Colors by You

Chapter 6

The next time I opened my eyes, it was to silence.

I was on my back in a bed in a room I didn't recognize. There was a window to my left, the blinds drawn closed. The door on the right was shut and a digital clock hung on the far wall read 2:07 in dim red digits. A lamp on the bedside table cast a soft yellow glow on the plain walls. It was bright enough that I could see the crinkly fabric of my hospital gown and the tall frame hunched over the side of the bed, breathing softly.

He slept with his head resting atop his arms, his body awkwardly stretched between the hospital chair and the bed. My left hand was nestled in one of his own, the tips of my fingers inches from his forehead, close enough to feel the warm exhales from his nose. Unconsciously, I stretched them, tracing a feather light path over his skin.

"Sam."

His head lifted before his eyes opened. Purplish rings sat beneath them, making guilt coil in my chest. He must've been awake for hours. I kept quiet, waiting for him to gradually become alert. The moment it registered in his head that I was conscious, the bleariness in his gaze suddenly vanished. His hand gripped mine tight, relief flooding his face, but his voice came out strained.

"Hey."

Mine was more like a croak. "Hi."

My head felt like it was submerged underwater. The memories were slow to trickle in, stumbling between each other. Nora. The school. The gun. I'd been shot.

"What happened?" I rasped, shifting against the cot. A warning pulse came from my waist before I could even prop up my elbows. It was sharp and heavy enough to make me groan. He was upright in an instant, grasping me still. His touch was terribly gentle. Like I was something fragile in his hands.

"It's okay. You're safe. Dean got us here in time. The doctors finished your surgery yesterday. They said the bullets missed anything vital, but you were supposed to be up hours ago."

My heart fumbled. "It's been a day?"

His gaze went tight, his jaw pumping. "Nearly two actually."

"What about Nora?"

"At the police station. They're booking her for the three murders."

"She's alive." I shut my eyes, breathing deeply. "Thank you for not killing her."

Things had gone bad so quickly. The easier thing to do would've been to get rid of her. They didn't know my magic. It was risky to just believe my word that the spell would hold, but they took that chance anyway.

The hands on my shoulders disappeared, leaving a cold emptiness behind. "Your friend Kim was here until just a while ago too. She said she was going to come back in the morning with something for you." His voice changed. It sounded more resigned. Tired.

I opened my eyes, watching him. "It'll probably be a brew to help me heal. She hates hospital stays about as much as I do."

He nodded. His gaze was fixed at a point on the bed, his brows furrowed.

"I shouldn't have turned my back on her. I didn't think she would try something like that," I continued. The words came out of nowhere. Just to fill the empty silence between us.

His gaze refused to lift. "I shouldn't have dropped my gun."

"It got knocked out of your hand."

"She wouldn't have been able to shoot you if I had it."

I frowned. "That doesn't mean she wouldn't try to hurt me another way. Same with you."

He didn't have a counter to that, but it looked like there were a million things running through his head and none of them were good. I wanted to ask what they were, to pull him out of it and keep him here.