A Ship Without Sails

Chapter 32

Once they arrived to the hospital, everything was a blur. Daisy's stretcher flew down the hall, Shayna trying to keep up, but her crutches wouldn't go fast enough. When she finally got to the emergency room, the nurses refused to let Shayna or Astrid pass. Defeated, they went to the waiting room where they found Shayna's parents, Kurt, and Blake.

    When Blake hugged Shayna, she couldn't hug him back. When her parents asked what had happened, she couldn't reply. When Kurt tried to get her to sit down, she couldn't move.

    "She's in shock," Astrid said, pushing Shayna down into a chair. "I'll get us all some tea to calm us down. Don't talk to her too much, let her senses wake back up a little."

    Astrid strode off as Julia entered. She took a seat next to Shayna and put a small bottle up to her nose. "Here," she whispered, "I need you to breathe in deeply. This is lavender scented oil, it will help you calm down."

    For a second, Shayna didn't react. Then, she took a long, shuddering breath. Julia smiled and stroked Shayna's hair. "Breathe again. That's right. Good girl. Everything's going to be okay."

    Astrid returned with tea and good news. "I got us all chamomile with honey. On my way back, I saw Daisy. Her heartbeat is steady, and she's starting to wake up. The doctors have high hopes for her to survive, with minimal damage."

    "That's wonderful. Did you hear that, Shayna?" Julia murmured, taking the bottle of oil away. Shayna let go of a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her shoulders slumped but she felt enlightened.

    "She's going to be okay?" she whispered, her spirits lifting.

    "They're working on it the best they can," Astrid said, not wanting to get Shayna's hopes up.

    "But... but she's alive now, right? So there's a good chance, right?" Mrs. Blackburn asked anxiously. Astrid smiled and nodded. A feeling of peace washed over the family.

    "Can we see her yet?" Mr. Blackburn asked.

    "I can check, but she was just conscious when I saw her," Astrid answered. She stood up and took her coat off and sunglasses on. "I'll be right back."

    Those tense minutes seems like hours. When Astrid returned, she was smiling. "Daisy is ready to talk, but let's start small. Shayna, how about you come first? Then your parents can visit after."

    Shayna accepted crutches from Julia, having left her old ones outside Blake's house. Astrid led Shayna and Julia down to Daisy's room at the end of the hallway.

    "Daisy?" Shayna whispered, poking her head in. Daisy was laying in her bed, tucked in with white sheets, propped up with many pillows. Her hair was cut jaggedly, parts much shorter than others and darker, charred by the fire. Her face was thin and cheekbones prominent. Her green eyes, once filled with cunning and life, were dull and empty. Despite her appearance, she managed a slight smile at the sight of Shayna.

    "Hey, Shaye," she croaked, trying to turn her head to see her sister come into the room.

    "How're you feeling?" Shayna murmured, taking a seat next to the bed. Daisy's weak smile faded.

    "I hurt, Shayna," she sighed. "I hurt so much."

    "Do you want me to get you painkillers? I can call a nurse," Shayna offered, but Daisy stopped her.

    "No, it's not that kind of hurt. My whole body feels numb, like jelly, it's not physical hurt. My mind hurts. I feel really, really, really bad. I ruined Mom and Dad's life, I ruined your life, I ended Kerry's." Daisy took a long, deep, shuddering breath. "I'm a monster."

    Shayna was at a loss for words. Julia stepped in and said, "You can't think like that. It's up to you if you want to live, now. You may be currently stable, but things could take a turn for the worse if you think negatively."

    "It's going to be okay, Daisy," Shayna said comfortingly. "Mom, Dad, and I all will support you. You'll get better and come home, okay?"

    Daisy didn't answer. She was staring at the wall, unblinking. Finally, she looked at Shayna and said, "Shaye, can you take out your phone? And take a picture of me?"

    Shayna complied. "Okay," she said, "I took it."

    "Now look at it," Daisy instructed, "See, how it has the date and time?"

    "Yeah," Shayna said, looking at the top of the screen.

"Okay, now delete it," Daisy told her. Shayna did so.

"Go to recently deleted, find it, and screenshot it," Daisy continued. Shayna followed her sister's instructions, confused.

"Look at it again, the time and date changed," Daisy said. "That's how I made my alibi. That's why I was freaking out about wearing the same green dress I had the time I took the actual picture."

Shayna didn't know what to say again. The realization hit her again. Daisy actually killed Kerry. She killed her. How did Astrid not figure that out? Then she realized that Astrid had figured it out. She had known it was Daisy all along, she just needed proof. With a pang of guilt, Shayna regretted not trusting Astrid more.

"Shayna?" Daisy's voice was soft and scared. "I'm so sorry."

Shayna still didn't reply. She couldn't speak-- her throat had closed up and her whole mouth felt dry.

"I'm so sorry, Shayna. Sorry."

When Shayna didn't say anything again, Daisy buried her head in her arms and cried. Her sister didn't comfort her.