SCARLETT
Dad and Jeremy had come back shortly after leaving, having heard nothing new. It was another thirty minutes before I found out what was going on. Adele turned up and tilted her head to the side.
“You okay, Scarlett?”
“I’m fine. Have you heard anything?”
“I’ve just spoken to the doctor and he’ll be in soon. Noah’s out of surgery and doing fine.”
I closed my eyes as the relief took my breath away. Mum squeezed my hand. “Thank God. Do you know when I can see him?”
“A nurse will come and get you…from your room, so let’s get you back up there. They’re just getting him settled first.”
I nodded and accepted Dad’s help into the wheelchair. “Okay, let’s go, so we don’t miss her.”
Dad laughed and started pushing me toward the door.
Adele waited until I was back in my room and then said, “Thirty-seven members of Eternal Light have been picked up. There was a massive raid on the commune and most of them were still there. Donald and Shaun were found on the edge of the woods, still looking for you. The couple from the house is okay. They’re in the hospital with stab wounds but nothing as serious as Noah’s injuries.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered. They were only trying to help us and that was what they got because of it. Guilt burned in my chest. I wiped yet another round of tears and replied, “Okay, thank you.”
“I’ll be outside if you need me,” Adele said. “Nurse shouldn’t be too long now.”
I practically leaped out of bed when the nurse came for me. Mum, Dad, and Jeremy trailed behind. I hadn’t had a chance to speak to my brother about Noah yet, but his clear concern meant he’d forgiven him too—or at the very least, was willing to work on it. There was no doubt that Noah saved my life, and in the end, that was the part that mattered.
“Slow down, Scarlett,” Jeremy said. “I’m not carrying your arse when you collapse on the floor.”
He was right. I should slow down. I was still beyond tired and every single part of my body ached beyond belief, especially my legs, but Noah was alive and wanting to see me as much as I wanted to see him. A normal walking pace was not an option.
“I won’t collapse.” Well, I would, but not until I saw he was okay and was back in my bed.
I reached his room with a lot of help from Dad, who was practically holding me up the entire way, and turned to my family.
“You want a few minutes first?” Mum asked.
“Yeah, thanks.”
There was a police officer outside his room, but he gestured with a nod for me to go in. I recognized him from the station, but he hadn’t been one of the ones questioning me.
“Noah,” I said, slowly peeking around the door. He was pale and looked exhausted, but he was sitting against his pillows alive. “Can I come in?”
He half smiled and nodded once. “You all right?” He even sounded tired.
“I’m fine, just worried about you,” I said, taking very slow, careful steps toward him.
“Why?”
“Um, because you were stabbed.”
“Wasn’t too bad. Good thing my dad has bad aim.”
I stopped dead, eyes filling with tears. No. I had assumed it was Donald. “Your dad did that?”
“Don’t be surprised, Scarlett. Your parents were going to do the same to you.”
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, but his parents had raised him for sixteen years. How could his own dad turn around and try to kill him?
“I know, but I’m still sorry.”
Sighing, he replied, “Yeah, me too. Scarlett, why are you even talking to me?”
“Because of what happened.”
“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t be talking to me. I know what you said when we were out in the forest, but we’re safe now. The danger is over. You don’t have to forgive what I did to you…”
“You saved my life, Noah. I’m not going to pretend that I understand Eternal Light, but I do know that when it came down to it, you put me before what you’d believed your whole life. And that matters.” I sat on the bed. “Seeing you like that, being wheeled into the hospital…” Taking a deep breath, I continued, “It changed me. I was terrified that you wouldn’t make it. You chose me and you almost died because of it.”
He gulped. “Yeah, well, I love you. I always knew it, but I didn’t know how strong it was. I love you more than everything I’ve ever known, and I didn’t care if the prophecy was true and you were the key to eternal life because you deserve this life. Every dream or goal you have you deserve a chance of achieving.”
“You’re pretty amazing,” I said, swallowing what was likely to turn into an ugly cry. My heart swelled at his words. “And I love you too. I tried to stop when I found out who you were but I couldn’t turn it off. That actually made me even angrier with you. But I do really love you.”
He held his hand out. “Come and lie with me for a bit.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t. Just stay on the side that wasn’t stabbed.”
I dropped my head. He was stabbed saving me. I lay on the bed against his pillows, keeping a little distance so I didn’t put any pressure on his body at all.
“I won’t break, Scarlett.” He pulled me closer and I laid my head on his shoulder, keeping my arms and legs away from him.
“You were stabbed, and I don’t want to do anything to hurt you more.” He’d lost a lot of blood.
“Believe me, you lying with me won’t hurt. How are you feeling?”
“Tired, sore, and achy but nothing a really, really long sleep won’t fix.”
There was a lot more than that to fix, but I couldn’t even think about the emotional stuff right now. If I stopped to admit how scared I still was and much I just wanted to hide away, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it through another minute.
“It’s going to be all right now,” he whispered.
Now was the start of the hard work to be okay, but that was fine. I didn’t have to fight for my life now; I just had to fight to come to terms with having to do it.
“My parents and Jeremy are outside,” I said, tracing the letter S and N on his chest with my finger.
“They didn’t want to come in.” He said it as a statement, not a question.
“That’s not it at all. They just wanted to give us some time first.”
He looked away in shame. “I’m surprised they let you near me again.”
“They’ve been you, Noah. Don’t forget that.”
He raised his head and looked me in the eye. “They don’t hate me?”
“No one hates you.” Except probably every member of Eternal Light. “I want to help you.”
His smile was unconvincing, and I wasn’t sure if he didn’t think I should help because he felt guilty or if he wanted a clean break and was worried about ditching me. A clean break would probably be the most sensible thing to do; we had a lot to work through, but it wasn’t what we both wanted, and if we left each other, then Eternal Light would win.
Mum, Dad, and Jeremy gave us ten minutes before coming in. They had nothing but sympathy and understanding for Noah. It made him uncomfortable. He didn’t think he deserved it. But you shouldn’t just forgive and help someone when they feel worthy; you should do it just because.
“What’s your next move?” Jeremy asked. He was still mad at Noah, but he was trying, and I couldn’t ask for more than that.
“I don’t know. I don’t have a plan yet,” he said. “I’m eighteen next month but—”
“What?” I asked, cutting him off. He wasn’t that old.
“Almost eighteen?” Dad said. “Noah, we thought you were sixteen.”
“That’s what I was told to be. My birthday is the same, Scarlett. I just lied about my age.” He closed his eyes and sighed. “I’m so, so sorry.”
I nodded. After everything that’d happened, him being a year older wasn’t that big of a deal. “Okay,” I said, wondering just how much more there was that he’d lied about. I was nearly sixteen, and he was nearly eighteen; that wasn’t too bad. I was fine about it and understood he was just following instructions, but I wanted to know the real him. I doubted even Noah knew who the real him was right now though.
Even if he didn’t know what his next move should be, I did. “I want Noah to come home with us,” I said.
The atmosphere thickened. Mum and Dad, although clearly not thrilled, couldn’t really say no. They were in the same position as Noah when they’d left the cult.
Noah shook his head. “No. After everything, Scarlett, you can’t ask your parents to do that.”
“She’s not asking,” Dad said. “We’re offering.”
Jeremy’s eyebrows shot up in shock, and I think mine did the same. I expected to have to chew Dad’s ear off before I got him to agree.
“Jonathan, you’ve done more than enough for me already.”
Dad held his hand up. “You saved my daughter’s life. I almost stood by and let her be sacrificed too.”
I licked my lips. I hated hearing about myself like that. I was nothing to my birth parents but the key to an imaginary door. It wasn’t a great feeling.
“There are going to be rules. You and Scarlett will not share a room, you will not be around each other without being fully dressed, and the door will remain open. We will figure out what’s next for you, be that education or work, and we’ll do it together.”
Noah breathed deeply and squeezed my hand. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything,” Mum said. “You deserve a life the same as me, my husband, and my children. It won’t be easy. Believe me, it’s a huge adjustment, but if you’re willing to put in the work, then we’re willing to help you.”
Smiling, Noah replied, “Thank you. I’ll do whatever it takes. I want a normal life like everyone else. I feel like I’ve lost seventeen years; my whole childhood was a lie. I want to be a better person, to deserve Scarlett.”
I wasn’t even going to waste my breath commenting on that stupid remark.
“It’s okay. Your life starts now, and I promise it’s going to be pretty great from now on,” I said.
“Not too great though, Scar, yeah?” Jeremy said.
My face caught on fire. I wasn’t ashamed that I’d been with Noah. I loved him, but I sure didn’t want my parents to know anything about it. Ever.
“Ignore him,” Noah said, fighting a smile.
Twenty minutes later, Noah and I were left alone again while my family went to get something to eat. “Are you really okay?” I asked.
He smiled from his bed. “Never better. I get the chance at a normal life with the girl I’m crazy about. That is, if you’ll have me?”
I shrugged. “Suppose. You did take a knife for me and all.”
He sighed, content. “So, I get out of here in a couple days and we’ll be living under the same roof.” Same roof but not living together. Rules, rules, rules. I loved my parents so much. “You’ve got to finish school, and I have to do something to get some sort of qualification. Life is going to be good, Scarlett.”
I took his hand, not knowing how this would go down. “It is,” I replied. Man, I could not wait to get out of the hospital, go home to England, and help Noah adjust to normal life.
“When we get back, what do you want to do first?” he asked, probably thinking I’d say a movie night. I had other plans.
Licking my lips, I replied, “I have a sister out there, Noah, and I’m going to find her.”