A Touch of Cinnamon

Chapter Thirty-Five

Everything is a blur. I feel like I keep waking up and passing out again. And every time I open my eyes, I see light brown staring back at me. Crying. Pleading with me not to leave again. I want to give him what he wants. I really, really do. But the pain in my head is unimaginable. The lights make me feel like my skull is going to explode, and every tiny bit of sound makes me want to throw up. Sleep is better than the pain. So... I sleep. Even though he's begging me not to.

I have no idea how many times I wake up and pass out again. Eventually I lose count. But finally, after who knows how long, I'm able to open my eyes. The pain is still there, but it's less now. More manageable. The light doesn't hurt. The world isn't spinning. It's not ideal, but it's better. So, so much better. I blink a few times before taking in my surroundings. White walls. Lots of weird technical sounds. The scent of something that smells like bleach, but somehow isn't. The hospital. I'm in the hospital.

Beside me, I hear what sounds like loud breathing. I slowly turn my head and see a mess of thick black curls and a pair of hands. Vale. His hands are covering his face, and it... it sounds like he's... crying. My heart tightens, and I carefully lift my hand up to place it on his arm. At my touch, he jumps, startled, and removes his hands from his face. His eyes are bright red and puffy, and his nose is glossy. How long has he been here like this?

"Genny," he whispers as he jumps to his feet and moves closer to me, placing the back of his hand gently against my left cheek. "Oh, Genny. You're awake." I nod my head slowly, and then wince. Okay, movement hurts. "No, no. Try to stay still. It's okay. You're okay."

I give him a tight smile, but my own eyes are filling with tears now. "Wh-What happened?" I ask, because I can't remember much of anything about the events that put me here. "Was I in an accident?"

He shakes his head. "I don't know. My bracelet just kept buzzing and lighting up. I ignored it at first, but it wouldn't stop. When I called you to check on you, you didn't answer. It scared the shit out of me, so I signed onto the app and used the bracelet tracker, because I knew wherever you were, at least you had that. And that's how I found you. You were lying in a pool of your own blood behind some back-alley trashcan. There was an ugly gash on your head. And you said something about how he took your bracelet. But you were wearing it, so I didn't understand."

My eyes widen as I suddenly remember what I was doing there. "I was making a trade," I whisper as it all comes flooding back to me. "Someone said they had a ring to trade me for a bracelet. It was worth $10,000, so I didn't want to miss out on it."

His mouth falls open in surprise. "You... you were there for a trade?" I nod my head again, and instantly regret it. "Don't move your head. You have a concussion and a serious cut on the back of your head. They had to give you a few stitches." He pauses for a second. Then he sucks in a breath and says, "Someone did this to you then? Someone you were supposed to be trading with?"

"I don't really remember," I reply. "I just remember him slamming me against a wall, and then pushing me down. Maybe I hit my head against something? I have no idea. But when I woke up, the bracelet I was trading for was missing. He took it." And that's when the realization hits me. He took my trade. A whole summer worth of hard work, gone in a matter of minutes. I have nothing now. Back to square one. A tear falls from my eye as it hits me that my dream of going to school in Boston is now over.

Vale strokes my cheek with his hand. "Please don't cry, Genny," he whispers, but I can't help it. My heart is breaking. I tried so hard, and I got so close. Now what am I going to do? "It'll be okay. You're safe now."

"I have nothing now, Vale," I cry, and his face falls as more tears slide down my cheeks. "The trading game was my only hope of going to that school, and that guy... J... he took my trade. I have nothing now. It's over."