Chapter 46
Wren
I’m finally allowed to see Sally. I’ve been checking in for a week, and she’s out of intensive care and permitted visitors outside of immediate family. I’m so relieved I could cry. Actually, I do cry a little as I make my way down the hospital corridor toward her room.
The sterile smell of disinfectant fills my nostrils. I instantly miss work, but not enough to start applying for anything just yet. I have no idea what I want to do.
I knock and then push open the door to her room and step inside.
The sight of her sitting up in bed, looking pale but alive, nearly makes me cry hot tears.
I don’t. She’s got a nasal cannula for oxygen, and there are still monitors beeping softly beside her bed, but she’s awake. She’s here and very much alive.
“Sally,” I say, rushing to her bedside. “Oh my god, Sally.”
She turns her head and smiles at me, though the effort clearly costs her. There are dark circles under her eyes, and her skin has a grayish tinge. She’s lost weight, too, her cheeks more hollow than I remember. But her eyes…her eyes are still Sally. Still warm and full of life.
“Wren,” she says, her voice raspy and weak. “Come here, you.”
I go to her, taking her hand carefully. It feels so fragile in mine.
“You’re looking good,” I tell her, even though my throat is tight with emotion.
Sally laughs, and it turns into a small cough. “You’re full of it,” she says once she’s caught her breath. “But I appreciate the lie.” She squeezes my hand. “I’m just glad to be alive.” Her eyes fill with tears, which she blinks away.
I squeeze back, not trusting myself to speak for a moment.
“Thank you,” Sally continues, her voice thick. “For putting yourself on the line like that. You and Grim went above and beyond. You saved my life, Wren.”
I shake my head. “We did what anyone would have done.”
“No,” Sally insists. “You did more than that. You risked everything. Speaking of Grimalicious…” She pauses, a small smile playing at her lips despite everything. “He was here this morning. You missed him.”
I shrug. “How was he?” I ask, kicking myself. I don’t care. I don’t! He can go to hell.
“Gorgeous as ever…only…he looked tired. I’m not sure… Not really himself.”
My heart does that stupid flutter thing before I can stop it.
“How so?” I ask, trying to keep my voice casual.
Sally studies me for a moment. “I guess he looked sullen and brooding.”
“His normal self, then?” I snort, aiming for lightness.
Sally shakes her head slowly. “Nah…I can’t put my finger on it. Hollowed out, I guess.” She shrugs slightly, then winces at the movement.
I look away, focusing on the IV stand beside her bed. I don’t want to think about Grim looking hollowed out. I don’t want to care.
Sally’s quiet for a moment, and when she speaks again, there’s a knowing tone to her voice. “I want to hear all about it. Grim didn’t tell me much of anything. Just that the two of you had to spend some time holed up together.” She bobs her brows.
“There isn’t much to say,” I mutter, still not meeting her eyes.
“You were in the same house with Grimalicious for over a week,” she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. “You have to have something for me, Wren. Did you climb him like a pole? I saw what he was packing, girl. Did you get some?”
Heat floods my face. “Sally, you were shot in the chest and almost died. How are you thinking about this right now?”
“Because thinking about you and Grim getting it on is way more fun than thinking about how I almost died,” she gets right down to it. “So? Did you?”
I sigh. “No. Nothing happened.”
Sally’s eyes narrow. “You’re lying. You totally slept with him!” Her face lights up with excitement. “Tell me about it. Was it good? Did he—?” She stops, her expression shifting as she really looks at me. “Wait. What is it? What’s wrong?”
I feel my eyes start to sting.
“Did you fall for him?” Sally asks gently. “Doesn’t he feel the same as you?”
“I did fall for him. I fell hard, but he isn’t the guy I thought he was, and no, he doesn’t feel the same, which is fine with me since I don’t want him, anyway.”
She frowns. “What do you mean? Why isn’t he the guy you thought he was?”
I take a breath, trying to organize my thoughts. Then I tell her everything…well, almost everything. From how he stalked me so he could get “an in,” to knowing about the vaccinations and the Mainland’s lies and not telling me.
“He told me he didn’t have permission to tell me anything, but we were sleeping together. We were a team. Running and hiding together, and he couldn’t trust me. He couldn’t fill me in on the basics. He told me he had no idea. He lied…and lied…and lied.”
“I’m sure he—” Sally starts to say.
I shake my head. “He told me himself. He told me he couldn’t trust me.”
“Oh no, Wren.”
“That’s not the worst of it.”
Her face falls. “There’s more?”
I nod.
I tell her about the shifting and the headaches I got when I was around his dragon. Then, how I mind-bonded to his dragon.
“He told me that I was allergic to dragons.”
“He did not!” Sally looks upset.
“Once again, he lied. He didn’t have to.
” I feel that familiar ache in my chest, the one that’s been my constant companion this past week.
“I was falling for him, and it was just sex for him. That’s what he told me.
Just sex and nothing more. I know we agreed up front, but things changed… At least they did for me.”
“Now you’re in love with him,” Sally says softly. “I’m so sorry, Wren.”
“I’m in love with someone who doesn’t exist,” I correct her. “The Grim I thought I knew…he’s not real. The real Grim is someone who lies and uses people. I’ll be fine.”
“But you’re bonded to him,” Sally points out. “The mind-bond—”
“Not to him. To his dragon,” I explain. “I don’t feel any mental connection when I’m around the man. I only feel it when he’s in his dragon form, and I don’t plan on being anywhere near him again…at least, not by choice, so it’s all good.”
Sally’s quiet for a moment. “I thought he was such a nice guy,” she finally says.
“I did too.” I shrug. “I don’t think he’s bad. I don’t know. I think he has trust issues, but it’s no excuse. I don’t deserve to be treated like that.”
“Absolutely not.” Sally nods emphatically, then winces again. “Trust issues don’t give you a free pass to lie and manipulate people.”
We sit in silence for a moment, the monitors beeping steadily.
“So what are you going to do with the money?” Sally asks, clearly trying to change the subject. “I can’t believe it, Wren. They gave us a million dollars each. We’re rich.”
I snort. “More like they’re buying us off. I’m not even sure I’m going to accept it.”
“Grim is saying the same,” Sally says, looking at me like I grew a second head.
“Not that you care what he thinks, but you should take it. The Council insisted the Mainland pay us out for damages. A million dollars is a lot of money to just turn your nose up at. I’m taking it and investing it.
I’m retiring as of right now so I can be home for my kids and be there more for Stephan.
Almost dying has changed me.” She sighs, and there’s a weight to it that wasn’t there before.
“Life’s too short to spend it all at work. ”
“I’m so glad you survived,” I tell her, meaning every word. “You’re one tough cookie, Sally.”
“You are too,” she says firmly. “You’re going to get through this, Wren. I’m here for you.”
“I know that.” I manage a small smile. “I’ll be fine.”
Sally studies my face. “It’s just that you look sad.” She gets a thoughtful look. “Now that I think about it, I’m sure Grim had the same look. Are you sure he—?”
“I’m very sure,” I tell her before she can say anything more. “He made it quite clear how he feels and where we stand.”
Sally reaches over and takes my hand again. “Let’s talk about something else, then. How are your doggies?”
I smile, and this time it’s a little more genuine. “They’re fine. So happy to have me home.”
“That’s good,” Sally says. “What are you going to do? Will you go back to the Mainland?”
“I have no idea. I need to figure it out,” I tell her. “And then I’ll be fine too.”
“I know you will,” Sally tells me. “Don’t make any knee-jerk decisions. It’s going to take time.”
“Time heals all,” I tell her, even though I’m not sure I believe it.
The crazy thing is that I didn’t feel this bad when things ended with Tim, and I was living with him. We’d been together for years, and yet I didn’t feel this raw…this cut up.
I wish it would go away. I wish I could just turn off all these feelings I have.