Page 61 of Haven

Fifty-Two

Rory

My head throbbed and my body felt like I went five rounds with Jude. That mental slip made me jolt up, which caused scorching pain. Nausea churned in my stomach as I lurched to the side. My chest felt like there was a fire raging in it while my head screamed in misery. Beeping distracted me from the need to vomit before I realized I was in a stark white room.

There was a gentle knock on the door before a blonde woman walked in with a bright smile. “Mornin’ darlin’,” she greeted as she walked to a monitor and scribbled on her clipboard.

“Where am I?”

“Briarwood Medical. You were in a motorcycle accident. They found you at the National Park entrance, unresponsive.”

My brows furrowed. “I don’t remember going to the park.”

“You had a bad head injury, darlin’. It can lead to memory loss.”

I wasn’t headed to the park. When I left the club I was angry, but I knew I was going the opposite direction of the state park. “Do you have my phone?”

“It’s with a woman in the lobby. You kept asking for Widow. The entire club is out there, waiting.”

There was a lump forming in my throat. “My sister?” I needed to apologize to her for reacting the way I did.

Her face dropped. “Widow asked if Cinder was here already when she first got here. Apparently, no one knows where she is.”

“What? Can you send Widow in, please?”

The nurse nodded and stepped out of the room. My chest tightened with guilt. This was my fault. The fight was my fault, and now my sister was gone. She was out there looking for me. It was the only thing that made sense. She would come after me. She was fine. I would go to sleep and she would be here with me when I woke up.

There was a heaviness in Widow’s eyes when she walked in, but she forced a smile. She always tried to mask her emotions, but she was doing a shit job right now. Something was wrong. When she looked at me, her eyes softened. She didn’t look at me like that anymore because of what happened. I missed the way she looked at me, but that just proved my theory that something was definitely wrong.

Her short hair was disheveled and she looked frazzled. Widow never looked frazzled, not on this level. She always kept herself and her emotions under control, never allowing anyone to see the parts of her she hid from the world. If I said she let me see her, I would be lying. Maybe before, when we got close and I fell in love with her. I saw all her broken pieces because they fit perfectly with mine. She might’ve shattered my heart, but she was still the only one who could mend it.

The look in her eyes told me something happened, and I was terrified of the answer. “Where is she?”

“We don’t know, phoenix.”

“S-she knows I didn’t mean it…right? I…I was angry. She’s not like Mom. She was never close.” Tears swelled in my eyes. “I-I can’t lo-lose her.”

Widow walked to the bed, hesitant for a moment, but when I leaned into her, she wrapped her arms around me as I sobbed. Pain erupted in my body, but I ignored it. “She knows. I’m going to find her, I promise.”

“Why is this happening? Why is he back?”

Widow pressed her lips together. The boogeyman was back, even if Jude Booker was gone. Someone was creating havoc, and I had no idea who it was. “Do you remember anything?”

“Not everything. I was with—” I froze, reality smacking me in the face as I remembered I was supposed to meet Hades. “Fuck. Hades.” I cringed when her name fell from my lips. “Shit.”

“We know you're with Axel’s daughter, she’s currently at the clubhouse. Unharmed. Now, what about this bastard?”

“I don’t know…I keep seeing morphed images in my mind and hearing his voice, but I can’t see who he is. I don’t know! What if…” My mind trailed off.

There were dark spots in my memory, but I figured that was my mind protecting me from the trauma. Maybe Jude or whoever this person was did something to me so I would forget. I was scared. I grabbed Widow’s hand, tears streaming down my face. “I can’t be that girl again. I’m not Aurora June.”

Widow brushed my hair away from my face. “You will never be her again, phoenix.”

There was a knock on the door, and Melisa stepped inside my hospital room. She gave me a soft smile before turning her attention to Widow, and I recognized that look. It meant bad news. I grabbed Widow’s hand to prevent her from leaving. If they wanted to talk about me, I would be in the goddamn room. She could have information about Cinder.

“No,” I hissed. “If you’re talking about me or Cinder, do it in this room to my face. I am not a child and will not be treated like one. What is going on? Do you know where my sister is?”

Melisa waited for Widow’s approval, and she gave a slight nod. “We found her bike at the docks and her phone in one of the shipping containers. The same one where the pictures were. There was blood.”