Oblivion

Probably around town. It was that small.

Dr. Michaels left after handing over some pain meds, and it was about damn time someone gave her something. Her mother hovered by her bed, and my jaw flexed when I saw the wetness gather in Kat’s eyes. The girl… Yeah, she was tough stuff. She’d been holding it together this whole time. I started to close my eyes when I sensed my sister’s presence. I’d called her on the way in, and no amount of reasoning had convinced her to stay at the house.

Dee rushed right past me. I chuckled. Glad to see that she was worried about me, because you know, I didn’t just fight an Arum or something. “Oh no, Katy, are you okay?”

Kat lifted the injured arm, and damn if she didn’t offer a weak smile. “Yes. Just a little banged up.”

Dee stared at Kat and then whipped around to me. “I can’t believe this happened. How could this have happened? I thought you—”

“Dee,” I warned.

She straightened, cheeks flushing as she received the silent message. Exhaling raggedly, she turned back to Kat, approaching her bed slowly. “I’m so sorry about this.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kat replied.

My sister sat down, perched on the edge of the bed, distraught and seconds from getting up and kicking me, I’m sure, because she thought this was my fault.

It was.

But not for the same reasons as Dee believed. She was upset that I hadn’t gotten to Kat in time, but the truth was, if I’d listened to my own advice and stayed away from her, I never would’ve traced her in the first place.

They started talking among themselves, and I let my eyes drift closed. Tonight had been… There really weren’t any words when it came to the amount of FUBAR that had gone down, and fighting that Arum had drained me. I heard Dee talking about taking Kat home if her mom couldn’t, which probably meant I would be the one taking them home.

Ms. Swartz returned, and although Kat was released, there was a huge accident out on one of the highways. Being the nurse on call that night, her mom couldn’t leave, but Dee convinced her that we would not only take her home but watch out for signs of a concussion.

Thanks, Dee.

To be honest, I was…okay with that. I really didn’t want either of them out there alone right now. Not until that trace was gone. My jaw tightened.

Because if there was one Arum, there were always three more. Luxen were always born in sets of three, so Arum always hunted in fours.

Dee left the ER room to grab a snack, and when I opened my eyes, Kat’s stare was fixed on me, but something was off about it. Her eyes were glassy. Pain meds must be kicking in.

I pushed off the wall, making my way toward her. She closed her eyes. “Are you going to insult me again? Because I’m not up to…pear for that.”

My lips twitched. “I think you mean par.”

“Pear. Par. Whatever.” Those heavy lashes lifted.

The bruises and red marks kept drawing my attention. “Are you really okay?”

“I’m great.” She yawned. “Your sister acts as if this is her fault.”

“She doesn’t like it when people get hurt,” I said quietly, and then as an afterthought, “and people tend to get hurt around us.”

Her unsteady gaze met mine. “What does that mean?”

Dee returned at that moment, gri

Thank God.

I moved to Kat’s bed, gingerly getting an arm behind her shoulders, helping her stand. The look she sent me, one of dazed bewilderment, was kind of cute. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

She shuffled two steps and then swayed unsteadily. “Whoa, I feel buzzed.”

I glanced at Dee, who raised her brows and said, “I think the pills are starting to work.”

“Am I…slurring yet?” Kat asked.

“Not at all.” Dee laughed.

Kat hobbled a couple more steps, and I saw this going nowhere fast. Sighing, I scooped her up and then deposited her gently in a wheelchair just outside the ER room. “Hospital rules.”

She just stared at me.

We stopped long enough to fill out some paperwork, but Kat wasn’t much of a help by that point. The nurses thankfully put most of it aside for her mom to fill out later. Once we got to Dee’s car, I picked Kat up and placed her in the backseat.

“I can walk, you know.”

I carefully buckled her in, making sure I didn’t jar the arm that was in the cast. “I know.” Closing the door, I sent Dee a look as I walked around to the other side of the backseat and climbed in. By the time Dee had turned the engine, Kat’s head was on my shoulder.

Stiffening, I glanced down at her and then up. Dee wasn’t looking at me as she was pulling out of the parking spot. Then I glanced back at Kat. This couldn’t be entirely comfortable. It sure as hell wasn’t for me. Taking a deep breath, I lifted my arm and placed it around her shoulders. She immediately snuggled up, like a little kitten, with the good side of her face.

This was weird.

There were more moments of us being total asshats to each other than there were of us being actually decent, but the fact she’d do this and that I’d let her, actually aid in the process, was very…yeah, weird.

Her breathing deepened, and one of her hands fell to my thigh, the fingers slowly uncurling. “Kat?” I whispered.

No response.

“Is she awake?” Dee asked from the front.

“Out cold.”

Dee let out a shaky breath. “She’s going to be okay, right?”

I stared down at Kat, and even in the dark of the car, I could see her scratched-up cheek. “Yeah, she’ll be fine.”

“She said she was going to stay at home… I could still see it,” she said.

“I know.” We’d both known the trace was still there, and no one was kicking their own ass more than me. I paused. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to let anything happen this time. I swear.”

“It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have said that in the ER. You didn’t know this was going to happen.”

I didn’t know exactly, but it hadn’t come out of left field either. We all knew there was a chance. It was why Dee had tried to convince her to stay home tonight.

“You did something, didn’t you?” Dee asked quietly. “It’s stronger now.”

“I didn’t…mean to.” A few strands of Kat’s hair fell across her cheek. I brushed them back. “It just happened. Shit.”

Dee didn’t speak again until she hit the highway. “Be honest with me. How badly was she hurt?”

“I don’t know.” I watched Kat’s hand twitch against my leg. “I think… I think it was pretty bad. She seemed to have trouble breathing. That Arum was going to kill her.”

“Oh God,” Dee whispered.

Looking out the window, I watched the darkened trees blur past, broken up every few moments by headlights. “We… I just need to be more careful.”

Dee didn’t respond for a long moment. “Adam called. He knew something was up when you left the house. I told him—”

“I know you told him about Kat. He said something tonight.” I dragged my gaze from the window, finding Dee’s in the rearview mirror. “I’m going to have to tell them.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. “Adam doesn’t care, but…”

Yeah, she didn’t need to elaborate. Ash and Andrew would most definitely have a problem with it, but I’d killed an Arum tonight. Couldn’t keep the lid on this jar of shit any longer.

We didn’t speak the rest of the way, and Kat didn’t wake up when we pulled in front of the house. She only stirred, murmuring under her breath when I unbuckled her and carefully drew her out of the car, once again in my arms and tucked against my chest.

“I got her purse and keys,” Dee a

“Of course.”

Dee’s gaze met mine, and I didn’t want to know what she was thinking in that moment, but she whirled around and darted across the driveway, toward Kat’s house. Twisting at the waist, I kneed the car door shut. I turned, shifting Kat in my arms.