Alister stared at the clock on the wall. He sighed at the second hand and how slow it seemed to move. It was lunchtime and Michael was late. He is never late.
“Come on, Michael, where are you?”
He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. The tension in his neck took hold of his muscles and squeezed.
“Why did you have to go and do something so stupid? Why would you talk to me?”
He felt hot but shivered. The walls seemed like they were closing in on him, and the thought of it shortened his breath. He wanted to get away, go somewhere he didn’t have to face whether or not the curse had gotten Michael. But the voice within challenged him and asked him where he would go.
“To the tree,” he said. He remembered going there as a kid. He felt safe beneath the thick, low-hanging branches and cover of leaves. The scars on his hands held his attention for a long moment. The idea that the two were somehow connected backed his mind into corners too dark to explore.
The doorknob jiggled and interrupted his thoughts. He trained his eyes on the door, and time moved even more slowly. The click of the latch disengaging, the whine of the hinges as the door swung open and the appearance of an unfamiliar female nurse who carried his lunch on a tray made him gasp.
“Oh, God, no.”
Years of seclusion meant nothing. The realization that the curse had waited as long and as silently as he had sent a chill coursing through his body. His sacrifice, hope and belief that Anna’s message might have meaning was in vain.
“You’ve waited all this time and endured the silence with me just to see me suffer again, didn’t you?” Alister said.
“Oh, my God,” the nurse said. She dropped the tray of food and ran from the room.
“Go ahead,” Alister said. He reached inside his grab bag of emotions and came out with a handful of heartache and pain. “You can have her, too. I don’t care anymore.”
Alister climbed into bed and pulled the covers to his chin.
“I can’t fight you anymore. I’m too damn tired. You win.”