Page 43 of Desolation
His soft, barely audible declaration has me freezing, though he isn’t fully awake when he says it. Those damn butterflies erupt in my stomach again as his words, bringing a happiness I didn’t think I could feel so soon after Beth’s death.
I close my eyes, thinking of our last conversation.
She had been right. I am strong and I am very loved.
It’ll be a long road to recover from her death. At least now I know that it wasn’t my fault or Gaia’s. In fact, her mere presence in our lives was a blessing and a gift. And though Beth loved us, I’m sure she’s happy where she is, reunited with her husband who she spoke so fondly of and the kid she cried for when she thought we were asleep.
I hope you are at peace now with your family.
Chapter Ten
Lana
I lie in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, trying to find a position in which I can relax and doze off, but it’s no use. It seems like I’ve been in bed for hours. My mind is running through all the events of the past day.
Has it really only been a day?
It’s still dark outside.All of this shit will be here in the morning to deal with, Lana. Go to sleep.
There’s just too much on my mind between Gaia, what had happened with Hale
I try to be stern with myself but my eyelids refuse to stay closed. Everything Gaia said keeps digging its talons into my brain, dragging me by the roots of my hair, down the rabbit hole. Realizing this is futile, I give in and let my imagination run rampant, as wildwhat ifscenarios jump in my head like a group of tantrum-throwing toddlers, begging for attention.Look at me! No, me!
What if Hale and I both suffered from a traumatic brain injury during the storm and didn’t realize it? I don’t recall any head wound so I cross that off the list.Next.
What if Gaia’s religious following is actually a cult andsomehow,they slipped drugs into our food and drinks while we were napping at the lake?
It’s doubtful that we’re important enough for a cult to randomly target so that one seems a little farfetched.Next.
What if the tornadoes earlier ripped through a gas pipe in our house and this was all a hallucination after someseriousgas inhalation?Shit, did we even get gas where we lived?And does gas even cause hallucinations or just death?
Internally groaning, I move onto the only other option I have left.
What if Hale and I aren’t hallucinating and everything Gaia told me in my dream is real?
At this point, that seems most likely.
Fuck my life.
A loud rap on our door has me bolting to my feet with a grace and speed that I have never before possessed. Hale flies out of bed just as fast and quietly makes his way to the door, opening it to greet the late-night visitor.
“Lana, turn the light on,” Hale calls out to me, not a trace of sleepiness in his voice somehow. “I guess we’re having this conversation now.”
I need coffee to deal with this shit and there’s no coffee in sight.What’s a girl gotta do for some liquid gold?
At this point, I’m deliriously tired so of course, the guys had to show up.
Begrudgingly, I turn the light on, bathing the room in a warm glow that illuminates my men as they walk in. They all look like shit, like they’ve been to hell and back and trying to make sense of our lives.
I can relate.
I look closer at them, trying to pinpoint exactly what has changed that makes them look different. Despite the fatigue in the way they’re carrying themselves or their emotional detachment as they refuse to meet my eyes, they all seem a bit larger, height-wise and in their builds. There’s a healthy glow under their skin that makes them look almost radiant.
They couldn’t all have gone through a growth spurt simultaneously overnight, right?
Yesterday, they were fine specimens of the human male population but now, they look almost—
My brain screeches to a halt.
