Statera - The Balanced One

Chapter Eleven

Tulsa, Oklahoma:

I was in darkness again, with people murmuring occasionally, but I couldn't determine what they said. Pain radiated from my side, but it was distant and muddled. For that, I was grateful. The thought that I might be dead entered my mind and was quickly rejected because if that was the case, I wouldn't be in pain, and Mom would be here. As I tried to focus, the murmuring became energetic—angry, and I could hear someone sighing repetitively.

The heaviness of unconsciousness left my limbs and was replaced by warmth flowing through my body as my senses began to sharpen. The murmurers turn into the hushed, heated whispers of voices I recognized. Owen and Diana were arguing about something. I couldn't open my eyes, let alone move. The sighing I'd heard earlier turned out to be my own breathing.

The darkness faded to a luminescent, deep red, and as awareness grew, I felt the heat of the sun's rays warming my skin. My brain was telling my eyes to open, but they didn't without much resistance. The blinds were up, letting the sun's light blind me. Shifting my face away from the window, I analyzed my surroundings as much as moving my eyes would allow.

I didn't know where I was, but it was clean and mostly white. The ceiling had classroom-style lighting set inside white panels and was accompanied by the soft hum of machinery. Cool air tickled the inside of my nose, and the tubing carrying it felt cold against my cheek. Oxygen—I was on oxygen.

Sighing, I realized I was in the hospital.

By my feet, Keitan slept with his head resting on the mattress. He looked pale and had dark circles under his eyes. He also looked thinner than I remembered. How long had I been lying here, and what had been so bad that Blaire couldn't fix it.

A million questions without answers swam through my mind.

"Keitan."

It came out as a barely audible croak, but his head shot off the mattress. Rolling the chair toward me, he stroked the hair out of my face. Silence stretched as relief became evident in his expression, even though his eyes were bloodshot and tired.

"You're in the hospital, Zora, and have been for four days. We didn't have a choice. You needed blood, or you would have died. Blaire's ability only goes so far. Replacing lost blood—she can't do that. When Anissa flung you into me, it undid the fragile mending Blaire had done. We couldn't stop the bleeding. Anissa feels so much guilt over it," Keitan whispered. Then Leaning down, he kissed my cheek, saying, "Try and get some more rest, Zora."

Keitan glanced to where Owen and Di were still quietly arguing.

"Hey, you two want to stop bickering and come over here. Zora is awake."

Two other faces appeared almost immediately after returning his grey gaze to me. Owen and Diana seemed flat-out worried. I didn't even have enough time to say anything before fatigue took hold and pulled me under again.

When I woke again, it was dark outside. This time I'd regained enough strength to manage sitting up, but not without pain blossoming from my side. Wincing, I was amazed when the discomfort was accompanied by a rather colorful verbal reaction.

Keitan opened the door and walked in, holding a soda and what looked like Chef's salad. Suddenly, I realized how hungry I was. It took just a second for Keitan to notice I was sitting up and awake. Then, like before, I saw an undeniable expression of relief cross his features. The salad and soda were deposited haphazardly on the food tray beside my bed.

"How are you feeling, Zora?"

"I've been better. So what do the doctors think happened?"

"They think you got mauled by a wild animal. So we said we found you on the road, carried you back to the house, and called for an ambulance. You were airlifted here to Tulsa. You had to have a transfusion—a couple, actually. It was touch-and-go at first. It scared me to death. You finally stabilized about twenty-six hours into your hospitalization."