@@@@@“Jamie! Get back here!” There was no
@@@@@“Jamie! Get back here!”
There was no answer
Jared threw one bleak glance in my direction–I cringed away, though his fury seemed to have
faded–then scooped up the flashlight and stomped after Jamie, kicking a box out of his way
“I'm sorry, okay? Don't cry, kid!” He called out more angry apologies as he turned the corner
and left me lying in the darkness
For a long moment, it was all I could do to breatheI concentrated on the air flowing in, then
out, then inAfter I felt I had that part mastered, I worked on getting up off the floorIt took a
few seconds to remember how to move my legs, and even then they were shaky and threatened
to collapse under me, so I sat against the wall again, sliding over till I found my rice-filled
pillowI slumped there and took stock of my condition
Nothing was broken–except maybe Jared's noseI shook my head slowlyJamie and Jared
should not be fightingI was causing them so much turmoil and unhappinessI sighed and went
back to my assessmentThere was a vast sore spot in the center of my back, and the side of my
face felt raw and moist where it had hit the wallIt stung when I touched it and left warm fluid
on my fingersThat was the worst of it, thoughThe other bruises and scrapes were mild
As I realized that, I was unexpectedly overwhelmed by reliefJared had had his chance to kill me and he had not used itHe'd gone after Jamie
instead, to make things right between themSo whatever damage I was doing to their
relationship, it was probably not irreparable
It had been a long day–the day had already been long even before Jared and the others had
shown up, and that seemed like eons agoI closed my eyes where I was and fell asleep on the
rice
CHAPTER 28
Unenlightened
It was disorienting to wake in the absolute darkIn the past months, I'd gotten used to having
the sun tell me it was morni