Oh, I have to go first, you won't wait... Good night, Mara.... Bye-bye... Remember me.
Chapter 27
I'm heavy. Heavy, tired, and in a lot of pain.
I hear voices around, and some regular beeping. I'm uncomfortable... and Moon Goddess, so thirsty and hungry. Yeah, I'm literally starving, but my throat hurts. Wait, I really need to... wake up. I try to move, remember how I'm supposed to use this body. Something feels weird, I can't quite name it. I'm in pain everywhere, yet it feels like a big weight's been lifted off my chest. I feel remarkably better than before, but I can't explain it. I'm just tired and in pain, but strangely fine. What happened to me? I feel I'm... alone. No one else in my head. No strange echo, no little voice waiting. No more voices at all; just me and my wolf, patiently waiting...
"...Mara?"
Liam's voice. I hold on to it like a lifeline, and feel a gentle pressure on my hand. Is he holding it? I try to focus, and take control of my body again. Oh, the human body is so complicated... I already miss being a wolf. Yet, I slowly get back to my senses, and somehow manage to open my eyes.
A white ceiling above me, and some orange skylights... I take a deep breath that fills my lungs.
"Mara!"
"I'll call the nurse!"
I hear a lot of movement around me. Why is it so noisy…?
I take a second to try and come back to reality. I'm lying in a hospital bed, aren't I? This feels all too familiar. The gentle pressure on my hand returns, and I slowly turn my head. Shit, my neck is so painful... I finally meet Liam's eyes as he leans over me with a worried expression.
"Don't move too much," he whispers gently. "Your cervical spine is damaged..."
What isn't? I want to ask. My neck is painful, my ribs are painful, my arms, even my butt, and Moon Goddess, I have the worst headache possible. I take deep breaths, trying to ignore that stupid pain and focus on what I can. Well, I'm alive, that's good news. Very alive, and... lonely.
I had never realized it before, but... I never felt alone while little Mara and the voices were there. Regardless of if it was a good thing or not, there was always that presence at the back of my mind that didn't let me feel alone. Now I... I do feel alone. It is so strange. There's relief, but also, something sad about it. I feel abandoned. I feel so lonely, I want to cry. I start to weep, realizing little Mara is really gone, I'm on my own now. Just me, the new Mara, with all that pain.
"Hey, hey, babe... it's okay..." whispers Liam, visibly worried by my sudden crying.
I feel him gently caress my arm, and he leans over to hug me the best he can without crushing me. I wish I could hug him back. His presence and warmth makes me feel a lot better. I slowly stop crying, taking deep breaths.
Bonnie and Kelsi both barge in at the same time.
"Mara!"
Bonnie, very professionally, walks up to my side to check my vitals.
"How do you feel?" she asks.
"Like crap," I sigh, "but alive."
"You should be dead," she retorts. "Do you even know how many floors you fell? That was crazy, even for you! If Nora Black hadn't been there to help you, or if you weren't a witch–"
"I'd be dead. Yeah, my body agrees..." I grimace.
"Are you really in a lot of pain?" asks Kelsi, on the verge of tears. "You slept for a full night and day, but you cried a lot in your sleep..."
"Wait... It's been that long?"
I force my poor neck to turn again and look out the window behind Liam. Crap, it's really dusk.
"What about Sylviana's tree?" I ask him.
He slowly shakes his head.
"...It died this morning, Mara. The barrier is slowly fading. But don't worry, we can contain the witches for now. You should focus on your healing."
I frown, not happy with that response. The tree is really dead? How can they contain the other witches by themselves? It doesn't sound good to me. How can he ask me to rest when the situation has become like this?! I turn to Bonnie.
