Page 59 of Chaotic Curse
“I’m not hungry,” I reply, my gaze flickering back to my brother.
His chest rises and falls rhythmically, the monotone beeping of his heart monitor a stark reminder of the reality we’re facing.
Daniela doesn’t argue with me.Instead, she sits there in silence, her fingers tracing over Eagle’s hand.
“What are you thinking?”I ask her after a while.
“I’m just praying for him,” Daniela admits, her voice soft.“And hoping that he’ll wake up soon.”
Her words hit me harder than I expect, and tears prick at the corners of my eyes.I swallow hard, forcing down the lump in my throat.
“Thank you,” I murmur, barely audibly.
My brother looks so small, and I imagine him as the scrawny teenager he once was—back when he first got caught up with drugs.
And the three of us paid for it dearly, Falcon most of all.
“I should have protected Eagle,” I say to Daniela.“But I didn’t.I promise I’ll protect you.”
She gives a weak smile as the door opens.
An orderly walks in with a large bouquet of flowers.It’s a lush, full bouquet—two dozen long-stemmed roses arranged in a clear glass vase.The blooms are a deep, velvety crimson.The fragrance is subtle but unmistakable.
The orderly sets the flowers on a table by the bathroom.
“I’ll grab the note,” Daniela says, rising.
She takes the note from the bouquet and?—
“Oh my God…”
“What is it?”I ask.“Are they for Eagle?You can put them on the table in the corner.”
“No,” she whispers, her voice trembling.“They’re… They’re for me.”
18
DANIELA
“What?”Hawk jumps to his feet.
I swallow, staring at the card.“The flowers aren’t for Eagle.They’re for me.”
“What?”He comes to me quickly.
I tear open the note?—
A chill of fright sweeps through me.
Beauty may draw a hawk close, but the thorns drive him away.
The note slips from my fingers.
Hawk stoops down, picks it up, and reads it.
His jaw clenches.
“I’m being watched,” I say, my voice trembling.
