A cacophony of sounds bombarded Megan as she dragged herself up from the depths of silence and darkness. Voices came from a multitude of directions as if speakers filled every corner of the room in a Surround Sound nightmare. Pain flared to every part of her body.
A moan sounded nearby. She tried to pinpoint it until she realized the sound came from her own throat. The act of peeling her eyelids open was harder than lifting a car by herself. Dim light speared into her eyeballs and another groan escaped her parched lips.
“Water,” she croaked out. The scent of honeysuckle wafted over her as soft hands caressed her face.
She squinted against the light and Andrea’s face came into view as she held a cup with a straw up to her lips. Water flooded her mouth and made her crave more. After a few sips she was more tired than an hour on the treadmill, falling back against the softness of a pillow.
Her last coherent memories spiked in her head. “Jack.”
“Right here, sweetheart.” A whisper sounded on her other side.
The scent she thought of as uniquely his tickled her nose. She opened her eyes and reached a hand to his face. A bright pink cast adorned her arm. A flood of memories washed over her like a tsunami. She gasped, unable to catch her breath.
The warehouse. The cast iron bed. The handcuff on her wrist. Being trapped in the sweltering building.
She peeked at her other arm. Gauze covered her wrist and wrapped around her palm. Awareness of her body brought agony to every limb. Her feet were on fire.
With her eyes now wide open, Megan saw the room was full of people. Andrea and her mother and father were on one side. Jack and his friend Luke were on the other. From the glares her mother was shooting to the other side of the room, all was not going well between the two groups.
What had happened while she was unconscious?
Beverly Martin-Stovall looked down her nose at Jack. “Bernard, Andrea, do something. There is no reason for these people to be here.”
“Jack has every right to be here,” Luke spoke up, his arms folded on his chest. “He almost died saving Megan.”
“He wouldn’t have had to save her if he hadn’t put her in danger in the first place.”
The accusations flew until Megan’s head was splitting. She reached out and grabbed her father’s hand and pulled him to the bed.
“Daddy, make them stop,” she begged, tears flooding her eyes.
He patted her hand. “Of course, princess.”
She smiled. He hadn’t called her that in years. Andrea rubbed her shoulder and smiled down at her. “I’ll take care of them,” she whispered.
Her sister shepherded her parents to the window on the other side of the room. Luke moved to an opposite corner and started making calls on his cell phone.
Jack leaned over and Megan needed him to fill in the missing pieces of her memories.
“Did you find Lynne? She’s the one who kidnapped me. At least, mostly. I think that…that thing made her do it.”
Sadness darkened his eyes to a midnight gray. “Lynne is dead. She drove her car into the San Joaquin river. She drowned inside.”
She gasped, blood roaring in her ears. She’d hated the woman, but she’d never wanted her dead.
“How did you find me then?”
He smiled and kissed her fingertips. Heat rushed to her face and along her arm.
“Aaron led me to you. He showed me where you were.”
“He saved you too, Jack. He fought the dark entity and brought you back to me.”
She smiled at him. “I think I love you, Jack O’Malley.”
He leaned closer. “Megan, I know I love you.”
Cold fingers touched her gauze-covered hand. “The plastic surgeon will be here in the morning. We’ll have you back to perfect in no time.”
Her mother’s voice and words tore into her heart. She was so tired. Tired of trying to be perfect. Tired of worrying about doing something wrong. After all she’d been through, perfection wasn’t something she was worried about anymore.
Before she could open her mouth, Jack stood straight and eyed her mother over the hospital bed. “Megan is already perfect.”
He smiled down at her, taking her hand in his. He raised it to his lips and kissed her wrist. The heat of his kiss scorched through the gauze.
“Well, as perfect as we can be as human beings. Scars and broken bones and imperfections are what show the life we’ve led. We aren’t meant to leave this life perfect. We are meant to leave it with every adventure we’ve had showing in the gray hairs, wrinkles, and marks of a life well-lived. We can’t leave with regrets of things we should have done, or we stick around, haunting our loved ones, and not moving on as we are supposed to do.”
Jack stared into her eyes. “I think Megan should keep her battle scars. She earned them. Fighting evil and winning.”
Her mother stared at him, her mouth dropping open, and her face turning bright-red and perspiration beading on her forehead. For the first time in Megan’s life, the woman was speechless.
Andrea came over and wrapped an arm around Jack’s shoulders. “I think Beverly has had all she can take right now. We should all leave and let you get some rest.”
Jack nodded as his face filled her vision and he kissed her, his touch gentle on her tender lips. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Okay,” she whispered, sleep trying to reclaim her, even as she struggled to stay awake.
A spark flashed from Jack to Andrea where their shoulders still touched, like the blue light of static electricity in the dark. The tiny orb floated and sank into her sister’s dark hair. Part of her wondered what it was, while the rest of her tried to speak, to tell Jack what she’d seen.
The image of the tiny blue orb faded to nothingness, to be forgotten, as she fell asleep filled with thoughts, memories, and moments with Jack. She hoped for many more adventures with him in the future. Maybe just not as exciting as the last one.