Monsters

Chapter Twelve

It was much like how I woke up the first time I met Luz. Everything felt heavy as I tried to become more aware of the world around me. I shifted my limbs a bit and I heard the squeaking of a chair distantly. "Amity? Are you awake?" Luz's soft voice spoke up, not having the steeliness to it she had the last time. I groaned and turned only to shift back onto my back at the sheer pain I felt in my shoulder.

"Take it easy." I heard Luz say calmly beside me and I opened my eyes to see her. Though her voice had been soft, her features were not. There were bags under her eyes, her hair seemed to be disheveled as if she were running her fingers through it in worry, and there was this distant look in her eyes as if she wasn't all there.

"It's okay Luz. I'm okay." My words, meant to be reassuring, only seemed to cause her to shut down.

"No, it's not okay." She mumbled before handing me a water bottle in silence and I took it from her, our hands brushing. I watched her go back to her chair, sitting down and staring out the window in front of it. The way she held herself, the look on her face, the emptiness in her gaze; seeing all of this worried me. I was scared of what it all meant.

"How long was I out?" I lifted the shirt I was wearing which I now noticed belonged to Luz seeing my shoulder was bandaged. "And how did you fix me up?" I asked her before letting the shirt fall as my eyes locked back onto her figure. She was quiet for a moment and I watched her while growing even more worried.

"Two days. As for the bullet, I had to dig it out." Her voice was dull, her tone weighed down from some unknown force, by some unknown feeling. My eyes went wide as I tried to understand what she had said. She must have gone through a lot these past two days. I can't imagine how hard that must have been for her. Something in the corner of my vision drew my eyes and I gasped.

The hardwood floor a few feet beside me was stained with dried blood. This must have been where I was when Luz was patching me up. There had also been a fist-sized hole in the wall on the other side of the room. Ruminants of the drywall on the floor. I looked back at Luz feeling guilty she had been put through something like that. There was a distant look on her face as she went to stand. Turning to me she avoided my eyes.

"There's something I need to do Amity. I need you to stay put. You'll be safe here." I went to argue, scared that she was leaving me alone after I had just woken up after being shot and knocked out for two days. I felt vulnerable and didn't want to be alone. I needed Luz here with me to feel safe.

She must have seen the look in my eyes because I saw her face soften just a fraction. She knelt before me and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. "I'll be back soon. I promise." She whispered before placing an unexpected kiss against my forehead and leaving through the door faster than I could say anything in return.

... ... ... ...

I was worried; it had been hours since I last saw Luz and it was growing dark out. I couldn't find it in myself to fall asleep. Not only because of Luz but also from the pain in my shoulder. I'd been leaning with my back against the wall most of the time hoping that keeping still would limit the amount of pain I felt. Knowing that I couldn't just stay like that forever I finally brought myself to stand and walk around.

I walked towards the chair by the window Luz had sat in and looked out. We were on the second floor, the small glimpse at the height only bothered me for a moment before I took my eyes away from the view. There was something, an old-looking notebook, sitting on the window sill. Seeing it made me tilt my head as it looked familiar. Then suddenly, a distant memory comes back to me. Luz had taken this from the drawers of the building where we first met. It had been the last thing she grabbed before we made our escape. I had also seen it in her bag the night I went through it and found that flashlight though I didn't think much of it.