Hidden Fox

Thirty-Two

Immediately, I knew who she meant. Kallie. Kallie was awake, and she was asking for me.

A million thoughts ran through my mind as we followed the nurse down the hall. Did they tell her I was here? They must have if she was asking for me. Was she okay? I knew physically they had been monitoring her, but so much had happened to her and she was only a child!

Xavier chuckled under his breath, and I turned, about to ask him what he thought could be funny about this. But I saw the sparkle in his eye he only ever had for me. He was laughing at me.

"What?" I hissed.

His head shook, seeming bewildered. "Just, this is the best you've been walking since you got back, and you don't even seem to notice."

Glancing down, I realized he was right. We were already clear past the kitchen and had entered the infirmary without my noticing. And all of those steps had been taken without any help; not Xavier, not my mom or Emerald, not even the wall. "I need to see her," was the only thing I said.

We rounded the doorframe and while I was vaguely aware of Iris in the room, the only thing I truly saw was the pair of brown, half-moon eyes that shifted to focus on me.

I flung myself across the room, crash landing in the chair next to her cot, and reached out for her. Kallie's hands, pale and cracked, grasped mine and she graced us with the biggest smile I had ever seen from her.

"April!" Her voice was worn, scratchy like her chords were rolling over gravel, but I'd still know her voice anywhere. I probably knew her voice better than her appearance, months of talking through the bars in the dark was most of what I had to go off of.

"Kallie," I whispered back, cupping her small face with the palm of my hand. My vision was blurred, I didn't even remember when I started crying. "How are you feeling?"

She shrugged her bony shoulders, reaching a thin finger up to wipe the tears from my cheeks. The gesture made me laugh through them. "I'm okay."

Then she broke down. "I'm sorry!" She cried, "I left you there asleep in the dirt, and then I couldn't find you again!"

"Shh," I whispered as I crawled up onto her bed to be closer to her, wrapping my arms around her shaking form. "Shhh, it's okay, I promise." Placing a finger under her chin I made her meet my eyes, "Sweetheart, you listened to me. You did the right thing by seeking help. And it led you to Xavier, right?" I met my mate's eyes, which held a look of thought I couldn't decipher.

She sniffled, "Yeah. He brought me here when I couldn't find you."

I hugged her tighter, "And then you got help, right?"

She only shrugged and it was Iris who answered, reminding me of the other girls' presence.

"Sort of. She's been asleep here and there, but she hasn't let the doctors do much besides the IV and a change into the hospital shirt."

Tearing my gaze from Kallie, I met my friend's eyes. "Why not?"

She shrugged, and I noticed how different she looked already compared to what I knew before. Her eyes were brighter, skin clearer and bronzing back up, even without the sun. Her hair had been freshly cut and washed, the glossy black strands dusting her shoulders. "She only asked for you." She said to answer my question.

"Kallie?" I asked the kid.

"I'm sorry," she whispered against my shirt where her head was buried. "I don't know who to trust with what. I wanted you to be here."

I knew how she felt, but still my heart melted into putty inside me. Of course, she was scared! "What about Iris? She's been here."

"I wanted you." She mumbled, barely even perceptible.