clear and beautiful.
“Just having you back is enough,” I said, closing the lid on the box.
His lips twitched, and he set the box with the necklace still inside on the desk before lying on the bed with me.
“I know,” he said softly, touching his lips to my hair. “I felt the moment you chose me. Then, I felt your pain. Again.”
His eyes blazed bright red at the memory. I reached up and ran my fingers through his hair, accidentally—on purpose—touching his sensitive ears. Black obliterated any color.
“That’s what I wanted to see again,” I whispered, stretching to kiss him.
Our lips touched lightly, and I sighed. The kiss warmed me. Playfully, I nipped his lower lip. He pulled back and shook his head at me.
“Everything’s the way it should be. Stop dwelling on the past,” I said.
He smiled at me and nodded. “It’s finally time to start thinking of a future.”
