Timepiece (Hourglass 2)

“No,” Ava argued. “Your arm is all bendy. You can’t leave without seeing a doctor.”

“I’ll be fine. Let’s just go.” I stood up.

“Dude,” Nate said. “You’ll be useless if you don’t get that arm fixed. Trust us to look for Lily. We want her found, too.”

He waited for me to read him. Loyalty, fear, conviction. The same feelings came from Dune and Ava.

“Ballard?” The nurse had removed the pen from her hair and was now tapping it on her clipboard, looking at us pointedly, but still smiling.

“Thank you.” I could only whisper.

“Go,” Ava said. “You’ll know you the second we find anything.”

The nurse, Mary Ellen, forced me to put on a hospital gown, and then she started an IV.

“Seriously? At worst, I need an ACE bandage, not an IV. Why do I need a hospital gown?” It wasn’t wide enough for my shoulders, so no matter what I did, it wouldn’t close in the back. The nurse kept averting her eyes. “Can’t you just slap on a Band-Aid and send me on my way?”

“Don’t be so grumpy. Let us take care of you. The IV will keep you hydrated.” Mary Ellen slid the needle under my skin quickly and almost painlessly. “No eating or drinking. We need to keep your stomach clear, in case that’s a break, specifically a compound fracture, and requires surgery.”

“Surgery? I can’t have surgery. I don’t have time. I have to …” In that second, everything in the room softened around the edges. I forgot what I was mad about. “What did you just do?”

“I gave you a little something for the pain, and to calm you down. You’re rather … agitated.” She frowned and took a step back before leaving the room completely.

“Agitated? You haven’t seen agitated.” Panic couldn’t eclipse the meds rushing through my system. Drugs that strong could have the same numbing effect as alcohol. I wouldn’t be able to feel anyone’s emotions, not even my own.

Not Lily’s.

I struggled to sit up, to keep my eyes open, but the nurse must have given me enough of the painkiller to take down a horse.

I don’t know how, but that’s when the wall between Lily and me tumbled down.

I’d known we were connected, but the pain I felt now was so sharp I could’ve been in her skin. Every emotion was amplified. She was pissed off and scared and worried. The pissed-off part made me hopeful for one brief second, and then my muscles spasmed as if I’d been running for days. My stomach twisted in knots.

She wasn’t okay.

Fear. Desperation. Fear. Desperation.

I fought against both as I fell into a deep sleep.

Chapter 50

My eyes flew open.

Fear. Desperation.

Lily.

Her pain was coming from a clear direction, and it wasn’t just emotional.

The clock said 5:00. An hour before sunset. My left arm was wrapped in a half cast. I pulled the two IVs out of my hand and climbed out of bed. My legs were steady enough, and my headache had settled into a dull throb. My clothes were neatly folded inside a cabinet, and I put them on as quickly as possible, considering my injury. I couldn’t find my cell phone anywhere. Lily’s emotions were coming more steadily now, ripping me in half with anxiety.

I stuck my head out my door and looked to the right and the left, and then I took off for the stairs.

Once I made it to the street, I started running, holding my injured arm close to my chest. The hospital was only a few blocks from downtown proper. Barricades blocked all the through streets, and the sounds of music and laughter floated on the evening air.

I’d forgotten it was Halloween.

Deadline. The word took on a whole new meaning.