Page 95 of Mortala
I don't want to.
Wind tangles my long hair as I spin like a top and never slow.I swipe at my face, pushing the strands away so I can see beyond the white curtain but lose my balance instead.I won't let her catch me.The sky opens up, thunder cracks like bowling balls in the distance, then lightning shoots down from the clouds and strikes a few feet away.
Closing my eyes, I jump and pray he's there to catch me.
My angels must have dropped me because I wake with a jerk.Terror manifests in a blistering heat which builds in my ears and rushes down my body.At my side, Elias remains with blankets draped over both of us and strong arms holding me tightly.At first I didn't look, afraid of what I would find.
In his sleep, he leans in and presses the softest kiss to my forehead.
"I love you, Sunshine."His groggy voice barely forms the words.Yet, I don't hear them.
He caught me.
Chapter thirty-two
‘Lias
"Goodmornin'."
A honey sweet voice sing-songs at the door.Barely opening my eyes, years of being alert and ready long gone, I see a fuzzy navy-blue figure standing near the computer inside of the room.Golden hair, a stethoscope, badge, and a warm smile finally come into focus as the seconds pass.
Aiming for the lever that reclines the chair I fell asleep in, I push it into the down position and use my legs to help move it along.
"Morning," I growl.
The nurse spins around, hearing me as I sit up.
"Well, hello there.Decide to join the land of the livin'?"Her accent caresses her words.The speed tells me she's from the South and has been there her whole life.
"Wasn't my decision.Big man upstairs keeps my feet planted here."
"Thank the lord for that.I'm Daisy, Sadie's new nurse.Got some good news this mornin'.Reckon you ready to hear it, or shall we wait for Miss Priss to rise and shine?"
Daisy.
A room full of doom and gloom, and the universe sends in a damn flower of a woman.There's a joke in there somewhere, I just can't be assed to find it.
"Hit me.No use in waking her up.She doesn't get much sleep as it is."
"Alrighty.In that case.The doc’s releasing her today.Full pharmaceutical workup, but there’s rules and expectations."
"Of course there is.Go on then.What's the brief?"
"One sec."Daisy abandons the computer and steps out.
Finding my feet, every joint snaps and pops, protesting from night after night on a block of stone when I should be prone with my woman.Cuddled under blankets and holding Sadie as close to me as I can so she can't run away anymore.There’s not giving up, not even on the days when we’re fighting each other.
The sun is giving its all, trying to bathe the room in warmth and good tidings but it sticks to the walls while faux blinds keep it at bay.Creating a glow that's calming and intrusive at the same time.
Approaching Sadie’s side, I see peace in her face for the first time in a long time.The tension has disappeared, the color's come back to her cheeks, and I'm thankful she's breathing and I'm not staring down at her on a metal slab.The thought churns in my stomach, picturing the world without her, a lifetime absent of her smart mouth and defiance.
She doesn't think someone can love her, but I'll be blunt—fuck what she thinks.
"Alrighty, here we go.The doc will be by shortly to do a final assessment but he's ready to discharge her.Before that can happen, due to her psychological evaluation she cannot leave on her own nor can she return to a residence where she does not have twenty-four-hour care."Daisy straightens a stack of papers, setting stapled packs down one by one as she reviews the information in bulk.
"She’ll have to be released to the care of someone eighteen or older, which I'm assuming you're far beyond that.No offense."
"None taken.Comes with the gray."
