Page 36 of Unearthed Dreams (Sable Point #3)
Chapter Thirty
CHARLIE
Everything hurt.
My throat felt like I’d swallowed glass, my head throbbed with each heartbeat, and even breathing seemed to take more effort than it should. The hospital room swam in and out of focus as I tried to make sense of... everything.
Mom hadn’t left my side since I woke up, her hand clasped around mine like she was afraid I’d disappear if she let go.
The rest of my family rotated in and out—Dad bringing coffee, Elliot and Tessa whispering in the corner, Jasper and Natalie taking turns telling me stories about things I couldn’t remember.
Five months. I’d lost five months.
“And Chase?” I asked again, my voice still raw despite the ice chips. “He’s okay?”
A look passed between my parents, heavy. with meaning I couldn’t decode.
“He’s getting help, sweetheart,” Mom said carefully. “He was... struggling with some things. But he’s going to be fine. ”
More secrets. More gaps in my memory that felt like missing puzzle pieces. The doctors said it might come back gradually, or all at once, or...
Or never.
I closed my eyes, trying to sort through the fragments in my head. Finals week. Packing up my apartment. Trevor helping me pick up dropped books... that all felt clear. Real. But after that, everything got hazy.
“MY BOOK!” I bolted upright, immediately regretting the movement as pain shot through my skull. “Where’s my book?”
“Your... book?” Elliot straightened in his chair.
“Charlie, honey, what book?” Mom’s voice was gentle, but I could hear the surprise in it.
“My manuscript.” Panic clawed at my chest. All those months of work, of secret writing sessions, of building my world of dragons and magic... “Please, I need?—”
“You wrote a book?” Jasper repeated, leaning forward in his chair. “Like, a whole book?”
“I...” The words stuck in my throat. How could I explain a fear I’d carried for months but suddenly couldn’t remember dealing with? “I wasn’t sure if...”
“Is it any good?” Jasper asked, earning an elbow from Natalie.
“It’s about dragons,” I said, the details feeling solid even as other memories slipped away. “And magic. And...”
I frowned. Someone had read it. Someone had given me notes. Important notes. But who...?
“My baby sister, the author.” Elliot’s voice was gruff with emotion. “When can we read it?”
The simple acceptance in their voices made my eyes burn. All those months of hiding my writing, and here they were, looking at me like I’d done something amazing.
“I’m tired,” I managed, overwhelmed by both the pain and the emotions crowding my chest.
“Of course, baby.” Mom’s fingers brushed my hair back from my forehead. “Rest. Everything else can wait.”
I let my eyes drift closed, but sleep didn’t come. Instead, my mind kept circling back to Kai’s face when I’d woken up. The way he’d looked at me, like... like...
But the memory slipped away before I could catch it, leaving only an ache in my chest that had nothing to do with my injuries.