Demon Heart

Chapter 20.2

AZA

Four days.

Four excruciating, overwhelmingly, stretched thin days, where Del remained out of commission and Aza got to brutally contemplate whether or not the rumors were true--whether she was truly an utter nutcase.

There had been only one other time in her entire existence that she'd had a complete emotional breakdown. It hadn't been long after she'd witnessed her mother's murder at the hands of her father, who was also killed right in front of the eight-year-old's face. Moving to the other side of the country had not helped, and as Matthew Kendall's attention started to move on from her, Aza found herself feeling lost and discarded.

She'd had a meltdown and screamed at some children at the daycare center about how her parents were dead and that no one cared. She thrown toys and sobbed, throwing a huge tantrum. The lady, who took care of them tried to settle her down, but ended up calling her uncle to come get her. Matt had come and had actually tried for a moment to talk to her, but he'd gotten a phone call, then sent Aza to her room, where she'd burst into screams again.

Most of that last experience had gone by in a blur. She didn't remember, but apparently she had punched a kid and hurled a big toy ship at Ms. Bradshaw's face.

Aza had more or less been ostracized from the children after that. Fortunately, Evabelle had come not long after that incident, and things got better.

Now, Aza recognized that she'd had one again back up on that roof. She fallen to pieces like a fragile porcelain doll in front of everyone. She'd kicked and pushed back against Kai, and sobbed like a baby. Everyone around her stayed strong, comforted her, and freaking dealt with the situation.

Gah! I'm such a moron! Aza scrubbed at her eyes. I didn't become a worthless invalid when Lucis had fallen and was bleeding out in the alleyway. Granted he wasn't in quite as bad of shape, but still.

Aza gritted her teeth, and her head shot back up to glare at the man, laying on his side, peacefully breathing in and out. "Why you!?" She snapped at him. "Why? Why was it over you?!"

His void expression did not change, and Aza's anger abated as quickly as it had come. Her expression softened as she gazed over his soft dark hair falling over his forehead, his curved eyelids that held the long dark lashes, shading the jutted cheekbones around his long nose that lead to those wonderful full lips, just parted enough for air to slide in and move out.

Everyday for the past four days Lucis would come in and gently clean Del up, put him in clean clothes, wash his hair and body, being extra careful around the fragile wing.

Calandra changed the sheets every day, keeping them cool and fresh.

In Aza's mind it was as they were giving the loving treatment to the terminally ill within his last few days of life. It was ridiculous, of course. Aza herself had contacted the elves and three had immediately shown up and set to work on the broken wing: setting it, wrapping it, putting salves and potions around it and easing other concoctions down Del's throat. It was plain to see that these people were far superior healers than her uncle, comparing how the man had dealt with Lucis's injuries.

They knew what they were doing, but they still hadn't given a straight answer of whether or not Del would make it through this. All they had said was that his body's going through a great ordeal and that only time would be able to truly tell whether or not he would wake up.

Aza had wanted to kick them.

Now, as she sat in a chair in his freaking bedroom, staring down at his pallid face, she wanted to kick herself. Every bone in her body shuddered in exhaustion as she had practically zero sleep in the past several days. Her eyes were itchy, her back twinged, and her head ached.