Rain splatters against the windows and thunder threatens to tear open the sky.
It's been a week since the showdown with Albert and Loki and I received a call telling me the doctor's were unsure Loki was going to survive. I didn't notify Sami, of course. It would have broken her far more than she already is. She hasn't been eating and she spends most of her day hugging her knees and rocking herself for comfort by the front window. I know what she's waiting for. She's waiting for Loki to walk through those doors like nothing ever happened.
I try to get her to watch a movie with me or play a game to cheer her up, but the reply is always the same.
"I will be loyal."
I haven't been able to piece it directly, but I think her message is translating to her not wanting to give up on Loki. He's like a father she never had. Her and I have been living on our own after my mom died a year ago. Our father died before Sami was born of cancer. My mother: unexpected death.
The only thing I can think when I see her is, "Poor Sami."
Secretly, I miss Loki too. He was kind. He was innocent. He cared. Not at first sight, but after how he treated Sami, he began to grow on me. I was worried he wouldn't live. Often I would sit cross legged next to Sami and finger brush or braid her hair and hold her tight. She shouldn't deserve this.
Once I invited Sami's best friend, Garret over but all she said was, "Hi, Garret. I hope your life is happy."
I had taken him into our kitchen, made him warm soup and explained the situation, leaving out the fact that Sami and Loki are wolves as well. His face had fallen and he poured a bowl of soup and stuck a roll in it and brought it to Sami. She took it and sipped it slowly as he offered kind words I never thought of to say. He scratched her back for hours and told her stories and jokes. Small traces of smiles appeared ever so often that time, but when I asked Sami if she wanted him to come over again, the answer was, "No, it made me worse after he left."
I didn't know if she meant Garret or Loki.
Today, anyway, I text Garret's mother and he comes over with yellow and blue flowers- which are Sami's favorite colors- and a platter of warm cheese and ham sandwiches. He's also holding a small package wrapped in yellow paper. When Sami opens it, she pulls out the newest movie, Thor: The Dark World. Her face brightens a little, but she still seems upset.
Garret proceeds to scratch her back and talk more as I stand by sipping hot chamomile tea.
He leaves and I sit next to Sami and offer her a sandwich. She refuses even when I plead with her, noticing her surprising loss of weight.
"I'm not hungry," she mutters.
"At least try it."
"I said I'm not hungry, Quinn, okay?!" She buries her face in between her knees and taps her fingers against her calves.
I stand silently and place a sandwich next to her.
"I love you, Samantha."
Suddenly she hugs me. Hard. Tears pour down her face and her body racks with sobs.
"I love you too, Quinn, I love you too," she gasps. "Please don't leave me."
I pick her up like a child and sit on the couch as she snuggles close to my chest and bawls. I stroke her golden-brown hair.
A tear slips down my own cheek as I watch the window crying tears of rain of its own.
My phone rings. Sami's tears stop abruptly. I yank my phone out of my pocket and answer on speaker.
"Hello, is this Ms. Lewis?" a kind voice inquires.
"Yes!"
"We would like to inform you that Loki is doing fine and he would love for you to come visit."
"That's fantastic!" I squeal.
The girl on the other end laughs. "Yes. He is in room 512 so when you come, tell his name and room number to the front desk and they will tell you where he is."
"Thank you," I smile.
"It was my pleasure."
Then she hangs up.
Happy laughs and squeals between us explodes.
"He's okay!" I say. "I knew it!"
<><><>
I brace myself before entering his room. The attendant had told us he was still traumatized by the event. However, when we enter the room, he's laying in bed with bandages on his shredded ear, forearm, side, leg, and numerous other places, but he smirks when he sees us.
"Thought I'd be dead, did you?"
Sami laughs and rushes to his side. She grasps his hand and strokes the hair away from his face with her other small hand.
I enter quietly and stand next to her.
"Quinn," he whispers. "It's lovely to see you, too. How are you faring?"
"Fine, I guess," I reply shyly. "I'm just glad you're not dead."
He laughs at this, cutting the scab on his lip open. Blood trickles out of it and Sami dabs it with a tissue.
"Sweet child," he says.
Sami smiles and continues to clean up the wound.
A nurse comes in with a tray of chicken noodle soup with crackers, a chocolate chip cookie, a fruit salad, and a glass of cold water. She hands Sami and me each a cheese sandwich.
Loki digs ravenously into his meal as we nibble our sandwiches.
"So now that you're okay, where will you be going?" I ask Loki.
He coughs on his soup at the question and blushes. "I thought I- uh, could stay with- er, you."
I raise an eyebrow. "I can rent out the apartment next to mine for you. It's fine."
"Thank you," he replies relieved.
I finally ask a question that's been prying at me. "If you can easily heal yourself, why didn't you this time?"
"Ihlenfeld is a Wulfenkind, not a wolf. The wound I received before did not have- for lack of a better word- magic so I could heal. The Wulfenkind bites, however, cannot be healed."
I nod knowingly.
A doctor knocks on the door and enters. "We have received good news," she says. "Loki is well enough to return home."
A/N Loki is about 20, Quinn is about 18. Sami is 12. Garret is 13. 😉
