In the Heart of the Forest

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Thea

I slowly regain enough consciousness to know that I am, indeed, alive. Or at least, I think I'm alive. I am slowly becoming aware of my limbs and my surroundings.

I can hear a steady beeping in the background and I am vaguely aware of a light shining through my closed eyelids. I can now feel all of my limbs, but I can't move them. I am sort of in a dreamlike state between conscious and unconscious. One thing I am aware of, is the insane amount of pain my back is in.

After an amount of time unknown to me, I can hear voices. I can't exactly tell what they are saying, but I can hear them. Two of the voices I recognize as my parents, and one I don't recognize.

I decide it is probably about time I make my awareness known. I force my eyes open only to close them again due to the drastic change in lighting.

"Sweety? Are you awake?" I hear my mom say as a hand slides into mine.

"Just give her a moment," I hear an unrecognizable voice say.

I force my eyes open again and blink several times before finally setting my gaze on my parents. My mom's hair slips from her bun slightly and her eyes are red and puffy. Dad looks tired and his clothes are rumpled-looking.

"I-I--" I struggle to form words. Beside me, a nurse thrusts a straw into my face. I take a sip of the water before speaking.

"I told you there were wolves," I whisper hoarsely.

My dad laughs loudly as my Mom's smile fades. The nurse takes her leave as my parents bombard me with questions.

"What happened?"

"Why were you in the woods?"

"How did you survive?"

I tune out their questions as I look down at my body. I have a huge bandage wrapped around my left arm and I can feel a bandage on my right thigh. I'm sure there are bandages on my back because of the immense pain I am currently in.

"Thea! Are you listening?" My mom says.

"Y-yeah, what were you saying?" I ask.

"Can you tell us what happened?"

I am then brought back to my fight with Carter. It's safe to say I am still rather angry about that.

"So, do you want me start from the beginning?"

"Well, I suppose so," my dad says.

I then tell them all about my time at the party and about when I caught Rose and Carter.

"I beat him to a bloody pulp," I say proudly.

"Violence is never the answer, Thea. I will not have a child in Juvenile Prison for assault!" My mother chides.

"Mom, he cheated on me with my best friend," I say with a 'duh' look on my face.

"That's no excuse! You will apologize. They are very important people in this town and I don't want to be on their bad side," she says.

"But Mom--"

"We will talk about this later. Just finish your story for now," my dad cuts in. I shake my head before continuing my story.

"So after the brown wolf defeated the black one, you passed out and you don't remember anything?" My dad asks as I finish my story.

"No, nothing. How did I get back to the hospital?" I ask, shifting in the bed trying to alleviate the pain.

"It was actually the Lykos boy, Logan, who brought you back," my mom says. "He carried you back to the party and nearly collapsed once he got there. It looked like he was attacked as well. The poor boy rode with you in the ambulance and wouldn't leave your side until he was forced to when you went into surgery."