Fighting for the Lost (Sebastian's Daughter Book 4) (COMPLETE)

Chapter 20

(Hey guys! Guess who's back!!! I'm so sorry it's been so long, but I've honestly just been at a loss with this story. I was finally able to come up with something, though. And I'm just going to give you a fair warning: A good amount of you will probably hate this update. But please read it knowing that I'm trying to recover from the worst case of Writer's Block I have ever had in my life. ALL of my stories have been on hold for a few months now. If there was an update between now and then, it was because it had been written in advance. I love all of you, and I worked hard on every word you are about to read, so please don't give me too much hate if you can help it. Thanks guys!)

Finny set me on my bed, then sat beside me. I leaned my head on his shoulder, too tired to hold it up myself.

"It seems like you're getting worse instead of better," Finny commented.

"It feels that way, too," I sighed. I had been getting better with sleep, but now, no matter how much rest I get, I feel worse than I did before. "I don't understand what's happening."

"It's not part of your disease? Being weak and tired?"

"The weak part, yes. Tired, I have no idea why that's happening except for what that demon told me." The thought of the demon sent chills down my spine. But I knew I didn't have to worry about him. Dad had killed him, and now hopefully anyone else who was after me had learned their lesson.

"What did they tell you?" Finny asked.

I sat up and looked at his worried face. Has no one filled him in?

I briefly explained to him what I had told Samantha; that I had reason to believe that the reason I wasn't getting better was some sort of dark magic or something. By the time I completed my explanation, I was completely wiped out, and returned my head to Finny's shoulder.

After a moment, Finny gently stood and lay me against the pillows. "You should get some rest."

I nodded, but the moment he turned to leave, I quickly reached out and grabbed his hand. Startled, he turned to face me.

"Don't leave me," I whispered, not having the energy to speak up.

Finny smiled, then knelt down beside me. "I'll never leave you," he said softly.

I smiled at him, closing my eyes to go to sleep, never releasing his hand.

But as I was drifting off, I felt the warm touch of his lips against my forehead, and my smiled grew as I fell into a fitful sleep.

*

The next time I awoke, it was dark out. The moon was glowing bright outside my bedroom window. The sight of the full moon made me smile. It was just so beautiful.

I glanced over to see Finny had dozed off beside me. My smile grew. It was good to see his face so relaxed. He was usually so worried about me, but whatever he was dreaming about seemed to be pleasant, and he was happy and carefree.

I sat us slowly, being careful not to shake the mattress too much and wake him. I slowly stood, testing my limits. I moved to the closet and took the stupid costume off that I had been wearing all day and hung it inside. I moved back toward the bed so I could go back to sleep in my silk white slip that had been under the costume, and sat on the bed carefully.

A moment later, the door to the room opened quietly. I glanced up to see Alex staring at me. I put my index finger to my lips, keeping him quiet. He nodded, and gestured for me to come with him. I glanced down at Finny. I didn't want him to wake up and be frightened because I wasn't there. Alex waved his hand again. This time, I stood and followed.

Once the door was closed, I turned to him. "What is it?" I whispered. "What is so important it couldn't wait until morning?"

"Easy," he said, arms raised slightly, as if to ward off my accusations. "Is everything okay?"

I took a deep breath. "Yeah," I answered. "I'm just really on edge right now."

"Why?" Alex asked, dropping his arms. "What's wrong?"

I took another deep breath, trying to put my thoughts into words. "I just wish everything could go back to the way it used to be. I want everyone to stop worrying about whether or not I'm going to break. I want to stop running from people. I want that medicine. I want people to see me, not some sick girl that needs to be waited on hand and foot." I tried to calm myself. My heart was beating quickly, and my voice had been gradually rising throughout my speech. "But all I really want is for everyone to smile, instead of watching me with worry, or faking a smiled for my benefit. Why am I so useless?"

I leaned against the wall as fatigue hit me. I yelled out in frustration and slid down the wall so I was sitting on the floor. "I'm sorry, Alex. I didn't mean to say all that. Or take it out on you."

Alex was quiet. Great. I thought. Now my own brother won't talk to me.

A few long moments later, he knelt down beside me. "Selena," he whispered, "I don't know why you think all of those things are true. Because none of them are."

I glanced at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Even if you weren't sick, even if you weren't always on the run, all of us would still worry about you. We worry because we love you. It's what we do. Nothing will change that. And believe me, we see a lot more that just some sick girl."

"Like what?"

Alex smiled. "Well, for one, I see my beautiful sister who I would give my life for any day. Who I would risk everything to protect even if she was perfectly capable of protecting herself. I see my best friend. I see a strong girl who just hasn't had the chance to see that strength for herself."

A tear escaped my eye and I smiled at my brother.

"And I have never faked a smile to you before. Seeing that you still fight against everything you've been through is enough for me to smile at you genuinely every time."

"But Alex," I said through tears. "I don't want to have to fight anymore."

"And we don't want you to. But as soon as that medicine is ready, you won't have to."

I looked down at my hands. "Has there been any word from Maria at all? I can't go on like this."

"Not yet. We want to make sure Nathaniel has searched her before trying to contact her. We can't risk him finding us here."

I nodded and wiped the tears from my face. "I should get back inside before Finny wakes up."

Alex nodded and helped me stand. He walked me back over the the door and quietly opened it. He walked me over to the bed, and was about to leave when I jumped on him with the biggest hug I could manage. He jumped in surprise, but didn't fight me.

"Thank you." I whispered.

I sensed his smile. Get some rest, little sis.

I nodded and released him, then crawled into bed as he left the room.

 (So I really hope at least a few of you enjoyed that. I really want Selena to become a stronger character, because as a LOT of you have pointed out, and as I was already well aware, she's been acting like a child. So I'm going to try to advance the plot instead of writing a ton of filler crap like this because I don't know what to do. Also, just a heads up, this might be the last book in this series. I don't want to say goodbye to my favorite characters I've ever made, but this story is just getting dragged out way too long and I feel like that's the reason I don't know what to write. And less and less of you seem interested with every chapter. I know I said a while back that I wasn't going to care how many reads I got, but I'm starting to anyway.

Also, it may not end up being the last book. I just feel like venting. Don't mind me. It's currently 12:16 am. So please take everything I have said knowing that I am very tired. Thank you.)