The Everlasting Effect

Chapter Fifteen: Arawn

My heart dropped at the news, but I knew this wasn't the time for me to feel emotional or overthink things. Denara wasn't going to apply any sense of rationality here, nor did Danny for the fact. They both looked like an emotional mess, but it beats the yelling on the phone and the emotional sobs from the car ride.

I can see the strain on their faces and frustration on both their faces. Tired eyes with rings around them and a pale complexion. Danny is half limping with a broken arm and a few band-aids to the face. Random blood spots on his expensive clothes and yet he is more composed than Denara.

His attempt to be her pillar of strength in his frail condition. Watching the complete scene unfold brings a weird ache to my chest, but I can't decipher what it means, so instead, I focus on what the doctor says. Desperately try not to imagine things and get ahead of myself. I need to get my emotions in check!

This isn't about me and now is not the damn time to be a possessive asswipe! Danny is in as much pain as Denara, maybe even more so with the physical wounds and trauma!

I silently berate myself for those silent thoughts, but sometimes I can't help it. Every time I see Danny, there's a flair of emotions that takes over, and the stuff that I try to forget so hard to forget the past that comes back to light. There's this bubbling anger in the pit of my stomach, and the sudden urge to hit something is uncontrollable.

I may hate Danny more than anything and he probably knows about it too, but even I wouldn't kick that down. There is always going to be a place in my heart for her and a tinge of possession laced with some acts. It's completely normal, I think to myself.

The whole situation is getting to me, Rhys's pain, Denara's tears, and there is nothing that I Can do to make them feel better, absolutely nothing! The thought has me a bit grief-stricken, especially when the doctor says that they need the blood urgently. I'm powerless and of no use to them except support.

My muscles tense at the news and I find it difficult to hear everything the doctor says. I manage to suppress my temper and the overwhelming feelings that come with it. The heat from the anger and my jaw clenching subconsciously without thought. The beeping of the machines catches my attention and I glance at Rhys through the see-through mirror.

I see Rhys in the hospital bed, an oxygen mask attached to her face. Her tiny body looked lifeless and pale. Hard to believe that this was once the child that babbled continuously and was the life of the party. Her awestruck eyes were amazed and curious, and more like her mother than anything else. Sparks of fire and determination shone through her eyes when she wanted something or did not agree with you. The sight leaves my mouth dry with a bitter taste.

In the brief moments that I've come to know her and her scheming side, there are these moments that I can't place. Moments that seem familiar and take me back to when I was a child, but they aren't clear. It just feels hazed and blurry but with a connection and a feeling of attachment.

Maybe she reminds me of someone I know or knew in my past or maybe seeing her, reminds me of a past long forgotten. Having a single mother who tries her very best and an absent dad, although I can't fault Danny, he tries. A hell of a lot better than my dad. I'll give him credit there. She's a schemer at heart and has a few tricks up her sleeve. The thought of some of her antics and sassy remarks makes me chuckle.

The machine beeping catches my attention and brings me back to my lost thoughts. I've been staring at Rhys' hospital bed from the other side of the glass and the feeling gives me a slight chill. Danny, even in his semi-crippled and disheveled state, is more composed and tries to put on a brave face. He has a few bandaged wounds, clothes are tattered and torn. His arms wrapped in a comforting embrace and trying his best to console her, just as the doctor turns away.