Page 31 of Chaos Destiny
“Be strong for them,” I added. “If you can’t, there are others in this camp who’d be more willing. Me, on the other hand,” I swung my legs over the bench seat, “I wouldn’t be able to livewith myself knowing that I helped Ari when she was clinging to life only to betray her in the end.”
I walked off.
He called my name, but by the time it reached my ears, the door was already closing behind me.
11
GAGE
“Steady, Ari. Steady.”
Ari gripped my forearm and pulled herself up to sit, ignoring the four or five times I’d told her already that she needed to lie down. But I knew why she couldn’t. The moment she was up, she opened her arms.
“Can I hold her?” she asked. “Is it safe? How much time do I have to hold her? Because I’m sick, right? I got whateveritis, and I’m going to turn into one of those things walking around.”
Tayler walked to the other side of Ari’s bed and said, as gently as if talking to Thandie, “No, sweetie. You had pneumonia. I’m Tayler. I’m a doctor. My group found you in the camper and brought you here to be treated.”
Ari’s eyes filled. “So, I’m gonna live?”
Thandie, drifting in and out of sleep, finally caught wind that her mother was lucid and lurched forward. I had to hold onto her like a loaf of bread to prevent her from falling while placing her in Ari’s arms.
Ari held Thandie as close as the little strength she had allowed. Then, I noticed Tayler send Carolyn a look. Carolyn nodded and left the room, promising to come back later.
“I’ll give you two some privacy,” Tayler said, moving toward the door. “Ari, I’ll be back soon to examine you, okay?”
Ari, eyes wide, searched the small room. “What about Julien? Gage, please tell me you found him. Or heard from him. You know Julien wouldn’t go out easily. Isn’t that right, Thandie, sweetheart?” She kissed Thandie’s cheek. “Daddy would fight Hades himself to get back to us.”
I looked over my shoulder and caught Tayler’s frown as she left.
“He’s not here,” I said, finding a spot on the edge of the bed. “We ended up here out of luck, basically. The doc’s group was at the clinic at the same time I was. She told me about the camp and left food and medicine. It wasn’t until I got back to the camper that I found out they took you.”
She reached for my hand and squeezed. “Gage, I’m sorry I?—”
“Nothing to apologize for, love. Had a tough go of it, but I’m doing better now.”
“Still, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
“You’re here now. I missed you, ankle-biter.”
“I missed you too, Gagey. “She released my hand and searched the room a second time. “So, how do you feel about this place? You know we’ve seen our fair share of ‘decent on the outside but hell on the inside.’”
I shrugged. “They have walls, warm food, and access to medical care. That’s more than we had at the last place. Plus, Thandie’s fighting a fever. It’s probably the same bug you caught, but it might not be as bad. Tayler’s keeping an eye on her.”
“I owe her my life.”
“I owe her your life, too.”
She glanced at the doorway. “You want her, don’t you?”
“Ari, you’ve been fully conscious for less than an hour.”
“Andstillpicked up on it.”
“Yeah, well...” I scratched the back of my head and took another quick look over my shoulder. “She thinks me and you are married and that Thandie’s ours.”
“Eww.”
“Oh, fuck off, mate.”
