Chapter Sixteen
Valli
Once I finally reach the bridge to the island, the smell of smoke infiltrates the car, and as I roll down my window, it only makes it worse. Something is burning, and it smells awful.
I have my speeches planned out after having a long drive back to rehearse what I want to say.
For Noa, I want to tell him he doesn’t get to ration himself around me anymore.
No limits. I want all of him or nothing; I no longer want the watered-down version.
For Cipher, who told me on the bluff I was the best thing that happened to him because he didn’t have to fix me first .
. . Well, I’m broken now, and I need him to help fix me.
And Cave, he doesn’t get to decide what I am strong enough to know—lying to me to protect me is still lying.
I will always come back; none of them are things I would throw away. I’m choosing them all.
The closer I get to the gates, the thicker the smoky smell gets, and by the time I drive through them, my stomach is twisted with nerves. The gates are open and unmanned—Khodi is never not at the gates.
I take the road that leads around the side, the one that heads toward the residential area. I need to see my men now to tell them I’m not leaving. When the road bends, my whole world stops making sense; the cornfield is gone. I slam on the brakes to get a better look, but everything is gone.
“No . . . No. No. No.”
I step on the accelerator and floor it, needing to get to them quickly. I should never have left. The path to the shed is narrow, and instead of taking it carefully, I push forward as branches slap against the car. When I reach the shed, the car is barely in park before I jump out.
My heart thumps in my chest as I race inside shouting their names, but the shed is empty. Cipher’s bike is even gone, but his phone is on his workbench.
My heart twists. Something is very wrong.
I’m back at my car before I can completely convince myself anything terrible has happened, driving nearer the cornfield until it’s easier to go on foot.
I leave my car, not even bothering to close the door, and run along the fence line.
Cutting down in front of the cornfield that is still smoldering in some places, I then race toward the main part of the island.
There, I see them. Noa and Cipher are standing together, covered in black soot.
“Noa!”
His head snaps around and he sees me, his face brightening as he charges toward me with the same ferocity as I run toward him. Our bodies slam together, his arms crushing around me.
“I told them you would be back,” he whispers.
“What happened?” I ask, pulling back, gripping a fistful of his shirt. “I need to know what’s going on.”
Cipher reaches us, and I grab his shirt as well, needing him close.
“You’re hurt,” I say as I see him flinch, and I place my hand gently on his chest.
He catches my hand and holds it flat against his sternum, so I can feel his heartbeat. “It’s nothing—I will explain later.”
“We are so sorry. We didn’t know. The Jester filled us in on everything that happened.”
“Noa, I need you to focus. Where is Cave? Tell me he wasn’t in there.”
“He was in there,” Cipher says. “He lit it. Cave is alive and in the medical room, out cold while they work on him. Ares had to sedate him to treat the burns.”
“He needs to go to the hospital—burns are serious. Why are we protecting the island when he needs help?” I tell them in confusion.
“We need you to read this.” Noa hands me his phone, and on the screen is Cave’s file, marked sealed.
“Cave wanted us to read it. Nixie had it sealed so no one could have access to it, but she sent it over and told us to make sure you also read it.”
I scan the documents, and they all have the same facility letterhead—years of documents.
Intake forms, with normal height and weight stuff.
Then words catch my eye. Nonverbal episodes, non-compliant, restraint authorized, transfer, guardian deceased.
The further I go, the more I see handwritten notes in the margins, and I would recognize Nixie’s handwriting anywhere.
There are corrections, objections, with dates and names underlined on page after page. She fought for him.
Tears blur my vision. The report of a child’s death caused his episodes to get worse. For all the things he has had to live through, my heart breaks for him.
Then, right at the end, is a discharge summary, which I read over, and one line has my heart sinking.
Given the subject’s history and presentation, in the event of readmission to any inpatient facility, release should be considered unlikely.
“He can’t go back,” I whisper. “I won’t let anyone take him from me.”
“Now you know why Nixie won’t allow him to go to the hospital.”
A siren blares through the air, and we all turn and see the flashing lights.
“No.” I look at Noa. “No, why are they here? You told me no hospital. He cannot go!”
I take off running, Noa and Cipher close behind me. I won’t let them take him. I will fight until I have nothing left—there is no other option.
“Valli,” Nixie says as I get closer to the medical office. She stands in front of me in a silky robe and fluffy boots. “One of the burns is bad. We have done everything we can here, and it isn’t enough, so I had no choice—I had to call them. I am well aware of what I may have just done.”
The siren gets louder as it drives through the gates.
“You,” I gasp, not able to get in enough air. “It says . . . he may never come out.”
“I know what it says, and I was there. I fought for that boy for a long time and saw how that place was eating him alive. Every day since his release, I have done all I could to make sure he would never go back. No hospitals, no outside doctors, no clinics. But I won’t let this be what takes him out.
” Her eyes shine with unshed tears. This is clearly hurting her just as much as it is hurting me. “We will fight this.”
“Then fight now!” The words rip out of me. Everyone around me stares, but I don’t care. “You’re just handing him to them.”
“We can’t fight the medical complications he will have here, but please believe me when I say that I can fight paperwork. They will not know what hit them if they try to hold him.”
I brace my hands on my knees and try to breathe.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Noa’s hands comes down on my shoulders, turning me, and I look up at his handsome face.
“We won’t let that happen. You hear me? What was in that file, the ‘never comes out’ part, that was written about a boy with nobody in his corner.
He now has a family, all of us. And if they want to start a war, we will all fight with everything we have, got it? ”
I nod and clutch Noa’s hand as the ambulance pulls up.
Two paramedics get out and unload a gurney.
Ares meets them at the door, and I vaguely hear him rattle off what has happened.
When Cave wakes up, he is going to be scared and won’t know what is going on.
As they wheel him out, he is half awake and struggling, and the sounds he makes break my heart into a million pieces.
They have his arms secured, and I want to yell and scream at them.
He is not an animal; he is a person with feelings.
I drop Noa’s hand and rush toward Cave, unable to let him go like this.
“Ma’am,” one of the paramedics says.
“She is family,” Nixie says from behind me. “Just give her a minute.”
Cave focuses on my face, and the fight in him stops. I take his right hand in mine carefully, though it doesn’t look too badly injured.
“I came back, Cave. I was never leaving you. And I read your file—I am not going anywhere. Neither are you. I won’t let them keep you, but please make it easy.
You are not that little boy anymore—you’re mine.
I need you. As soon as I can, I will come to you, and I’ll return every single day after today until you’re home. ”
His fingers close around mine and I press my lips to his temple.
“Okay, we’ve got to move,” the paramedic says.
It takes all my willpower to pull my hand from his grasp, and I watch as they load him into the ambulance. His eyes stay locked on mine until they have him loaded inside.
“I’ll follow you. I will be right behind you, Cave,” I call out.
The doors close. Noa and Cipher flank my sides, while Nixie comes to stand beside us. Once the engine turns over and they drive away, my knees go weak and I scream.
When nothing is left in me, and my head is silent, Nixie speaks.
“I hope you’re ready for the fight of your lives. There are a few things not in the file, which means our fight starts now.”
Enter if you dare Part Three