Gifted Ones

Chapter 25 Haven

My fingers drum restlessly against the tops of my thighs as I bite my lip and tap my toe regularly to a beat I'm not conscious of. I feel restless and upset, unable to sit still with the knowledge that Chase is in one of the rooms just on the other side of the door.

When we found the compass back at Stonehenge, it became clear that the instrument didn't actually point North. The compass app on Anne's phone showed a different direction, so we inferred that, to find Carmine Isle, we should follow the strange compass instead of actually heading North. After deciding this, our next course of action became clear.

Anne left with Garret and Chase, ready to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible. I wanted to go with them, but I didn't want to slow Anne down, and my father was staying, so I decided it would be best to let them go by themselves. I watched them fly off into the night from among the stones, torn between wanting to leave with Chase, and knowing that it would only hinder them.

We buried Matthew in the field next to Stonehenge using my dad's magic to clear a grave. It was an emotional time. Morgan couldn't even watch, while her daughter looked on with dead eyes. I felt a few tears trickle down my face as Dad smoothed the dirt back over the site, and more when he made the grass grow back. Matthew was really and truly gone. I remember wondering how Chase would handle it.

Now we sit outside his hospital room, anxiously waiting for approval to see him. It's been hours, and I can feel myself start to drift off into dreamland, but I force myself to stay awake. I need to see Chase. I won't miss him. My sane mind chastises me for this attachment, but, in my tired state, I don't have the motivation to challenge it.

"The Anderson family?" A nurse calls, exiting the patient ward. "You may see him now, he's awake. You were lucky. With the kind of vitamin deficiencies he had. . . She shakes her head. "Come with me, one at a time.

Morgan goes in first, an anxious, maternal expression on her face. I watch her step into the hallway, catching a glimpse of the doors beyond. Chase is behind one of them. And I can't get to him. I feel the compelling need to protect him, to run to him and throw my arms around his neck. I want to be there for him, but I know that I must let Morgan, Kara, and Garret see him first, as they're practically family to him now. So I wait in silence as they go in one at a time.

Anne follows after Garret, unwavering and sure as she walks. But when she comes out, her eyes are stained with tears and her lips are trembling. She swallows, hard, before pulling herself together and walking straight for me.

"Chase, he-" her voice cracks and she breaks off. "Chase is asking for you."

Everyone turns to look at me, curiosity in their eyes. But all the same, my heart leaps as I bite my lip and follow the nurse into the hallway. Chase. They're letting me see him, finally. Somehow I feel both relief and apprehension. The stares of the other clan members bore into my back as I walk.

Chase's door is the third one on the left, right beside a fake potted plant that, for some reason, I instantly loathe. It's just another reminder of how cold and plastic everything is around here. I tell myself to calm down and not take my frustration out on the decor as the nurse opens the door and beckons me in. With a deep breath I step into the small room, hearing a click behind me as I we are left alone.

The first thing I notice are the drawn curtains, which strain keep out the light that spills from between the sill and the fabric. The sun has risen already, reminding me that I haven't slept in over twenty four hours. The color of the walls make the light look blue, which casts a quiet, calm look about the place.

Chase lies in a narrow bed at the far end of the room, barely sitting up. Three metal contraptions are gathered around him, each with some kind of numbered reading on it. I notice a transparent bag hung upside down on a frame that regularly drips liquid down a tube into Chase's wrist. There is a steady beeping sound; a heart monitor. For a second I just listen to the beat of it, preparing myself and exhaling slowly as I bring my eyes up to meet Chase's.