He stood by the desk with the hotel phone to his ear. The Others seemed to like him. Too much. An ache started in my middle for all the things that might have been in my life had I not been born a Judgement. Normalcy. Dating. A first kiss that meant something.
Jim hung up the phone and turned to face the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, I held the towel with one hand and opened the door with the other while trying my hardest not to stretch the skin on my back.
He didn’t say anything when I stepped out. The awkward silence grew, and I felt the need to break it.
“I’m sorry about the towel,” I said. “It hurt too much to try to be respectable. I just want to lay down.”
“That’s fine. The food will be here in an hour.”
“Thank you.”
I walked toward him since he stood between the two beds. He remained quietly watchful as I sat on the mattress then eased onto my stomach.
“What did you order?” I asked.
“One of everything they had. A feast. Would you like some ice for your back?”
His endless consideration never failed to send a jolt of pleasure through me. This close to the end, I didn’t bother trying to suppress it.
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.”
He left the room while I waited on the bed. I could feel Blake in my mind and pictured him pacing in his room. He, too, knew how little time we now had. The fight for the Judgements would happen tomorrow. Blake would try to make his move tonight. Would I be enough to stop him? Something would, I knew. Michelle’s premonitions wouldn’t lie and wouldn’t change.
I lifted my head and spotted Jim’s familiar form down the hall.
“Mother, is there no other way?” I asked.
Have courage, daughter.Her whispered words came with a gentle touch that tingled over the top of my head and stroked down the length of my back. I shivered at the contact and almost shouted in joy. Her rare touches infused me with whatever I needed most at the time. Now, I felt the absolute certainty and determination to complete what still lay before me, as well as a relief from the pain that had heated my back.
“Thank you, Mother.”
You are not alone, loved one. Never forget.
The door opened and closed gently.
“I have some ice.” The brush of Jim’s feet against the carpet announced his approach.
Instead of setting the ice on my back, I felt the light touch of a fingertip trace my skin from shoulder to spine.
“It's less red,” he said, surprise lacing his words. “Less swollen, too. How?”
“It was the Lady,” I said. “She came and eased my pain.”
The mattress dipped as he sat beside me. He used the loose end of the towel to lie over my wounds then set the ice on top. In the absence of relief, I only felt a slight chill.
“I don’t think I need the ice anymore,” I said.
“That's bullshit,” he said.
The calm way he spoke confused me, and I lifted my head, wishing I could see his expression.
“What’s bullshit? I honestly feel better now.”
“You shouldn’t have suffered in the first place. She helps when it's convenient for her to help. Not because she can't, but because she won't.”
I set my head down and smiled slightly.
“I fail to find the humor in that,” he said.
