The Collective

Chapter Twenty

     Ethan moaned. His hand tightened around the blanket. I stiffened. I willed him to be still. He needed to rest. It'd been a rough night. The infection in his knee had gotten worse. Dad reopened it and cleaned it all out. Ethan fell back asleep. I did not.

     He reached under the bed. For the gun I knew he kept there when he was in his apartment. It wasn't there. He stiffened. His eyes opened oh-so-slowly. He took in the bed, the room, the windows. He relaxed.

     "Hey," I said softly.

     He rubbed his hand over his face. "Hi."

     "Here." I held the straw to his lips. He sounded like he'd smoked a pack a day his whole life. "How're you feeling?"

     He mulled it over. "I'm fine."

     I stared at him. I shook my head. "Here, take these." I handed him three pills.

     He poked them, rolling them around in his hand. "What are they?"

     "Broad-spectrum antibiotics and some pain killers. My dad got them for you." I rolled my neck, gnawing on my lip. It'd been six hours since he took the last ones, hence the muscle thrumming in his jaw.

     He popped the pills. "You okay?"

     I smiled stiffly. "Sleeping in a chair was not the best idea I've ever had." Watching him almost die several times in the past twelve hours was the worst, hands down. Dad gave me a couple hours here and there, but I'd been so busy worrying about Ethan the whole time, I hadn't slept. He kept not breathing, or not breathing well? No matter what we tried, his fever wouldn't go down.

     He barked out a laugh. He wrapped an arm around his ribs, wincing.

     I bounced to my feet, too tired to fight the tears pushing their way out. "Someone's been dying to see you." I pulled open the door. Matilda tore into the room. She leapt onto the bed. She dropped onto her belly, crawling towards him. She rested her head a couple inches away from his hand, licking his fingers.

     Ethan rubbed her head, grinning. "How's my best girl?"

     I left them to it, drifting downstairs. This wasn't at all how I thought this was going to go. I sank down on the bar stool in the kitchen. I peeled the bandages up, staring at the cuts on my wrists. They looked a lot better than they did yesterday, but Dad was insistent I keep them wrapped up for at least the next 24 hours.

     I rested my head on the counter. I needed to sleep. I needed to not be here. I needed... I had no idea what I needed.

     The sound of someone pounding on the door sent my stomach plummeting.

     Wait. Bad guys didn't knock. I put my head back down. They kept knocking. I groaned. Fiiinnee. I jerked the door opened, fully prepared to start yelling. I froze.

     A petite woman in her late twenties strode past me. She took in the downstairs before pounding up the steps.

     Wait a second. She wasn't allowed up there. I took off after her. I reached her a moment too late.

     The new girl shoved her way into Ethan's room. She walked right up to Ethan and she climbed on the bed next to him. She laughed softly. She hugged him.

     She hugged him?

     Ethan smiled.

     He smiled?

     Matilda growled. She leapt off the bed. She sat next to me, resting her head against my leg. I rubbed her ears. Who was this girl? Ethan wasn't touchy feely with anyone but me.