“We won?”
I nodded, smiling. “Yes, we actually won. Now I just have some sweet battle wounds that I can show off.”
Eric tried to laugh but started coughing. Once he stopped, his eyes drooped. “I’m so tired.”
“Get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”
“Come lie next to me.”
“Eric,” I said, shaking my head, “I’ll hurt you.”
“I don’t care.” His eyes pleaded with me. “I need you by my side. I need my Emmie.”
“Marie will kill me.”
“No, she won’t. She’ll understand. Now come here.”
I stood and went to the door, looking outside. When I was positive no one was looking, I shut the door and snuck back to the bed. Eric scooted closer to the edge of the bed, cringing in pain as he did.
“You’ll have to hop on the other side because of my arm,” Eric said.
Going over to the end of the bed on the left side, I crawled my way up, being very careful of what I touched. I lay my head on the pillow next to him, resting the top of my head against his. I put my hand on his chest, right above his heart. Feeling the beat gave me comfort knowing he really was there with me, alive.
His whole body sighed. “I love you so much, Emmie.”
I smiled and looked into his eyes. “I love you more than words can ever say.”
“Emmie, I need you to listen to me for a minute,” he said, his tone worrying me, “and you can’t say anything until I’m done.”
“But …”
“Seriously, Emmie, no interruptions. Promise me.”
I sighed. “I promise.”
“Good.” He cleared his throat. “These pasts few months have taught me a lot. I’ve grown more in just that little amount of time than I have my whole life. These past couple of weeks have taught me even more. It made me realize how much this city means to me. It made me realize how much you mean to me. It also made me see that life can be taken away from you in a blink of any eye.” He coughed a few times, trying to get some breath. I’m sure he hadn’t talked that much in a while.
I opened my mouth to say something.
“No, Emmie,” Eric said. “I’m not done. This is not the way I thought it would go, and I know we’re young, but Emmie Woodard, I need you to promise me right here and right now that you’ll marry me one day.”
I sat up, looking at him, stunned. “I, uh …” I ran my fingers through my hair. “Are you being serious right now?”
“Yes.” His eyes searched mine, desperate and hopeful. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
My smile got so big, I thought my face might break. “Yes, of course, Eric. I’ll marry you whenever you want.”
He released a deep breath. “Good.”
I lay back down and rested my head against his. “I love you.”
“I love you. I promise I’ll do it right one day, I just wanted a confirmation now so I can sleep better at night.”
It didn’t take long until Eric fell asleep. I just lay there, smiling, so glad to have him there next to me. Despite everything that had taken place, I was the happiest girl in the world. I kept my hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat until I finally fell asleep.
I ended up sleeping through the evening and into the early night. My body was exhausted from the battle. When I woke, Eric was still asleep. I looked at my wristwatch to see that it was three in the morning. I brushed my lips against Eric’s forehead and did my best to get out of the bed without rattling him.
Being as quiet as I could, I opened the door and stepped out, shutting the door behind me. The halls were empty, except for someone lying down outside of Eric’s room. They were lying on their stomach, wearing a jacket with the hood up.
I bent down and pulled the hood back. “Derek?”
Derek let out a snore and turned his head toward the wall. Putting my hands on his head, I turned it back to me. He swatted one of my hands, his voice coming out in a groan. “Leave me alone.”
“Derek.” I shook him gently. When that didn’t work, I shook him until he opened his eyes.
“Stop. Oh, Emmie.” He sat up. “I’ve been waiting here forever. While I should be scolding you for sleeping with your boyfriend, I have a very important matter to discuss with you.”
I sat down next to him. “What’s so important that you’d sit out here and wait for me?”
“And not scold you,” he said, his finger pointed at me.
“Yes, thank you for that.”
Derek’s eyes lit up. “You’ll never guess what happened.”
“I’m too tired to think of a sarcastic remark, so you’re going to just have to tell me.” I pulled my legs into my chest, resting my chin on my knee.
He turned his body so he faced me. “You’re not fun anymore, you know that?”
“That happens when you’re faced with serious issues.”
“This is a serious issue.”
I lifted my chin and looked at him. “Then please tell me, Captain Awesome.”
Derek beamed. “Get ready, because this is huge. I mean, brace yourself.”
“I’m braced.” The giddy look on his face made me smile. I placed my hand on his arm. “You’re killing me! What happened?”
“I need to set the mood here.” Derek sat up straight, using his hands and face for animation. “The battle had been raging for hours. So many people were dying, so many lives ruined. Then the Scorpion residents arrived and saved us. A couple of hours later, we were declared the winner. We were victorious.” He pumped his fists into the air, quietly shouting victory so he wouldn’t wake anyone.
Derek put down his hands, looking me right in the eye. “We were alone in the room, just Naomi and me. I turned to her and held my hand up for a high five, but she surprised me by throwing her arms around me and she …”
“She what?” As much as I hated to admit it, sometimes I loved the way Derek told stories. He always had fun doing it.
“She kissed me, Emmie. Naomi kissed me.” I don’t think his smile could have gotten any wider. “Like on the lips. And. It. Was. Awesome!”
My jaw dropped. “Are you serious? She kissed you?”
Derek nodded, his smile still breaking records. “It was the best moment of my life. It outshines every second of my life before you were born.”
I threw my good arm around his neck and hugged him tightly. “I’m happy for you, even though you just took a jab at me.”
He squeezed me back. “I’ll never stop making jabs at you, Emmie. I hope you know that. You’ve always been my favorite person to tease.”
“Why is that?” I asked, pulling back.
Derek shrugged. “You’re the only one who will humor me and get me back. It’s just not fun with anyone else.” He rubbed his eyes. “Now, I’m going home and going to bed. I’m freaking tired.” He stood and held his hand out to me. “Are you coming home now?”
I shook my head as he pulled me up. “I don’t think I can sleep right now.”
“Alright,” he said. We walked in silence down the hall. Once we entered Headquarters, Derek looked over at me. “You’re lucky dad isn’t here to find out you spent the night with your boyfriend.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know nothing happened.”
“How would I know that?” He raised his eyebrows at me. “You were alone with him in a room with the door closed.”
“Seriously, Derek? You really think seeing my boyfriend like that would turn me on?”
Derek scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, probably not.”
“Not so much,” I said, shaking my head. I linked my arm through his. “I’m going to miss him. Dad, I mean.”
“Me too, Emmie. Me too.” He looked like he was fighting back tears. “How are you holding up?”
I sighed. “I don’t know, really. Too much has happened. I haven’t had a moment to process everything.”
“That’s understandable,” he said, nodding.
“W
hat about you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “It just doesn’t seem real. I’m sure it’ll take a few days for it to really sink in.”
“Well, as much as we tease each other, I’ll always be here for you if you need to talk.”
“Thanks, sis. I’ll be here for you, too.”
I stopped and hugged him. “I love you, my awesome big brother.”
“I love you, too, my crazy, yet fun, little sister,” Derek said, squeezing me tight. He patted me on the head, making me roll my eyes.
We parted ways once we left Headquarters. I went to the ladder that led up to the alcove, looked up, and sighed. It took me a while to get to the top because of my bad arm, not to mention I was sore all over from the battle. I'd never used my muscles that much in my life.
As I sat down on a rock, I looked up at the sky. The storm had cleared out, leaving behind a beautiful, clear atmosphere. Stars lit up the sky, the sight taking away some of the stress in my life. The view from up there, plus the cool air on my skin, calmed my nerves. It was my little safe haven inside of New Haven.
A noise behind me instantly took away my peace. A figure stepped out from the dark. I was about to jump up, but then I saw the spiked hair. I placed my hand on my chest. "You scared me to death, Maya."
Maya came over and sat down next to me on the rock. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." She glanced over at me. "Couldn't sleep?"
"I fell asleep early," I said, pulling my legs into my chest. "Did I miss anything?"
"Not too much," Maya said. "We finished digging the graves and then went to work filling them. We were able to get all the corpses in, but we'll have to cover them back up tomorrow."
Talking like that made me shiver. Less than a year ago, I would never have imagined having that kind of conversation. "How are we going to handle the funeral? Just have one big one?"
"I think that's the only plausible answer." She crossed her ankles and leaned into me. I linked my arm through hers, glad to have someone out there with me.
"We shouldn't plan anything specific," I said. "Just have an open forum where anyone can get up and talk about any of the fallen."
"I agree," Maya said. "Do you think you'll be up for talking about anyone?"
I sighed, thinking of Dad and Mack. There was no way I could just stand there and not acknowledge the impact they’d had on my life. "I have to." I reached over and ran a finger over one of her bracelets. “The charm for your next birthday is going to have to be a warrior. You were great out there in battle.”
She stared at the bracelets. “I was hoping to master something less dangerous, like a set of drums.”
“You want to learn to play the drums?”
“It sounded fun,” she said with a shrug.
I leaned my head against hers. “Then let’s get you a set of drums.”
I stayed up on the alcove the rest of the night, my mind unable to stop buzzing. Maya had left me a few hours before so she could get some rest. I played with my butterfly necklace as the sun came up over the mountains. Pink and orange hues painted the sky, the clear air starting to warm up a bit.
“I thought I’d find you up here.” I looked over at the top of the ladder to see Vivica stepping out onto the alcove. She came up next to me and sat down on the rock, her posture straight.
Even though she was exhausted with dark circles under eyes and had some cuts and bruises on her face, Vivica was still stunning. She looked at the sun, a mixture of sorrow and hope in her eyes.
After a moment, she turned to me. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” I asked.
Vivica sighed, turning back to look at the sun. “I’ve been somewhat of a brat to you since we first met.”
I thought of Amber and let out a little laugh. “I seem to have that effect on some people.”
“Has Dante ever talked to you about our mom?” She had her long legs stretched out, her ankles crossed.
“No.” I’d tried a few times to ask him about it, but he never seemed to want to talk about it and I didn’t want to push the subject.
“She was killed right before we escaped.” Tears formed in her eyes as she slightly shook. “I was supposed to be watching over and protecting her. I got distracted for just a moment. When I looked back at her, an arrow was right through her heart.” She put her hand over her mouth, her tears falling down her cheeks.
I placed my hand on her arm. “Vivica, you know her death’s not your fault, right? You couldn’t have stopped what happened.”
She shook her head. “I could’ve stopped it. If I was paying attention, I could’ve pushed her out of harm’s way or taken the arrow for her.”
“You don’t know that. You can’t blame yourself. It’ll just eat you alive. Trust me, I’d be completely insane by now if I blamed myself for every bad thing that’s happened to those around me. Those I love.”
Vivica looked at me, not masking the shame or regret she felt. “I got distracted by a boy. A stupid boy that I had a crush on. I lost my mom because of a little girl crush.”
I put my arm around her shoulder. “You lost your mom because of a battle going on in your city. You lost your mom because a bad person killed her. It’s that person’s fault. They were the one holding the bow. They were the one who released the arrow.”
“I try to tell myself that over and over again.” She leaned into me, resting her head against mine. “It’s why I’ve been so rude. I thought shutting myself out from the world would help in some way. I thought if I just pushed everyone out, I’d never feel that hurt again.” Her smiled reached her eyes. “But then you come along and throw all of that out the window.”
I pulled away and looked at her, startled. “What?”
Vivica laughed. “I like you, Emmie, and I have no idea why. You’re so strong and determined. You fight for what you want.” She looked at me. “You’re just how I was before I closed myself off.”
“Uh, thank you?” My face scrunched in confusion.
“I was jealous at first. Mostly because you and Dante were getting all the attention. And then seeing how happy you were with Eric drove me nuts. I thought hating you would be a good idea, but obviously, it wasn’t.”
I smiled. “I always wondered why you hated me so much.”
“But I don’t. Dante told me about that Amber girl. I know exactly why she hates you.”
“Why?”
“Jealousy.”
I shook my head. “Amber’s not jealous of me. She can get whatever she wants.”
Vivica eyed me. “She’s jealous, Emmie, completely jealous. You’re tougher, smarter, hotter, and from what I hear, people tend to like you much more than they like her.”
“If she wasn’t such a brat, people might like her. But she treats people like dirt.”
“It’s a defense mechanism. I would know. I’m just like her.”
I held up my hand. “Trust me when I say you’re nothing like her. She’s a psychopath. You’re a good person, Vivica, and you’re a tough woman. I watched you fight in that battle. You were absolutely amazing and completely selfless.”
She looked down at the ground. “I don’t know about all of that.”
“You saved a lot of lives. You made sure not one hair was harmed on Joshua and Will while they were rescuing the wounded.” I looked at her. “You’re a protector. It’s who you are. Which is why you blame yourself for your mom’s loss. It’s why you tried to protect your heart by closing yourself down.”
Vivica raised her eyebrows, rubbing the tears away from her eyes. “How did you become so wise? You sound like this little old lady from Kingsland. We called her The Wisdom. People would always go to her when they needed advice or guidance in their lives.”
I let out a laugh. “Please, I’m far from wise. I’ve done nothing but make rash and stupid decisions since I’ve come here.”
“Yet, they’ve all turned out to be right.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at the horizon.
“It’s lu
ck.”
“It’s wisdom.”
This wasn’t an argument I’d win. I glanced over at her while I twirled my butterfly. “How are you doing, by the way? I mean, about your dad.”
Vivica shrugged. “I’ve been trying my hardest to keep myself together.”
“It’s okay to break down and cry about it. He was an amazing man and an amazing leader. In his short amount of time here, look at what he’s done for New Haven.”
“I know.” She smiled at me. “Don’t tell anyone, but I was sobbing like a little girl last night. I cried myself to sleep.”
I thought about my breakdown earlier. “It’s good to get it all out of your system. It’s part of the grieving process. Now you can pull yourself back together and start all over again. Make your mom and dad proud of you. Show them the fighter and protector you are.”
We were cut off by someone coming up onto the alcove. Dante paused when he saw the two of us sitting right next to each other, both smiling. “I’m going to be honest; this is the last thing I expected to see.”
Vivica and I both laughed. I looked at Dante. “What brings you up here?”
“For starters,” Dante said, walking over to us, “I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“I’m doing as fine as I can be,” I said.
Dante nodded. “Good. I also came to say that you need to get your butt off that rock and get down to the cemetery. We have a lot of dirt to shovel today.”
I held out my hand to him and he helped me up. “When should we have the funeral?”
“I was thinking tonight or tomorrow morning,” Dante said, helping Vivica up. “It depends on how the day goes.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Vivica said. “I was thinking I could take all the children and we could use my paint to draw pictures or sayings on some rocks. That way we can place a rock on each grave to have something to remember each hero by.”
“I love that idea,” I said, smiling. “I think the children will love it, too.”
Reckoning (New Haven Book 2) Page 24
