Free Exposing ELE (ELE Series #3) by Courtney Nuckels, Rebecca Gober Page B

bangs from my face, taking in my eyes.
    “Oh,” I say, realizing I can’t tell him the true reason. “You had a scratch on your face. It must have been from yesterday. I was just taking care of it for you.” I bite my lip instinctively, hoping he won’t catch the deceit in my voice. Much to my relief, he simply smiles back and tells me thank you.
    I curl up into his chest and he wraps his arms fully around me. I can’t help but feel safe in his arms. As if nothing in this world could ever hurt me. If only I could just stay like this forever.
    Thoughts of last night begin invading my mind. Visions of Tony being injected by that red shot, plays itself over and over again in my head. I try to squelch the panic but I'm having a hard time. It wells up inside me and tries it's best to choke me. I feel like everyone I love is going to be taken from me! I hope with all I am that I can keep Tony from turning into a Reaper… but what if I can't? Do I tell him? No, I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair for him to lose the last few days he has if I can't stop this.
    I clench my fists unknowingly. My heart starts accelerating and I can feel my cheeks heating up. None of this is fair! I breathe out a long, shaky breath.
    “Are you okay?” Tony asks concerned.
    I give out a shaky, “Yes.”
    He tries to stare me down, knowing full well that I'm not sharing what I'm really feeling. Not wanting to talk about it, I turn over.
    He pulls me closer so that my back is against his chest. “I know it's hard, Willow. If you need to cry some more, I'm not going to tell you not to.”
    I don't answer him. I don't need to cry. No, the emotions that I'm feeling are not just grief. No, this is much stronger and thicker than grief; this is anger. This isn't fair! None of it! My mom is gone and in a few days, I could very well be losing Tony. I pull a spare pillow up to my chest, clenching both corners of it with my hands. Needing to let my feelings out physically, I alternate between twisting it and gripping it tightly like a stress ball.
    My blood starts pumping through my veins more rapidly. How did everything go down like this so quickly? How did my life get flipped on its axis in a matter of a day? You know the answer, Willow! I think to myself. My blood starts to boil. I know very well how my life got totally flipped up...the Hastings’ men! My breath quickens and my pulse speeds up at the thought of the two people hell bent on making my life, and everyone else's, miserable, for their own personal, selfish gain. All of this, every single thing I am feeling right now, is because of them! My mom should not be dead! They killed her! Tony should not be turning into a Reaper! They caused it! They should be dead! They should... as the thought is spoken aloud in my mind, the plan starts formulating in my head. My heart is beating as quickly as the thoughts are coming, lighting fast. They will pay!
    I hear the sound of something tearing. “Willow!” Tony sits up quickly.
    I look down at the feathers my pillow has vomited up. My hands clench each corner of its torn cover.
    Tony grabs my arm and pulls me over to face him. “Willow, you need to breathe. It's going to be okay. Everything will be okay.”
    I dart up out of bed like a lightning bolt. “No, Tony! It will not be okay. It will never be okay!” I angrily point towards somewhere on the other side of the window. “They did this! They need to pay!” My breath starts catching and I feel my heart skip a beat before it starts pumping wildly. “I will make them pay! Right now!” A dizzy sensation washes over me and the world starts to tilt.
    Tony's eyes widen in shock; he then darts up and forces me to sit in a nearby chair. He pushes my head down between my legs. “Breathe, Willow.” He holds my back down and accentuates his breathing in and out in long, deep breaths. “You're having a panic attack.”
    Thoughts of the nurse outside the shelter come to me. I don't want to think of that