Page 142 of Crystal Iris
“Thank you for coming, for saving our lives.”
“I didn’t do anything, Hoyt.”
“You, the prism... I told you I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“The scream, my scream, I think I felt what you did.”
“What do you mean?”
“My prism lit up like yours, your color.”
“You felt pain?”
“I did, like my body was splitting.”
“How, why? I don’t understand.”
“I don’t know,” I say. “When I heard the gunshot, I think my body, the prism— I don’t know... Maybe… maybe Awena has answers?”
“The doctor told me that she’s healthy, but her mind…”
“They told me that too. She kept saying, ‘You spilled blood,’ over and over again when I found her in the room.”
“Don’t read into it, Iris. Her mind is gone.”
I nod.
Hoyt and I are taking turns being with Johanna during the day. He insists on sleeping in the hospital at night. We extended our stay twice, as the doctors aren’t ready to release Johanna until they’re sure she’s well enough. I have to go back to Boston tonight. I’m somehow supposed to return to work on Monday. I haven’t even prepped any lessons. Luckily, they’re all the same as the previous year. My life in Massachusetts feels so far away now.
Hoyt has left, and I’m walking to Johanna’s room when I hear the voice. That guy’s voice. I’m already calling for help when he sees me and starts to run away.
“Are you okay?” I ask Johanna, seeing that she’s awake.
“He…”
“What?”
“He said he came to check on me, and our mother.”
“What? He’s the one who shot you, Johanna.”
“I don’t think he was trying to hurt me.”
“He shouldn’t be here, Johanna. He’s dangerous. The police are looking for him.”
“I don’t want to press charges.”
“What?”
“He took care of our mother, maybe all those years, I don’t know. What if he really is… my brother? I can’t send him to jail, not because of me.”
“What if he comes looking for you, or Hoyt?”
“He won’t. He doesn’t have the means. You saw where they lived.”
“I don’t think we can trust him, Johanna.”
“You sound like my brother.”
