Undorn: The Middle

Part Four

Part Four

Scarlett, The Region of Lufe

Location: The Hospital

"Still no word?"

Scarlett sighed, tossing the pager back into the duffel that sat at the end of her bed. She pushed it out of sight, looking over at her mother. Delarose was patting the skin under her eyes, finishing off her morning beauty routine (which was down from 8 steps to 3). "No word."

James. Her James. Well, 'her James' was a bit of an overstatement, but his all-but-direct confession before dropping her and her mom off at the Hospital had clearly changed everything for the two of them. At least, it changed everything for her.

"Scar, I just need you to be safe," he had said after one of Scarlett's many pushes to get him to stay with them. Scarlett had scoffed. Well, I know I'm always safe with you. He smiled sadly. Touched her face. "God, you don't know what I would give for that to be true."

It meant something, of course. He had stayed in their home, in her brother's bed six paces away from hers, for 5 weeks. She knew him. How his words were soft, carefully chosen, and always impactful. How he never said a word he didn't mean. How much he embodied loyalty and valor. For a decent country, he would have made an incredible soldier. She knew his words meant something. They had to have.

And yet, nothing.

Not a single message. And he knew how much she cared. He knew how much she wanted him. He would never not update her on where he was or what he was doing. He had given her the pager a few weeks earlier saying just that.

"What is it?"

"Pager," he explained, pulling up the chair from her desk to sit across from her bed. He always did that with chairs. He spun them around and sat on them backward, like he was trained to. And hey, maybe he was. "It's ancient technology but easy to use and cheap. I have one, your mom has one, and now this one's yours. I've programmed our numbers in already." He began to hand it to her, and as soon as she jumped to grab it, he stopped, pulling his massive hands away from hers. "Scar, this isn't a toy. This is your lifeline. Do not lose this. Ever. Anytime you need me—and I mean it—I will always be reachable. I'm never without it. It's how Bones got me here and it's how I'll know you're always safe."

She rolled her eyes, but she understood the gravity of what he was saying. She snatched it from his hands and turned it over in her fingers. "I'm not 5, J." As soon as she flipped it over, she saw he had used Scarlett's dad's old engraving tools to carve the first four letters of her name on the back. For some reason, it made a lump rise in the back of her throat.

He was always reachable, he had said. And yet, he hadn't reached out. As soon as she was in Beo's arms she sent him a quick all okay. He hadn't responded then, and he hadn't been in touch since. Sadness ate the insides of her stomach like a parasite.

"He's okay, Scarlet. You've seen him take out four Enforcers practically at once. You know he's okay."

"Of course he's okay," she snapped at her mother, balling up her fists. "That isn't why I'm pissed, Mom."

Despite her daughter's tone, all Delarose could do was manage a small, sad smile. "Everything happens for a reason."

"No," Scarlett began shoving her feet into her beat-up black Timberlands. "It doesn't."

"He's your first love!" Rose exclaimed, capping one of her skin creams and tossing it in her bag. "Of course you're upset."

Scarlett threw her hands up in exasperation. "He wasn't my first love, Mom! That requires being loved back!"