Page 44

When Lena stepped into the orphanage building, Dave had already drooled and was resting his head on her shoulder. His eyes were half closed.
She was halfway down the empty hallway and close to the nursery doors when she heard footsteps behind her.
“Lena…” Kellen said.
She stopped in front of the nursery door and turned around to see Kellen standing just behind her. When he saw her holding Dave in her arms, his face changed into an unfathomable look.
She saw that he had dropped weight by looking at his whole body. His shirt was a touch big, and his muscles weren’t as big as they used to be.
She turned away again without saying a word and went inside the nursery. As she put Dave, who was already asleep, into the crib, she could sense eyes on her. Kellen was resting against the door frame with his arms folded across his chest as she straightened up. His eyebrows were wrinkled, and his gaze showed an amazing emptiness and then a need.
She could feel tears welling up in her eyes, but she forced them back down hard.
It wasn’t hard to figure out what was going on in his head. It was a shattered dream, a wish that was never intended to come true.
She walked out past him and into the hallway. Everyone was outside at the gathering, having fun in the sun. She stood still within, with one high window letting in light. She pushed the curtains wider apart, letting in more light. She thought it could help ease the tension between them, but it was only wishful thinking.
While she was peering out the window, she heard someone moving behind her. She thought he would speak first, but when he didn’t, and she felt like he was holding his breath tensely, she spoke out instead. “You need to stop following me.”
She was talking about more than just today. She had seen him on the sidewalk in front of her apartment last night through the window. And she could tell he knew it, too, by the deep breath he let out. She knew.
He said, “Lena, your life is in danger.”  “Isaac, he—”
So, this time, it was Isaac who made sure she died. Not surprising.
“Then you should have just told the police and let it go,” she said.
“I did,” he responded quickly. “But Isaac is dangerous, and you don’t know him. What if he tries again? I really don’t want that to happen, but I know he will!”
“Then you shouldn’t worry about it anymore, Kellen!” As soon as she said that, he grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him.
He looked at her with dark eyes and murmured, “You’ll always be my concern, Lena. You’ll always be.”
Lena shook her head and squirmed. She let go of his arm. “No, Kellen, I won’t,” she responded firmly, hoping he would understand. “In case you forgot, our marriage is over now. There’s nothing left between us.”
His eyes glazed over with worry as he feverishly searched her gaze for a second before closing them as if he couldn’t take the anguish longer. He leaned in a little and put his palm on the wall in front of him.
Lena stopped herself from reaching out to him and instead took a step back and away from his body heat, which was starting to seep into hers. She looked at the nursery door that was slightly open.
“I know this won’t change anything from the past, but Lena—” he croaked. “I’m so sorry. I should have believed you. If not, I should have at least given you a chance. I should have at least doubted that those pictures weren’t real… that…”
He stopped speaking in a broken voice, and she held her breath. Some memories had turned into nightmares for them, and it was still hard to talk about them, recall them, and not want to fall apart and die.
She tried hard not to let him hear her heavy breathing with her eyes wide open. She was shocked that she was able to do it.
He turned his head and glanced up at her, and the look in his eyes made her feel bad. He implored her, “Will you ever be able to forgive me?” as if he were begging for his life and it was just in her hands.
“Why won’t I forgive you when I forgave Ryan?” she said. “Because he was wrong, too, for pushing you too hard and getting a kick out of it. Why won’t I forgive you when I’ve forgiven myself? For not staying back, for not seeing how Ryan’s teasing was hurting you, for not standing up for myself and hitting some sense into your stupid head.”
Lena had heard that everyone in the world has their own aura and that no two auras are the same. It seems like a circle around a body, like an unseen area, maybe of the soul. She had also heard that if someone stays in that aura circle for too long, the auras start to share attributes with each other. Lena thought that something like that had been going on since she met Lola. She was now talking like her and really meant it.
What would have happened if she had hit Kellen in the nose that night instead of falling apart like a broken fortress?
Kellen didn’t say anything for a good five seconds. He raised his eyebrows and looked like he didn’t know what to do with what she said. He only murmured, “Lena—”  “Are you saying—” he started, his eyes wide with surprise and then hope. “Are you saying that you have forgiven me?”
Lena nodded yes, and before the optimism in his eyes could turn into anything more, she said, “But that’s all I have to give you. Nothing more. No more.”
Someone had kicked him in the gut, and he almost fell back. In only a few seconds, the hope in his eyes faded, leaving only fear and despair. He was breathing in and out like he was going to die, and he was opening his lips to say something that she was going to deny. She couldn’t go back and look at something every day that would always remind her of the agony and uncertainty that never went away.
Damien’s roar was so loud in her ear that she couldn’t even hear him speak. And then, with a hard shove, she and Kellen were both thrown to the ground. Damien’s body followed them and landed on top of her awkwardly, but not before a whoosh and the sound of the window smashing into bits.
What the hell? They were standing exactly there in front of that window!
“F**k!”
She heard Kellen swear and felt Damien trying to get his body away from her. He moaned as he did this, and it sounded like he was in a lot of pain.
Damien inquired quickly, “Are you okay, Lena?” Kellen, who was frightened, helped him sit up while perspiration dripped down the sides of his face.
At that point, she saw blood running down Damien’s right arm. She took a startled gasp.
Damien wasn’t harmed; he was shot in the head.
It appears like he took the gunshot that was meant for her.
“The bullet just went through my arm; it didn’t stay in,” Damien replied with a smile as he gazed at Lena. “And it didn’t even hit the bone. Lena, stop worrying. The lines on your forehead are making my head hurt now.”
Lena blinked and opened her mouth to say something, but Damien spoke first.
Damien gave her a stern look and said, “And don’t even think about saying it’s your fault because it’s not.”
His eyes told her that he knew precisely what she was thinking, as always.
How did he always manage to achieve this?
“Had it hit your bone, you might have lost your arm!” Lena shook her head, trying hard to get rid of the scary picture in her imagination. “What if you got hit in the heart or another organ? I could have lost you, Damien.”
When the police got there, they started a full investigation into the orphanage. The event was spoiled. At least they were at the end of the day, and in a strange way, the media attention made the orphanage quite popular.
They scanned the buildings around them right away, focusing on the higher ones in the direction of the red laser pointer beam that Damien had seen coming from. Finally, proof was obtained on the roof of a building, indicating a sniper had been there.
At the earliest, the police decided that someone had put a hit on her.
Lena understood that Kellen was correct. There was also no question who was behind this.
Lena felt a shudder down her spine.
It seems like the Arthur genes had a lot of crazy people in them who did crazy things for love and retribution.
When Lena saw Damien looking at her with a blank look on his face, her eyes narrowed.
“What?” she said, touching her forehead and then her cheek. “Is there something on my face?”
He seemed like he was going to snap out of it. His cheeky smirk came on in no time. “No,” he said, clearing his mouth. “So… you and Kellen?”
“Don’t act like that,” Lena said with a squint. “That you didn’t hear it all.”
She was shocked to see the tips of Damien’s ears become crimson. “Okay, I did,” he said, shrugging and plucking at the edge of the bandage on his hurt arm. “And thank God for that; you are safe now.”
“Damien!” Lena yelled at him, remembering again how stupid it was for him to jump in front of her to get that bullet.