Serendipitous

14.

The pain in my side is sharp but bearable as I squeeze my eyelids together. My eyes slowly open as I look around the cold room to see my mom and dad beside the bed. There faces had worry and relief written across them but they both tried to put on reassuring smiles when they saw me.

"Where are we?" I choke out.

"Hey, Molly. That's Hershel. We're in his house. You had an accident. All right?" My dad answers me in a hushed voice.

"It hurts, a lot..." I breathe out.

"Oh baby, I know. I know." My mom whispers, she has tears in her eyes. Where is Shane? I could have sworn he was here. He must have been.

"Shane kept me safe." I whisper as my eyes begin to close.

"What?"

"When the city had been bombed, we found a house..." Everyone suddenly goes black around me.

"Molly?" My dad's voice fills my ears, but I can't see him. I can't see anything.

"What is happening?" My moms sounds frantic.

"Don't. It's a seizure. If you hold her down, you could hurt her." The unfamiliar voice responds.

"You can't stop it?"

"She has to just go through it."

The sound of my mother's sobbing fills my ears, I want to speak, to tell them I love them, I want to tell them how sorry I am for everything that's happened in these last few days. But I can't.

"Fever's gone down." The unfamiliar voice states calmly. My eyes open as I look around the room for Shane, my heart sinks when I realize he isn't here. He's gone. He really left.

"Baby?" My mom's voice pulls me out of my thoughts as I turn my head to look at her.

"Molly?" My dad says quietly.

"Shane? Is he okay?" My voice comes out weak and hoarse, nothing like how I usually sound. "And Sophia?"

"Fine. They're both fine." My dad answers but I know he must be lying to try to keep me from becoming upset.

"Rest. We'll be right here, okay?" My mom whispers quietly.

"Okay." I breathe out. As I close my eyes, I can almost hear what sounds like the faint sound of a car pulling into the house can be heard, but perhaps I'm just imagining things.
I try not to think about Shane and how he's gone, but it replays in my mind like a scary move that I have to watch whether I want to or not. My chest aches as I remember the things I said to him in the woods, I was so angry and hurt. Even if he really never loved me that way, I think I'll always love him—Or at least a part of me will. But I can't think about think right now, combined with the pain in my side and the pain in my chest... I don't need to start crying, not right now. I close my eyes.

The sound of a door opening causes me to wake up from my sleep. I look up to see my dad sit down beside the bed.

"Hey, dad"

"Hey." He clears his throat. "Molly, I told you something earlier today about Sophia--"

"I know. Mom told me..."

"Here I was getting ready to confess. I didn't mean to lie. I just didn't want to worry you. It's a stupid excuse but it's all I got." He says softly, I give him a small smile.

"It's okay. Do you think we'll find her?"

"I know we will." He responds before signing. "Well...I don't know. But I truly believe it."