Red Moon, White Moon

Chapter 7: A Change of Heart

I could feel her soft touch as she stroked my hair. Her scent was welcoming; I struggled to find the strength to open my eyes. I squeezed her hand tightly to tell her I knew she was there. She immediately laid her head on my chest, and I heard her let out a sigh of relief. When I attempted to maneuver into a more comfortable position, a searing sensation overtook my upper torso. My shoulder, and all the way down my arm was very tender, and it was agonizing to move at all. I winced in pain and dropped back down on what I now realized was a bed.

"Where am I?" I asked, rubbing my eyes with my good hand.

"You're in Tampa General," a female voice answered.

Shocked, I moved back away from the girl who was comforting me and flinched in pain again.

"Lilly, is that you?" I asked, opening my eyes for the first time.

"Yes, it's me, and I'm so happy you're okay," she said, hugging me one more time.

I gently pushed her away—I was deeply confused. The last thing I remembered was looking up at the moon, and now, I was in a hospital bed with Lilly comforting me.

"How ... how did I end up here? Where is Andie Rae?"

Lilly stood up from the bed and crossed her arms. It seemed I had offended her somehow, but I wasn't sure what I'd done.

"She took a break and went back to the shop to get some rest. She asked me to watch over you until she came back," she said curtly.

"Took a break? How long have I been here?"

"Three weeks. You lost a lot of blood, and the doctors were afraid you weren't going to make it."

I shook my head in disbelief and put my hand over my face.

"What? How is that possible? I was just lying on the bank staring at the moon."

Lilly returned to the side of my bed and sat down. She pulled my hand away from my face and turned my head to face her.

"Connell, we couldn't find you. We looked for you frantically until the police arrived and had the place surrounded. Hayden had to make the tough call to leave you—we had our weapons on us."

I snickered and rolled my eyes. "Tough call? There's no way I believe that."

"You're wrong, Connell! He was searching for you. He didn't want to leave, but Andie Rae talked him into it."

The shock of that statement was more than I could deal with at that moment. I rolled away from Lilly and asked her to leave.

"Connell, you don't understand."

I waved my hand to cut her off. I had no desire to hear what she had to say. "I understand all I need too. I want you to leave and tell your sister not to bother coming back up here."

Lilly paused for a moment, as if contemplating what she should say next. However, after a few seconds, I heard her stand up and leave the room without saying another word to me.

I was in the hospital for another forty-eight hours. The entire time I was angry at Andie Rae and the whole situation. I couldn't grasp the idea that I put my life on the line for her when she just left me to die. I felt like a fool, and I wanted to put everything behind me. I didn't ever want to return to the shop or see any of them again. All I wanted to do was to resume my dull life and make the most of it. It was clear that not only was the established hierarchy of high school a headache for me, but now I had to tiptoe around Chamberlain knowing that Jack and his creeps were looking to eliminate me.