I released a breath
when we got to the other side and waved at Kim, who waited in the other car. She was a local bank teller in Camden. I cut my eyes back to the road, the pavement shiny with ice and melted snow. I drove carefully to the hospital, slowing down around the turns, so we didn’t slide into a ditch.
We took a right into the hospital parking lot, and I found a spot in the back, which meant we had to walk. Luna was quiet, too quiet for my liking, but I knew she had a lot on her mind. Her dad, the boutique, this crazy fire loving maniac in town, and Ethan.
Luna had her arms crossed, and the fluffy white jacket she wore made her look like a cute little marshmallow. I laid my hand on the curve of her lower back as we entered the hospital. A burst of heat from above us made us sigh in relief in unison.
“I hope he is awake,” I said, nearly jumping out of my skin to get to my brother.
“Me too, Easton.” We entered the elevator, and Luna reached for the button that took us to the burn unit. As the elevator lifted, Luna laid her head against my chest and sighed.
I took her face in my hand and laid a gentle kiss against her lips, telling her that I’d take care of her in the simple touch. She made me the happiest man alive. “I love you, Luna. More than you will ever know,” I said, just as the elevator dinged. Both of us were smiling like loons as we hurried down the hall, but it quickly faded when the smell of burnt skin hit us like a truck.
“Oh god,” Luna covered her mouth and gagged. The smell was terrible, and the cries and pleas for the pain to stop tore at my soul. One of those people was my brother. He was in room 745, and the closer we got, the more the world caved in around me.
When we got to the door, I stared at it. I was so afraid to open it. My hand was on the handle, but I couldn’t turn it. Luna’s hand fell on mine and applied enough pressure for the handle to turn; then, she pushed the door open. It still smelt like burnt skin, and when I stepped inside the room, my mom and dad were sitting around his bed along with my brothers.
“Ethan,” I whispered when I noticed he was awake.
“Bout time you came,” he said through pinched breaths, his body shivered. “It’s good to see you.” He turned his head to me, and his eyes widened when he saw Luna. “Luna.”
“Oh, Ethan.” She ran to him, careful not to touch him from the neck down and placed a kiss on his cheek. “You scared me.”
“Mmm, I feel better already,” he said.
“Get your own,” I mumbled, pressing a kiss on the top of my brother’s forehead. It was a lot of love to show, but I needed to. I came too close to losing him. His arms weren’t bandaged. They had no burns or marks on them at all, but his torso and legs? They were wrapped heavily, and it scared me. What if he wouldn’t be the same? What then?
“Luna?” Ethan rasped. “Can you be a doll and get me a nice cold water out of the vending machine?”
Luna grinned and kissed his cheek again. “I’d do anything for you, Ethan. I’ll be right back.” She bounced out of the room happily, her curls swaying along with her hips.
Ethan lifted his right arm and placed it on my shoulder. “You saved my life,” he said. “You crazy fuck. I can’t believe you went into that house.”
“I’d never let you go in a fire alone, Ethan.” I glanced down his body and felt emotion choke my throat. My mom gripped my hand and squeezed. “I don’t feel like I saved you.”
“Skin is just skin, Easton. It might not be the same, but I’ll be fine. It hurts, but I’m alive. That’s more than I thought possible.”
It wasn’t long after that until Easton closed his eyes and fell asleep. I noticed then that Luna wasn’t back. “Where’s Luna?” It had been ten minutes. She should have been back by now. “Luna?” I shouted down the hall and gained a few mean looks from nurses. Like I cared. Fuck them. Only Luna mattered.
I ran down the hallway, my dad behind me, because he knew something was wrong. I took a left inside the snack area, which had no people in it. There were a few cheap tables, small and square, big enough for one person comfortably, a tv, and the snack machines which lined the wall in the back. My heart thumped when I saw a bottle of water lying on the ground. My boots felt heavy as I walked toward it, my mind blanked, and when I bent down to pick it up, my fingers wrapped around an ice-cold water bottle, the last thing Luna touched.
She wasn’t here.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Luna
My head swam when I came back to. I couldn’t remember what happened. One moment I was at the vending machines getting Ethan a bottle of water and then… black. For the life of me, I couldn’t conjure up a memory. Everything was blank and dark. I moaned when I tried to lift my head.
“Wake up,” a voice hissed. “I’m tired of waiting for you, Nora. Wake up.”
Nora? Who the hell was Nora?
A hand slapped across my face, and my eyes snapped open, blurry, and unfocused. I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them again to clear the fuzz. I inhaled, and goosebumps popped up along my skin when the wind blew. It was freezing. Wherever I was, it had no heat, and it smelled old like mildew and charcoal. As the gusts of wind sent snow catapulting through the area, it landed on my cheeks, and I woke up like I just took a shot of pure caffeine.
And that was when I saw him.
Willard Hopkins.