Page 57 of Anxious Hearts

‘They let me finish the exam,’ Kelly said to nobody who could hear.

‘Can you believe that? I guess once they figured you weren’t really my husband, they didn’t know how you fit into the picture.

And I got the feeling Professor Ranger wasn’t keen on taking orders from the Society anyway.

He’s not a bad guy, actually. Was kind to me when he told me what had happened to you. ’

Kelly wiped a tear away from her cheek. Sniffled. ‘I miss you, Finley.’

She sat quietly then, trying to process everything that had happened. All that she had gained and all that she could still lose. The whirr of machines was a hypnotic soundtrack that invited sleep like a child’s lullaby.

She closed her eyes. She was tired now. So, so tired.

‘Kelly.’

It was Finn’s voice, beckoning her from somewhere far away.

‘Kelly.’

She fought hard against the impulse to simply surrender to sleep but she had already fallen so far down the dark well that it was almost impossible to see the opening at the top. The light was nothing more than a pinprick.

‘Kelly. Wake up.’

The fight was kindled in the very centre of her being, radiating implacably outwards. She dragged herself up from the pit of unconsciousness and slowly opened her eyes.

But nothing had changed. Finn still lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to machines, propped up on pillows. Unmoving. Unspeaking.

Until he opened an eye and lolled his head towards her. ‘Did you pass?’ he croaked.

The earthen jar of Kelly’s spirit broke and shattered with relief. All the fear and pain and anxiety flowed out in a gushing torrent that left her empty and weak. ‘Finley,’ she whispered. ‘You came back.’

Finn smiled the tiniest, weakest smile. ‘Where else would I go?’ he said.

Kelly stood up out of the chair and climbed onto the hospital bed. She straddled Finn with one knee on either side of his hips and took his chin in her hand. She angled his head up slightly so that he had to look directly into her eyes.

‘You scared the hell out of me, Finn. Don’t you ever, ever, do something like that again.’

Finn swallowed and tried to clear his throat, but his voice still rasped when he spoke. ‘I did it for you, Kel.’

‘I know you did. But you have to promise me you’ll never do it again.’

***

Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders like curtains framing her face. The fluorescent bulb above her head bathed her in an angelic glow. Her eyes burned with passion. She was more beautiful now than he had ever seen her.

‘I promise,’ Finn said.

Kelly gripped his chin between her thumb and forefinger and titled his face a little further towards her own. She turned her head and leaned in slowly. Her hair tickled Finn’s cheeks. Her breath was warm. She closed her eyes.

He did the same.

Then her lips touched his. They were dry and slightly chapped. She tasted of mint chewing gum. The kiss was the most exquisite drug he had ever taken and he knew, just knew in the very heart of his being, that he would never leave her again.