Under a Rogue Moon

Chapter 18

Chapter 18Time became a weird, viscous thing, slowing and speeding up at the oddest intervals. Flanna remembered waking up when the ambulance arrived, and she remembered hearing Jason answer their hurried questions as she was bundled safely into the back of the vehicle. She felt him at her side for the duration of the jostling trip, but beyond that, things became a little shaky. There were doctors and the smell of disinfectant and something warm on her head. She was pretty sure someone said something about a concussion at one point, though the fact that she could’ve sworn she heard someone else talking about party hats at the same time led her to doubt the veracity of that memory.

The first time she opened her eyes and was sure that it was the real world and not a dream, the morning sun was streaming in through her hospital room window.

She was lying in a private room, small and antiseptic with lemon-colored walls and crooked blinds. Her hand felt oddly heavy, and when she glanced down to see what the problem was, Flanna saw an IV needle taped securely below the joint of her middle finger, steadily pumping a clear fluid into her veins. Her head was killing her, but closing her eyes against the sunshine did little to ease the ache. That didn’t last long, anyway. With her eyes closed, it made it easier to feel the hurts elsewhere on her body, so Flanna opened them up again, determined to brave the pain.

The door opened, and she found just enough strength to glance over and see the nurse push a cart inside. “You’re awake,” the nurse said with a broad smile. “That’s a good sign.”

“Did I…” Flanna had to stop and lick her lips, swallow hard in order to wet her mouth enough to speak clearly. “Was I out all night?”

The nurse chuckled, busying herself with the equipment on the cart. “All night, all day, and all night again. That was a nasty blow you took. Your family’s been quite worried about you.”

Almost two days. She’d been unconscious for nearly two days. Her head ached a little bit more with that knowledge.

“I’m just going to look you over and then I’ll let your grandmother know you’ve woken up.” The front of Flanna’s gown was pushed to the side as the nurse slipped the end of her stethoscope inside. “She’s going to be very relieved, I think.”

Flanna closed her eyes while she waited out the poking and prodding. By the time the nurse was done, she’d fallen asleep again.

* * * *

When she woke again, the light filtering through the blind had deepened to a rich amber hue, angled differently to cast stripes along the opposite wall. Her mouth was dry, but when she turned her head to see if there was water on her nightstand, she found herself meeting her father’s worried gaze.

“How’s my favorite lassie?” he asked softly.

“Thirsty,” she managed to croak. Instantly, Colin was standing, turning around to pick up a water pitcher from the bureau behind him. After pouring out a glass, he held it steady for her while she sipped at the refreshing liquid.

“Where’s Nan?” she asked when he sat back down.

“Off to get tea.”

“And Jason? Is he all right?”

“Worried about you, mostly. It’s fortunate he came out of The Green when he did.”

His gentle reminder of the events of the attack led Flanna to ask the question she so desperately needed answered. “Did the police catch Romm this time?”

Colin’s long silence was far more telling than the no that finally fell from his lips. Squeezing her eyes shut, Flanna tamped down the disappointment that swelled inside her. She didn’t mind getting hurt, but they’d been so close to finishing it. If Jason had only gone after Romm instead of sticking around, maybe this entire nightmare could have been over already.

“He did the right thing.” She opened her eyes again to see Colin watching her in solemn appraisal. “Don’t be criticizing the man for seeing that you’re all right.”

“He let Romm get away.”

“And he’s been out the past two nights, hunting like a man possessed. He made a choice, Flanna, and I, for one, am grateful for that. That wasn’t just a mild concussion you got. There were stitches and talk of spinal cord damage as well. I won’t have you making a fuss because he chose you over the hunt.”

She didn’t have the strength to argue with him. He wasn’t going to listen to a word she said anyway.

“When do I get to go home?” she asked instead.

“When the doctors think you’re strong enough,” he replied. “There’s talk of it being a week or so.”

“A week?”

Alarm made her try to sit up, and she winced as the IV pulled on the back of her hand. Colin was up in a flash, pressing her back down onto the mattress, all paternal worry evident on his face.

“You’re to lie still, do you understand me?” His voice was stern, sending her back to her childhood when he’d call up the stairs and chastise her for getting out of her bed. Beneath it, though, was something else. It almost sounded like fear, but Flanna knew her senses couldn’t currently be trusted.

“You’ll do nobody any good at all if you push yourself too soon,” Colin continued. “The doctors say you need rest, so rest you’re going to get. Even if Jason and I have to spell each other in guarding you.”

Flanna sagged back into the bed, exhausted from the brief fight. “I’m just worried about Romm going after you and Nan,” she said. “I don’t want anybody else getting hurt.”

“That’s not going to happen. The police have a good description of Romm now, both here and in Kesbury. The man’s been forced even further underground, which means it’s just a matter of time before Jason finds him.”

There was nothing more to be said for that. Though it made her feel worthless, she knew there was logic in her father’s statements. But this was her problem to fix, her fight to face. Romm was only alive because she’d failed to kill him when she had the opportunity. She only wished she’d known it was him at Rage so that she could have done it then, regardless of the fact that he was in human form. None of this would’ve ever happened then.

But then Jason would never have come, either. And as frustrated as she was with her current situation, she was even more grateful that Jason was now a part of her life. She would never feel like it was a worthwhile trade, but her feelings for him most definitely tempered the worst of it.

She fell asleep again wondering when Jason would come around to see her.

* * * *

It was on the morning of the fourth day that he finally came.

Flanna was picking at the fruit salad in her breakfast when a light rap came at the door. She glanced up in time to see the morning duty nurse poke her head in and smile.

“You have a visitor,” she said. “Would you like to finish eating first or may I send him in now?”

The clock on her nightstand said eight-thirty. Visiting hours didn’t start for another half hour.

“Can you do that?” she asked with a small frown.

“I think we can bend the rules this one time. If you feel up to it.”

Upon Flanna’s agreement, the nurse disappeared, the door whispering closed behind her. Flanna had barely pushed aside her breakfast tray when it opened again and Jason slipped inside.

Her heart jumped when she saw him. Fading bruises peppered his jaw and left temple, already such a pale green that she wondered if someone would notice them if they didn’t know he’d been in a fight. His normally bright eyes were shadowed with exhaustion, but his smile was warm and earnest as he hovered near the doorway.

“Why are you standing all the way over there?” she asked. She grimaced, lifting a hand to her hair. “Do I really look that bad?”

“You look beautiful.” The rush of his voice more than revealed he thought it truth. “I just wasn’t sure if you’d want to see me. That’s why I pulled out all the charm stops on the nurse to get me in here without telling you it was me.”

“Why would I…?” She stopped the question as soon as she remembered some of the things she’d said to her father over the past couple days. Undoubtedly, he’d repeated them to Jason. Her cheeks flamed in embarrassment. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said instead. “I’ve missed you.”

Tension she hadn’t even realized had been winding through him suddenly vanished from the hard set of his shoulders, and he was at the side of the bed, perching on the edge of the mattress, before she could react. He reached, then hesitated, as if he wasn’t sure what her response to physical contact would be, settling instead to ghost his fingers along the back of her hand and along her forearm.

“I’m sorry.” It was barely above a breath; if she hadn’t seen his lips move, she would have thought it was a figment of her imagination. “I know you’re angry that I didn’t go after Romm, and it’s not that I’m sorry that I didn’t. I’m sorry that he hurt you at all. I should’ve told Neil to go to hell and gone out to the car with you. Romm would never have jumped you if it had been the both of us.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Flanna said. “And it’s my fault for being distracted. I should’ve been more alert.”

When his eyes scanned her face, there was no mistaking the ferocity of his search. “I’m not going to let you blame yourself.”

“Then maybe we should stop talking about blame at all. It happened. There’s nothing either of us can do to change that now.” She chewed at the inside of her lip, reluctant to ask what she knew she had to. “Were you ever going to tell me that it was Romm in New York?”

Guilt made him duck his gaze. “Until you said differently when we were burying the demon, I thought you knew,” Jason said. “I thought that’s why you’d been with him in the first place. Trying to take him out when you’d missed your chance at the full moon.” He paused. “I didn’t say anything later because I didn’t like thinking what you two were doing, if you didn’t realize he was Romm. You’re not the only one who can get jealous, you know.”

She snorted. It was so far from the truth, it was almost funny.

“Why were you running from him?”

All amusement fled. “I wasn’t with him,” she said too quickly. “He tried picking me up and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

There was no point in telling Jason that she’d had every intention on picking Romm up first, that the man had just picked up on the signals she’d been sending all too clearly before approaching her. It didn’t matter now. And she really didn’t like how it made her look.

“Well, at least you know now,” he was saying. “So do the cops. I gave them a full description.” He grinned. “And the plus side to all this is that now there’s absolutely zero suspicion on me. I’ve been able to help out with the searches without anybody thinking I have an ulterior motive. They all know I’m doing this for you now.”

His eyes softened, and his hand lifted up to touch the side of her face. “Does it hurt?” he asked. “Your father’s said that you’re recovering well, but…God, Flanna, what Romm did to you…”

She could feel his fingertips hovering over the stitches at her hairline. It looked worse than it felt, and if it wasn’t for the doctors’ orders that she stay in hospital for a few more days, Flanna would have already checked out. Still, seeing the concern on Jason’s face just cemented for her the truth of what he’d told her. He really did care about her that much.

“It’s nothing compared to what I’m going to do to Romm when we finally catch him,” she joked. She was rewarded with a small smile and reached up to take his hand in hers. “I know how hard you’ve been looking for him. Thank you for that.”

“I just wish I had better news.” He sighed, his fingers absently stroking hers. “No offense, but your local police are idiots. They have absolutely no idea how to track him. I’ve been doing most of the legwork on my own at night.”

“They’re just not used to this kind of violent crime. You shouldn’t hold that against them. We’re not blaming, remember?”

“I thought that was just each other.” His attempt at levity was interrupted by a wide yawn, after which he colored in embarrassment. “God, I’m more tired than I thought I was. You guys seriously need to get a Starbucks in this town. It makes these all-night hunts a hell of a lot easier.”

“Go home.” Letting go of his hand, Flanna pushed at his leg, trying to get him to stand up. “The last thing we need is you falling asleep at the wheel driving back to the house.”

Jason stood, though reluctantly. “So is this the point where I admit to sneaking into your bed to sleep?” he said with a half-smile. “Your sheets still smell like you. As it turns out, that’s both a good and a bad thing.”

“I don’t think I want to know.”

“Probably not.” All of a sudden, he was leaning over, his lips brushing across her brow before sliding down to capture her mouth in a gentle kiss. She forgot all her aches as his tongue traced her lower lip, coaxed the moan from deep in her throat. Before she could deepen it, however, he had pulled back, gazing down at her with his heart burning in his eyes.

“In case the concussion has killed your short-term memory,” Jason murmured, “I think it’s probably a good idea to remind you just how crazy I am about you. Being in your bed without you…knowing just where you are and why…it’s eating me alive. I want you out of here, at my side, in my arms, as soon as the doctors give you the okay. Because everything else just isn’t good enough.”

Another kiss, this one harder though just as fleeting, and Flanna was left breathless as Jason headed back to the door. “I’ll be back this afternoon,” he promised, and then he was gone, leaving her feeling more at peace than she had yet in her entire hospital stay.

They’d get through this. Any doubts she’d had were now completely vanquished. As soon as Romm was dead, Flanna was going to tell Jason exactly how she felt, and then they’d sit down and figure out exactly what their future looked like.

It was going to be a good one.