Forgotten

Chapter 25

WHEN I WAKE UP, I FIND MYSELF WRAPPED IN ROWAN'S warm embrace. My head is resting against his chest, and his arms are around my shoulders, holding me close. The truck is still rolling steadily over the bumpy road with its loud engine roaring, but here in Rowan's arms, I feel safe.

I lift my head, moving my hand up his side, and at my touch his eyes blink open, their green glow illuminated by the flashlight that he's left on. He looks down and smiles when his gaze lands on me. In that moment, I can't help thinking that even in the morning, his brown hair tousled and eyes still bleary with sleep, he is beautiful.

"Morning, princess," he says softly before letting out a yawn. "How'd you sleep?"

"Well enough, considering the bumpy ride we've been having," I tease, sitting up. One of his arms remains draped around my shoulders, and I make no move to push it away. "You?"

"Best I've had in a while." His eyes never leave me, scanning me carefully up and down to the point where I feel like they're piercing right through me.

I duck away from his scrutinizing gaze and squint into the darkness. "It doesn't look like morning yet." I can see a little light leaking through the crack under the truck's door, but it's gray and faded, not nearly bright enough for day.

"It's probably really early. "

Our conversation is abruptly cut off by a jolting scream from the other side of the truck. I jump, recognizing Hayley's cry of anguish, and Rowan immediately clicks on his flashlight.

Hayley is sitting against a box, wrapped in her blanket, her eyes wide with fear and tears streaming down her face. She cries out again, not so loudly, but I can tell by the look in her face that she's just woken up from a nightmare.

Forgetting everything that has transpired between Hayley and me in the past night, I crawl over to her and take her in my arms, just like I did on that night with Liana, the first time Hayley had a bad dream. "Shh, Hayley, it was just a dream...it's okay. Just a dream."

Hayley shakes her head, trembling, but to my surprise and relief, she doesn't pull away from me. Instead, she stares into space, her sobs fading into hiccups.

"Want to talk about it?" I ask her quietly, rocking her back and forth.

She nods, but there is a long pause before she begins to speak. "We...we were running to the tower again. I was behind you, and you crashed through the windows, just like last time. The man aimed his gun at you, and you were talking to him..."

I suck in my breath. Did she relive the murder I committed last night?

"I knew what to do. I picked up a rock and I threw it at him, and then threw another one. But this time, after it hit his shoulder, you didn't attack him." Hayley still doesn't look at me, her chest heaving. "Then...then the guard shot you..." Her tears begin to fall freely again. "There was blood all over the floor, but this time, it was yours."

"Oh, Hayley," I murmur. "It wasn't real. I'm right here, I'm okay." Even as I comfort her, I can't help feeling a guilty flash of relief that she didn't dream about what really happened—how I stabbed that guard with the knife.

Hayley shakes her head and shudders. "He would have killed you," she says quietly. "He would have killed me. But you saved us. You saved my life. You were brave." She looks up at me, her eyes full of tears. "I know that now."

I don't know what to say. I stare down at her, slightly openmouthed, not quite believing it. "You...you forgive me?" I whisper.

She nods, and without another word, wraps her arms around me in a hug. "I'm sorry," she says. "Sorry I was mad at you."