The Rain: The End, Marietta Standlee [year 7 reading list TXT] 📗

Faster and faster, I run away from the landing field, bypassing the waiting Humvee. Even the blood running down my arm from my reopened shoulder wound isn't enough to slow me down.

After a few minutes, a Humvee pulls up next to me, a door opens, and Blake looks at me concerned.

"Get in." When he sees my hesitation, he adds with a sigh, "It'll be faster."

I climb in, ignoring his hand the same way he chooses to ignore my bleeding shoulder, but the look he gives me lets me know he noticed and is worried.

It seems to take forever, even though the Humvee is going as fast as the driver dares to. When the hospital comes into sight, I shift impatiently in my seat. As soon as the Humvee stops in front of the hospital's entrance, I'm out, running again. The wide doors open automatically for me. When my eyes fall on a nurse, I grab his arm. "Colin Thornton?"

"I'm sorry, Miss, he died." He looks apprehensively at me.

A cold hand squeezes my heart before I realize that Blake has already spread his story. A hand lands on my shoulder.

"This way." It's Blake; he seems to have given up on the idea of trying to slow me down and is finally fully committed to getting me to Colin as fast as possible.

I let him take my hand and drag me towards the stairs. He knows that I have no patience left to wait for an elevator. We run up two flights of stairs before bursting out into a hallway. Two guards by the door reach for their weapons in alarm. Sean and Derek. They relax when they recognize Blake and me.

"Hey, Viv. Glad to see you're okay." Derek greets, but I ignore him, pulling on Blake's hand, urging him to show me the way.

"The hell I am, I need to get out of here." Suddenly I hear Colin's voice, screaming out of the top of his lungs.

It's like I grow wings; I let go of Blake's hand and fly towards the door from behind which I heard his voice.

An exasperated Doctor Pheng walks out of the room and almost into me, her hands thrown up in frustration. Her eyes widen, and her lips curl into a smile. "Finally!" She exclaims, relieved. "Maybe you can talk some sense…."

But I'm already past her, not hearing the rest of her sentence or noticing the way she shakes her head at me but hearing Blake mumble, "They're both psychos."

And then I see him. He is just about to climb out of his hospital bed, I.V. still attached to him, his arm reset in a fresh cast, sporting a hospital gown. His face a grim mask of determination.

When he sees me, his face splits into the biggest smile I've ever seen. Not even caring about his cast, his arm, or the broken ribs I heard about, I throw myself at him. His good arm encircles me. A hiss of pain is ignored by both of us as our hearts finally meet again. Pressed tightly against each other, they find the rhythm they can only strum to when they are united.

"Viv." He breathes into my ear.

"Colin." I exhale into his.

I feel his arm around me, his hand drawing circles on my back, while my arms engulf him around his back. I kiss his cheeks, his jaw, anything I can reach until our lips meet and a jolt of electricity goes through me.

After a few minutes, the clearing of a throat finally penetrates our consciousness, and we look up but not letting go of one another. Blake stands by the door, his arms crossed over his chest, but grinning from ear to ear. "Told you I'd bring her back to you."

"And you did." Colin laughs. "Come here, little brother, let me give you a hug."

Colin's smile falters slightly as he sees Blake's swollen lip and slowly discoloring jaw. "What happened?"

I avert my eyes. I don't want to lie to him, but I don't want to tell him either, what Blake did. I fear he might beat his brother to death if he ever found out how much Blake hurt me with his words.

"A difference of opinions." Blake skirts.

Colin looks at me, questioning and I shrug. "It's all good now."

He arches an eyebrow looks from Blake to me, obviously wanting to know more, but he must sense that whatever happened between Blake and me might be better left unknown to him. "Either way, thank you, Blake."

"Yeah, thank you, Blake." I echo sarcastically. Colin gives me another questioning look, to which I shake my head again, biting the inside of my cheek. I need to calm this down before Colin's temper flares.

Blake laughs uncomfortably. "You guys would have done the same thing." He looks pointedly at me, and I look away. Claire said the same thing. I grind my teeth and finally smile openly at Blake.

Thankfully I'm spared a reply as Doctors Pheng and Paton step into the room. I guess she thought she needed backup.

"Vivian's shoulder should be looked at." Doctor Pheng says.

"Again," Paton adds.

"Can't it wait a few minutes?" I protest petulantly.

In unison, they shake their heads before a devious smile spreads over both of their faces, and Paton threatens, "It could, but then you'd have to make do with Frank."

In the end, we all get what we want. The doctors get to take care of my shoulder, but I insist they do it in Colin's room. I won't leave Colin's side anytime soon. Not even as night falls.

With a lot of fuss, a larger bed is rolled into the room so Colin and I can spend the night in it, both hooked up to I.V.'s and monitors but happy to lay next to each other.

Whispering, we exchange our war stories, interrupted only by some kisses. It's like Blake told me in his condensed version. After Ryan and Jason drug me out, the soldier arrived with our food and found Colin unconscious and bleeding