Once we cleared the parking lot Mom spoke up. “Alright. Get her home.”
In a blink, I lay in my twin bed at home with Morik stretched out next to me.
“Finally,” I sighed relaxing.
Morik laughed softly and kissed my temple.
Slipping a hand under his shirt and ran my fingers lightly over his scar. “Tell me what happened.”
He stayed quiet for a moment tangling his fingers in my hair. “I felt you put pressure on my chest and knew it wouldn’t be enough. As you moved away, I called for Lurel. She brought me back to the cavern and fought to keep me alive for days. Even after I started to heal, I was too weak to bring myself back. She stayed with me. When I felt you…,” he sighed. “Nothing could have kept me away.” He kissed the side of my head again and said, “Sleep. Your mom will be home in an hour with dinner and Stephen.”
I wrinkled my nose. Stephen had removed himself, unwillingly, from our lives after Brian shot Morik. Now that Morik had returned, everyone put their lives back in order. Which meant the return of wedding talk. Everyone agreed I’d have no problem walking down the aisle in a few weeks.
After sleeping so much for the last several days, I couldn’t do more than dose next to Morik. When I grew uncomfortable, I shifted slightly. Morik immediately reached to help me, lifting me and moving me easily so I didn’t strain the stitches. I sighed when he settled me more firmly on his chest.
Someone tapped on the door. He rumbled permission to enter. It made me smile.
“She awake?” Mom asked.
“Mostly.”
“Can you bring her out?”
I felt him nod. In an instant, he stood with me in his arms. The abrupt shift from horizontal to vertical left me dizzy.
Opening my eyes, I looked up at him. He watched me, his silver eyes swirling with yellow. Yellow. That color had been present in some degree since he returned.
“Can you hand Tessa my glasses, please?” he asked my mom while watching me.
She moved around us and grabbed the glasses from my desk. She handed them to me with a smile and left the room. I carefully fit them on his face using my good arm. As soon as they sat on his nose, he strode out of the room toward the living room.
I could smell the sulfur of a freshly struck match.
“Surprise!” Beatriz and a few other familiar voices yelled when we emerged from the hallway.
A cake lit with seventeen candles glowed in the center of the table. My family, Beatriz, Tommy, Brad, Stephen, and Mona stood around the table and started singing to me. I smiled at my friends and family.
I stared at the candles trying to count back the days in the hospital. Had that much time really passed? It really didn’t matter anymore.
Morik set me on the couch and claimed the space next to me. Beatriz handed me several gifts while Mona and Gran cut the cake. I took my time opening gifts. Beatriz gave me a gift card to her favorite store in the mall. A trap if I ever saw one. Gran, Mom and Aunt Grace gave me a quilt for a larger bed, handmade following our tradition. I blushed when Morik held it up for my inspection knowing they meant it for our bed.
Brad and Tommy each gave me a card. Tommy’s thanked me for including him on the double date. I could feel Morik’s eyes scanning the card with me and blushed thinking we had a few things to talk about. Brad’s card simply stated, “I’m glad it’s no longer a count down. Get well soon and happy seventeen.”
I smiled and thanked everyone. No one stayed long. The house cleared after the last bite of cake. While the other’s quietly cleaned up, Morik carried me back to my room.
After setting me on the bed, he produced a small brightly wrapped gift. “Happy birthday, Tessa.”
Nestled in a soft bed of silk, a thin chain held a sparkling teardrop, clear and beautiful. “Just having you back is enough,” I whispered closing the lid on the box.
His lips twitched, and he set the box with the necklace still inside on the desk before lying on the bed with me. “I know,” he said softly touching his lips to my hair. “I felt the moment you chose me. Then, I felt your pain. Again.”
His eyes blazed bright at the memory. I reached up running my fingers through his hair accidentally, on purpose, touching his sensitive ears. Black obliterated the red and yellow.
“That’s the color I wanted to see again,” I whispered stretching to kiss him. Our lips touched lightly, and I sighed. The kiss warmed me. Playfully, I nipped his lower lip. He pulled back, shaking his head at me.
“Everything’s the way it should be. Stop dwelling on the past,” I scolded.
He smiled at me and nodded. “It’s finally time to start thinking of a future.”