206 Lifeless, Still So Pretty\u00a0<\/p>\n
Madeline:\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glared at the two and noticed their smirks.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it was you two that night,\u201d I remarked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYuvonne must have done everything wrong, but I knew it, I continued,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew you fuckers were behind what happened that night I told them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As soon as I hissed at them, I noticed both of them looked uninterested and worn down, as if I were being excessive for pointing out that I had caught them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAs for Baxter, no, I do not need to beg before you two,\u201d I snapped, stomping my foot and stepping away toward the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had to go meet Baxter and also hear about his condition. After everything that had happened, I was not even sure how I would face anyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even though it was not my fault and it had been proven in court that I might have been a victim of some kind of poison that night, I still knew the truth. They had used Yuvonne\u2019s mistakes to ruin my case.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead of going to the motel first, I had come to the Pack\u2018 border requesting to get in. They did let me pass, but I noticed they were tense and constantly sharing looks, as if they were reminding each other that next time, they needed to give me a harder time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had to fucking walk on my foot all this time. I did not have money. I did not have a cell phone to contact anyone. They had stripped us of almost everything. I had a few pennies with me, but I planned to save them for later because it seemed like life from here was going to get very tough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a crowd gathered outside. It was a small one, mostly pack members, but it was noticeable. Some stood near the steps and railings, pretending to be busy with each other the moment they saw me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I moved forward, I noticed heads turning toward me and fingers lifting to point briefly in my direction. Quiet whispers followed. I avoided them and continued into the hospital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Maybe they were talking about the recent court hearing. I could not be sure. I was related to their Luna in the sense that we had been in court together today.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They had definitely heard what happened there. The humiliation of Luna Yuvonne must have been shown on every channel by now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The moment I stepped into the hospital, I noticed the change in the air. It smelled clean, almost stinging. Sounds surrounded me. Distant voices, rolling carts, and steady footsteps filled the space. I approached the front desk and rested my hands on the counter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI am here for Baxter,\u201d I told the nurse, keeping my voice barely above a whisper. \u201cHe was brought in yesterday.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She looked at her screen, then back at me, studying my face before nodding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is in the intensive care unit,\u201d she replied, standing up. A doctor will speak with you first.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded and followed her down a long hallway. The farther we walked, the quieter it became. She stopped near a set of glass doors marked ICU and asked me to wait.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A few moments later, a doctor approached. He wore his lab coat neatly, his posture professional, a tablet held close to his chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
173\u00a0<\/p>\n
25 Vorles\u00a0<\/p>\n
your husband is commonly in a medically induced coma\/ywand heart largem to pound the entered en extreme altres The cuts allow us to the\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded, blinking hard steallowed my tear\u00a0<\/p>\n
we he started speaking, my\u00a0<\/p>\n
hen he arrived, his body was under tale vernal organs while we stabilize him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cfle condition remains critical, Madeline\/he construed My fee rented and the hem of the old sweater!\u00a0<\/p>\n
was wearing \u201cHe is on resistent ventilation, and we are my internal injuries that required immediate intervention,\u00a0<\/p>\n
supporting his body as it renvers\u00a0<\/p>\n
f\u00a0<\/p>\n
wond the clock. He has sustained\u00a0<\/p>\n
tocs is preventing complications and\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he finished, I food a deep breath and slowly released, trying to steady myself\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCan I see him?\u201d I asked quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d he replied. \u201cHe has been moved to 164 room four. Curse will take you in. There will be equipment attached to him, and that is expected\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another nurse joined us and guided me through the glee doors. By then, all I could hear was my own heartbeat. I knew seeing him would drain whatever strength 1 had left\u00a0<\/p>\n
Inside the room, the lights were dimmer. Marines lined the walls, each producing a steady sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stopped at the entrance when I saw him lying motionless on the bed, surrounded by monitors and tubes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A ventilator moved in a slow, controlled rhythm. His skin looked pale, His chest and stomach were fully covered in clean bandages\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped closer and stopped beside the bed, my fingers hovering before resting on the railing I stood there for a moment, watching his chest rise and fall, listening to the chines that were keeping him alive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI miss you,\u201d my lips uttered as I closed my eyes. \u201cI wish you were there today. There was one mystery solved. I was not the one who had spoken badly about you, Baxter, was someone else, someone shape\u2013shifting into me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I finished and opened my eyes, hoping Baxter would be awake so1 could celebrate it with me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u0e22\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We Listened to the Darkness by Sorin Pax 406 206 Lifeless, Still So Pretty\u00a0 Madeline:\u00a0 I glared at the two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-no-daddy-novel-by-novelnozi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24322\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}