Shrouded Away (Book #1)

Chapter: 63

The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground. As they deepened into blue and purple the shadows retreated. The sinking of the sun gave swirls of warm colors to the sky.

The sound of shoes scuffing against the hospital floor gave away the panic that everyone was feeling.

Helen had her palm against the brunette girl's forehead, praying that she'd still live. The girl's mother was laid on the bed beside her. She was wide awake, she held her daughter's hand tightly while her son held the other.

Morgana and Bradford stood behind Helen worry gleaming in their eyes.

A loud gasp emitted from the girl. Her eyes opened, as she tried to catch her breath. She sat glancing around her surroundings.

She was safe. She was alive.

“Andrea...” Her mother breathed out, gazing at her with damp eyes. 

Andrea was in shock, she winced as she turned to properly face her mother. 

The Oakwood doors slammed open. 

“Andrea!!” Smith exclaimed. Callista, Sally, Nathan Jordan and Leo behind him.

He ran to her bed and froze when he saw who was next to her.

Smith took slow steps, confusion was written all over his face. He reached for her cheek trying to make sure if this was another one of his daily hallucinations. 

It wasn't.

A tear trailed down his cheek, caressing her face.

“Are done admiring me?” Adele asks jokingly with hooded eyes.

He smiled hearing her all too familiar voice, “Never,”

Helen moved away and Callista sat beside Andrea. 

She smiled down at her.

“you owe me one,” Andrea whispered with her hoarse voice.

“let’s wait till you get up from this bed, you seem to love being here,”

“yeah, she's here,”

Grunting Adele got up and limped to Andrea planting a kiss on her forehead.

With loving eyes she ran a finger through her hair.

“we'll kick those asses once the two of us catch up,”

Helen handed them their prescriptions.

“we're so glad to have you again Adele,”

“me too" her gaze fell on Morgana and Bradford, “you know, you two are awfully quiet, especially since I’m here,”

Morgana's eyes were stinging with tears, when she blinked they poured. She rushed to hugging her.

“my favorite troublemaker,” she sobbed, “ is alive! I knew it! I told you!”

“yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,” Adele patted her back wincing, “you're always right, and when did I become one of your favorites?”

“All right! The reunion are over my patients need a rest from your crying and sobbing,” 

After ushering everyone out of the building Helen returned to the four of the family members.

“you do need a lot of catching up,” with that she left.

“I know I’ve been in a state of death and sleep for years, but don’t tell me either of you don’t want to sleep,”

Andrea smiled not hearing her mother's unmotherly  words, but because she finally felt happy, she finally felt at peace.

Andrew’s eyes widened remembering.

“Lauranda.. She wasn’t the spy it was-"

“Maryline,” Garren finished the sentence for her, “ You dumbasses left your comms on, I heard everything. Lauranda took the blue pen drive so she could throw it away, she had somehow suspected Maryline, since she was new, but Lauranda was kinda late to throw the pen drive, since Maryline hijacked Aurella since she had easy access to her and got the plans easily,”

Adele gaped, “ wow, I seemed to have missed a lot,”

“I’m so happy to have my family all together once again,” Smith beamed giving a kiss on Adele's forehead.

Andrea felt her mother draw soft lines on the back of her hand with her thumb.

“Did Ludere season start?”

Smith and Garren laughed.

“ It’s over, you missed it,”

“ how many did I miss?”

“You don’t need to worry, you didn’t miss Andrea’s first match,”

Adele let out a happy sigh, “Come here,” she opened her arms, the first one to run into them was Garren making her laugh.

“You must've missed me, a lot"

“Come to your mother Andrea,” Adele gestured towards her. The corners of her lips tilted, standing up she hugged her.

"One finds happiness in the place where they wish for their heart to beat the last." He added, "I hope you find that place."

Maybe she might not have found it, but she did find where to start to began her journey.

Nothing lasts forever.

It was true, nothing does and we humans sometimes cannot come to accept these words.

To not believe these we must find something that valuable to us to not accept these words is nearly impossible.

We want things we can never have. We love people we can never be with and that’s what makes us human and a monster at the same time.

We’re monsters with a past that no book has the spine to carry, we're humans that has a future with a prediction that no one can tell. To be and have both is equally terrifying.

And it’s all Shrouded Away.

She tightened the grip around her mother, ignoring the burning sensation on the skin of her left wrist from the Malum mark.