Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Secrets and Lies
NORA
The sounds of beeping machines and hushed words awaken me from the deepest sleep I’ve had in a year.
My throbbing head and fuzzy thoughts slip through as I force my eyes open and take in the room around me.
The stark white walls and the scent of bleach scream sterilized hospital room.
The white board with the name Nora Whitaker scribbled across it and the IV in my arm remind me that I’m the patient.
I jolt upright, reaching my hand up to my head, feeling the thick gauze bandage wrapped all the way around it.
I’m still alive. I’m miraculously alive.
I might be for now, but Olivia is going to murder me for this later.
The scraping sound of a chair moving across the tiled floor is followed by my big sister rushing toward me then gripping my hand tightly.
Ere sits in a chair right next to my bed, the warmth of his hand around mine bringing instant comfort, his relieved smile and soft golden eyes coming into focus.
He leans forward and places a tender kiss to my forehead, brushing locks of hair away from my face.
“If you wanted me home early, all you had to do was ask.” His deep, silky voice murmurs in my ear, and I smile weakly as I pull myself to a sitting position in bed.
“You didn’t have to come all the way back here. I’m fine,” I tell him, swaying slightly as a spinning wave of dizziness hits me.
“Sure you are.” His long, dark hair brushes against his shoulders as he nods, scrunching his eyebrows and squeezing my hand tighter.
Katie finishes sending a text, smiles brightly at me, then comes over to stand next to Olivia.
I give her and my sister both a small smile because it’s all I have the energy to give right now.
Olivia’s bright blue eyes have that glazed, glossy look that shows up after hours of being distraught and crying.
I know that look all too well. I wear it often.
Her dark brown hair is in a messy bun and her sweatshirt has mascara streaks on the sleeves from wiping her eyes.
Pangs of guilt shoot through me seeing her this way.
“Hey sis.” I squeeze her hand tightly in mine. “Hey Katie.” Wavy white hair cascades over my shoulder as my best friend bends and hugs me tightly against her, squeezing just a little.
Her lips curve up as she pulls back to look at me, her striking icy eyes light and unbothered. “Hi, friend.”
Olivia sniffles, wiping her tears, her bottom lip trembling slightly before she speaks. “Hey sis. I was worried to death about you!” The way she glares at me and then smiles softly after nearly breaks my heart
She’s mad and I don’t blame her. Constantly having to worry about me spiraling into a crushing, inescapable depression has to be exhausting. Here I am, disappointing her again. God, I’m an awful sister to have.
“I’m sorry, Liv. I’m fine, though. No need to worry anymore.” Shrugging my shoulders hurts.
A sharp pain shoots up from my neck to the back of my head, and I hide it with a tight-lipped smile. Ere’s eyes narrow into slits as I glance at him. He doesn’t miss anything.
Slapping my arm playfully, Katie rolls her eyes. “What were you thinking being out there alone in the woods? You do realize you’re much too clumsy to go on adventures without someone watching you, right?” She laughs, shaking her head and crossing her arms over her chest.
What? That’s not what happened. My adventure was when I made my way up the bridge, and the nightmare was everything following which led to me ending up in the woods and ultimately here.
“You could have died out there, Nor.” Olivia sighs, rubbing the back of my hand with her thumb.
She’s the happiest person I’ve ever known.
Her smiles and laughter are contagious and make it nearly impossible to be sad or down around her.
She always knows what to do or say to make every situation better, or at least the best it could possibly be.
Guilt eats away at me for putting her through so much already, and more so now seeing her pained expression full of worry for me all over again.
Tears trickle down my cheeks, and before I can reach my hand up to wipe them away Olivia’s arms are around me and her head is on my chest. The wires connecting me to the heart monitor and the IV lines pumping fluids into me make it hard, but I carefully hug her back.
“I love you so much, Liv.” Burying my head in her hair, sobs rack through my body, the guilt becoming too much to handle. “I’m so fucking sorry. I don’t…”
Ere stands, the muscles in his chest flexing beneath his black button up shirt as he tenses.
“Everything is fine, my love. Accidents happen.” He lifts my hand, bringing it to his lips and presses a soft kiss against it.
“I’ll give you some time with them and then you should rest.” His smile is full of sadness as he meets my eyes, then Olivia’s and Katie’s, before quietly slipping out of the room.
He doesn’t like it when I feel guilty or bad about things I’ve done or mistakes I’ve made, even though I’ve made plenty. The past should remain in the past, he says, and guilt is the harbinger of pain. He tries his best to keep the pain away.
“Hey… it’s okay.” Olivia pulls away slightly to look at me, then brushes away her tears. “I’m glad you’re safe. I can be mad at you later. I’ll yell at you later. But right now, I am just so damn thankful you’re alive.”
Letting go of me, she stands up straight, glancing over at Katie.
“I’m thankful that guy found you in the woods after you fell.
You passed out and he just happened to come across you while hiking.
You got so lucky.” She places her hands on her hips, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and then shakes her head in disbelief.
I sit upright immediately at her words, and though my head throbs and the world starts to spin, I ignore it. There was a man… a man with wings, I remember. He saved me… I think.
“Did you meet this man, Liv? What did he tell you, exactly?” I scan the room then stretch my neck to peek into the hallway, wondering if the stranger is still nearby.
The cardiac monitor hanging on the wall begins to chime, loudly ringing out and it barely registers what’s happening until a nurse comes rushing into the room.
“Honey, you need to relax. Your heart rate is extremely high right now, and you’ve been through a lot.
Maybe it’s time for your visitors to let you rest.” Dark brown eyes narrow in Olivia and Katie’s direction.
The nurse’s long braid sways behind her as she silences the monitor above my head, keeping her eyes locked on me.
“No! I need them here. Please? I’m fine, I promise.” I lie, leaning back in the bed casually.
“Fine. Your pain medication is due around midnight, so maybe ask your visitors to leave soon so you can rest. I’ll see you then.”
As soon as she shuts the door behind her, I sit up, throwing my legs over the side of the bed to face Olivia. Katie comes around to stand next to her, placing a perfectly manicured hand on my shoulder to help steady me.
“Tell me everything you know about the man who brought me here.”
I don’t care if I look crazy or if they don’t think I should concern myself with these things now, I need to know.
Olivia’s lips form a thin line as she takes a seat in the emerald green recliner beside my bed.
She looks me up and down once before glancing at Katie and then back at me.
“I didn’t see anyone. He used your phone to call the first number he could dial, which ended up being Katie. She got here first.”
I’m fine. Everything is fine. I’m not falling apart.
“Okay then Katie, what did he look like? Does he have a name?”
She smiles, her pale blue eyes radiating only positivity my way.
Her calm demeanor helps me relax a little.
She doesn’t seem scared of him at all. “His name is Kairos.” She shrugs her shoulders, looking over my shoulder at the window behind me.
“He was wearing all black. Black pants and black boots. He had tattoos… like… a lot of tattoos. I don’t know what else I can say. Sound familiar at all?”
It doesn’t because none of it’s true. He was wearing a black robe and had unmistakable black wings, which apparently, she didn’t see.
“Why does this matter right now?” Olivia stands, placing her hands on her hips and watching me carefully.
“What color were his eyes?” I whisper, remembering the mesmerizing bright green standing out in the darkness right before everything faded to black.
“Green. Your favorite color, right?” Katie smiles, twirling her hair between her fingers.
“I think he was a blonde, too, but I was quite distraught when I got here and met him, so it’s hard to say for sure really.
” Graceful as ever, she glides to the other side of the room as if she’s walking on air, closing the blinds and keeping her back to me.
“You need rest. That’s all you should worry about doing right now, resting as much as you can. ”
“Yea, they thought you might have a concussion, and I think they’re right. You’re being a little weird.” Olivia sits beside me in the too small bed, leaning her head on my shoulder.
Right now, I’m thankful she doesn’t know the truth, that I threw myself off the bridge our parents crashed their car off of.
It’s the strangest thing, knowing you did something but not actually remembering the act of doing it.
My mind went blank and something strange took over my body.
Although the thought of this is terrifying, I’m thankful there isn’t an obvious reason for Olivia to beg me to check myself back into the psychiatric hospital.
I wasn’t having visual or auditory hallucinations like last time or even dissociating and losing myself like before.
This time felt different. I wasn’t myself at all.
“I’m sorry I’m being weird. I think rest would do me good.” I lift my head to look at her, and she smiles, brushing strands of red hair away from my face.
She nods. “Of course. Katie says you’ll be fine. She claims the spirits beyond promised you’ll be safe.”
It’s not surprising that Katie knew I’d be fine. Her intuition and the spirits she claims speak to her have never led her astray. She always seems to know everything.
“It’s true. They did.” Her smile is wide and bright, and my eyes drift down to the necklace she always wears, the pretty amulet wrapped in golden wire.
It always reminds me of my mom, of the obsidian one she always wore that went missing the night she died. I miss her. I know it was just a necklace, but she always promised it would belong to me one day. I wish I had that little piece of her to remember her by.
“Of course they did. I believe you.” My laugh is hoarse and strained as I swing my legs back into bed and settle in. “Thank you both for being here for me. Now, go home. I’m fine.”
Katie nods, rubbing my arm and smiling before leaving Olivia and I alone to say our goodbyes.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?” My sister gathers up her purse and keys before placing her hands on my cheeks and frowning down at me.
“I’m sorry this happened, and that you’re stuck here.
If I could take your place, you know I would.
” Leaning down, she hugs me tightly, and I close my eyes feeling sleepiness crashing into me.
“You can. Just get in the bed and I’ll leave,” I tease, shooing her away with my hands. “I’ll be fine. I love you.”
“Love you too.” She dims the lights as she leaves, shutting the door behind her.
Gripping my thin, white blanket in my hands, I pull it up to my shoulders, sleep already taking hold of me.
I smile, feeling gratitude for having such a caring boyfriend, the most amazing sister, and the best friend a girl could ever ask for in my life.
I’m also grateful to the man who kept my secret from them, but I’m terrified remembering the time with him in the woods.
The beautiful wings and the multiple deadly weapons do little to make me feel safe.
I push the thoughts away for now, focusing on getting the rest I so badly need.
When I get out of here, I need answers. I’m going to find him again.
As much as I know I shouldn’t go creeping around searching for darkness or welcoming it into my life, I know I will.
I won’t be able to stop the racing thoughts until I know the truth about what happened tonight, and possibly even the truth about what happened to my parents.
If he’s real, if supernatural creatures truly exist, then maybe he can explain what the hell happened the night they died.
Maybe he understands the many things I can’t explain.
He should fear me, not the other way around.
I won’t be afraid. I refuse to let fear rule my life.
I will not stop until I find this Kairos, if that’s even his real name, and I will demand the answers I deserve.
If he doesn’t kill me first, that is.