CHAPTER 8
Something so warm caressed my cheek. It was so big and rough—so comforting.
“Lily.” I heard someone calling.
Why was someone calling me? Was I sleeping?
“Lily, wake up for me, little mouse. You’re okay.” A soft thumb brushed over my lips.
Something about the way they said it made me want to open my eyes.
A harsh breath hiked up my chest as I blinked my eyes open.
They immediately landed on a pair of familiar green eyes.
Eyes that peered at me with utmost softness with a look I hadn’t seen in years. Tears almost gathered in the corners of my eyes, grasping hold of my heart at his gaze.
I missed him. I missed the boy who used to look at me like that.
It took me a moment to realize that we weren’t in the past, and Michael didn’t look at me like that anymore.
Now, his eyes were only filled with coldness.
A coldness that speared a katana down my heart.
“Lily, are you okay? Fuck, you scared me.”
I twisted my head to the side to see my brother’s eyes scan my face with concern.
“I’m okay. It’s nothing to worry about.” It looked like we were in some sort of a private library. The faint hint of music leaking through the walls told me we were still in the venue.
And I was on Mikey’s lap.
Fuck.
I quickly scurried off him and sank myself into the chaise that we were in.
I ignored the heat of his presence by my side while I glanced at everyone sporting the same concern marring my brother’s face.
“Lily, what happened? Are you feeling okay now?” Evy ran a soft hand over my shoulder while she handed me a glass of water. “Here, drink this.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, gulping all of it in one go. Fuck, I was thirsty.
“I’ve called the doctor to check on you. He’ll be here any second,” Emmie said, his brows pinched.
I froze. “No,” I exclaimed loudly, my eyes dashing to him in fear. He can’t call the fucking doctor. He can’t find out what’s wrong with me. No one can.
I never should’ve mixed alcohol with the kind of pills that I was taking.
“Why?” Emmie frowned.
“I’m fine. I’m perfectly normal. See?” I tried to lift myself off the chaise but a hand from beside me pushed me right back down.
“Fucking sit,” Mikey steeled under his breath .
“You’re not fucking fine. You just fainted out of thin air, Li. I want to know what the fuck is wrong with my sister,” Emmie said firmly.
“I know what’s wrong with me,” I said quickly, trying to think of something as my eyes roamed over everyone’s worried faces. “I have anemia,” I blurted out. And the worry on their faces only intensified. Fuck, I didn’t know what else to say. They couldn’t know the real truth.
Anemia did cause dizziness, right? I wasn’t paying much attention in biology at school, but I knew a friend who used to have a heavy period flow that made her anemic, and she used to feel lightheaded at that time.
“I was diagnosed a few weeks ago. It’s just the deficiency kind. Nothing to be worried about. I’m taking my supplements regularly,” I lied through my teeth while I tried hard not to think about the guilt of lying to my family swimming in my gut.
“What?” Emmie thundered. “My sister is fucking anemic, and I didn’t know about it until now?”
I shivered, and it wasn’t because of the look on my brother’s face. It was because of the quiet anger radiating off Michael.
I could feel it seep into my pores, stinging them like venom.
“Emmie, being anemic is pretty common. It’s not a serious condition or anything. Almost every woman has it. Right, girls?” I looked at Evy and Katy, hoping they would say something.
“If it’s not serious, then you shouldn’t have fucking fainted. Enough with your internship, Li. It’s been wearing you out. You can do it again next year or some other time when you’re healthy. I’ll call Dr. Karlfield to check on you once again.” Emmie pinned me with a stare, his tone hard.
“No,” I shouted. “You can’t do that. I need that internship, and I’m fine.” I internally panicked. I couldn’t lose that fucking internship. I had to be there to complete the project. I wanted to leave my mark before I left. Forever.
“I can, and I will. At no cost is an internship more important than your health.”
“No, please, Emmie. I swear I’ll take good care of myself. I just didn’t eat properly today. That was probably why I fainted, but trust me, I’m all good now. And you don’t have to call Dr. Karlfield. I have my medication and my diet plan. I’ll be perfectly fine if I follow it.” Even though I put out a calm voice, I was anything but that. My heart hammered inside my rib cage.
My teeth sank into my lips as I watched Emmie’s jaw clench with fury. Praying and hoping that he’d listen to me.
“Jay.” Evy placed a hand on his shoulder which made him visibly relax. “She’s right. Anemia is pretty common, and it’s easily curable. She just has to eat right and take her iron. We’ll take care of her.”
It took a long moment before Emmie sighed. “Fine,” he said before his gaze met mine, softening as he made his way to me and engulfed me in a hug.
“I’m just worried about you, little shit,” he mumbled, stroking my hair.
God, I loved my brother. I tightened my arms around him and clutched him like he was my lifeline. I could feel my heart rate steadying its pace, and with each passing moment, it got easier to breathe .
“I know. But I’ll be fine, so don’t worry,” I muttered against his suit.
“That’s impossible. I’ll always worry about my sister. She’s the only one I got.”
“Stop before you make me cry.”
He laughed, pulling away.
“Aw, my baby.” Katy swooped her arm around my shoulders. “You scared us there for a minute.”
Jack approached, embracing me with a loose hug. It totally slipped my mind that I came with him. “Hey, I didn’t realize this night would end up like this. But I hope you’re okay.”
I smiled. “I am.”
Soon, everyone gathered, asking if I was okay even though I’d already told them a thousand times that I was.
Amid it all, my eyes went to him, and I couldn’t help the flush that grazed my skin ablaze.
Those greens were on me, a deep intent in them, something I couldn’t figure out.
Oh, what I would do to get inside his head at this moment to know what he was thinking.
Because I knew he was thinking about me.
MIKEY
She was the light in my dead, dead night. Seeping through some shine to the cracks of my being.
Lily ignited what was left of my damaged soul. Without her, I was nothing .
Even the smallest tear on her skin made the demon in me ready to rage out. Seeing her fall in front of my eyes boiled the demon to the surface.
Chaos churned its way up my head.
I wouldn’t last another minute here.
I shot to my feet, not caring about those stunned violet eyes as I stormed out of there.
I had to get out.
Because if I stayed there even a second more, I would become the monster.
And I never want her to see me like that, ever .
It was a promise I made to myself when I was thirteen.