Truth, Lies, and Silver Eyes (A Sequel to STRQ) [Book 2]

Chapter 28: Qrow

It was around midnight. Deke had gone to sleep a few hours before and Summer hadn't come back yet. I didn't expect her to return until a few more days, but I was still worried about her. Maybe I should've gone with her after all...

I was startled by the door flying open. It was dark, and I couldn't see who was at the entrance. I had my scythe ready within seconds. Before I could strike, I heard a broken whisper in the darkness.

"Qrow... she's gone."

I watched as Summer stumbled into inside. Her cloak, barely visible in the moonlight, was covered in blood. I sat my scythe aside and caught her before her body gave out completely. She was panting and covered in sweat. Her silver eyes were filled with fear.

"Summer?! Are you okay? What happened?" I asked, starting to panic.

She took a few deep breaths before answering.
"Laurel... is dead. I saw Aleya kill her. Qrow... I'm so sorry! I didn't mean for this—"

I cut her off with a quick kiss.
"Don't. We can continue this in the morning. Right now, you need some rest."

Her eyes widened more. "No! I can't rest! Not with Aleya still out there! What if she comes after me? She could hurt you! Or Deacon, or—"

"I won't let her touch either of you. I'll keep watch tonight to make sure of that."

Summer closed her eyes and sighed. "You need rest, too."

"I'll get some sleep later. I'm going to focus on keeping you safe right now," I told her.

She said nothing as her breathing slowed. I gently scooped her into my arms and laid her on one of the couches. I sat next to her examined her wounds more closely. She had several cuts and bruises. I couldn't tell if the blood on her cloak was hers or Laurel's. It might've been both. Other than the cuts, she didn't have any serious injuries that I could see. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uncle Qrow? I'm thirsty. Can I... Is that Summer?!"

I stood to my feet and turned around to see Deacon had woken up. He rushed by Summer's side.

"Her clothes are covered in blood! Is she okay?!"

I placed my hand on his shoulder to stop him from getting too close.
"Deke, Summer needs to rest. Today has been a rough day for her. Maybe you can talk to her when she wakes up. Right now I need you to head to bed. It's late and you need sleep, too."

He looked like he was ready to protest, but he just nodded his head.
"Okay. I'll see you in the morning, Uncle."

I ruffled his hair and smiled down at him.
"Sure thing, kiddo. Go get some sleep, okay?"

He ran off to one of the back rooms and shut the door.

I sat there in silence the entire night, wondering what could've happened. I wasn't going to get any answers until Summer was rested. It was around sunrise when Summer woke up. She still seemed a bit jumpy and stressed.

"Hey," I greeted her, "I hope you're feeling better."

She was silent for a moment.
"I watched her die, Qrow. Aleya was going to attack me and Laurel pushed me out of the way. Then all I saw was Aleya slashing at her. There was blood and... and I did nothing but run. Gods Qrow... I knew I shouldn't have ran, but I was terrified!"

I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer.
"It's okay, Summer. I completely understand why you ran. I probably would've ran too. I am relieved to see you safe, though. I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

"I know. I can't help but feel guilty. I get to live on and Laurel doesn't... Now I'm going to have to tell Oz. I'm not sure how he'll react."

I held her tighter. "We can worry about that another time. For now, we need to focus on teaching and training Deacon."

"Right. I'll work with him today. You focus on getting some sleep. I'm sorry that you had to stay up all night," she told me.

I stared at her. "You sure? You've just been through quite the ordeal. I wouldn't want you to—"

She interrupted me by kissing my lips quickly.
"Don't worry about it. Just... go get some rest, okay?"

I wanted to protest, but at the same time I was feeling very tired. Too tired to argue.

"Alright," I said, "but if you need any help with anything, don't hesitate to let me know."

She smiled. "Will do. I'll see you later tonight."

I nodded and went to one of the couches to lay down. I watched as Summer took off her cloak and sat to one side.

"I'll have to clean that later," she mumbled as she made her way towards one of the back rooms.

I said nothing as the sound of her footsteps lulled me to sleep.