Page 54 of Scythe & Sparrow
Matt chuckles. “Now, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about the latter, would ya?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“The dyin’ part. See, I had someone attack me not long ago. Just out of the blue.” He smacks his fist against his palm, the flowers rustling in his fist. “Bam.Just like that. But I hit her back.”
“I bet you have practice at that.”
Matt’s eyes darken. “And you know what that little bitch did?” he says, his voice filled with gravel and wrath. “She took myeye.”He stares me down, his finger pointed to the patch over his missing globe.
“Why are you here?” I demand. Slowly, Matt lowers his hand, tilting his head. “Just to tell me about some guy’s truck? Or maybe you want to spread the word about how you got your ass handed to you by a phantom woman?”
“I’m visitin’ my wife,” he says. “She’ll be here a few days.”
Rage narrows my vision to a pinprick, the world around us falling away. “Guess she didn’t have good things in her future either.” My gaze falls to the bouquet in his hand. “Chrysanthemums? Really …?”
He glances down at the flowers. “What’s wrong with them?” he asks, but it’s obvious by his tone that he doesn’t really care what answer I give.
“It’s a funeral flower, you eggheaded dumbass. It represents death.”
“Hmpf.” He gives them a cursory glance, then throws the bouquet at the wall so it drops into the bin beneath. Some of the petals float free with the impact, drifting to the floor. He looks at me and smiles. “Guess I’ll just have to go empty-handed.”
“Why is she here?” I demand.
“Damndest thing,” he replies, breaking his gaze away to look across the aisle at the flyers pinned to a bulletin board above the waiting room chairs. “Have trouble sleeping?” “Know the signs of stress!” “Physical activity and you.” Matt chuckles as though he’s looking at his own set of tarot cards, divining their secret meaning and finding it fitting. “She just tripped and fell. A stroke of bad luck. Maybe the same as Eric Donovan.”
“I still don’t know who you mean.”
Matt turns to face me. His gaze pins to mine, unblinking. “That’s funny. Because—”
“Rose Evans?” Nurse Naomi leans over the threshold of the door to the orthopedic ward. I give her a nod. She looks so different from the last time I saw her. Her hair is shorter, darker. Her skin brighter, like she’s glowing from inside. There’s a confidence in the set of her shoulders that wasn’t there before. Her eyes flick to Matt and back to me. “We’re ready for you.”
Naomi doesn’t let me out of her sight as I stand. I try not to let my sweating hands tremble as they clutch the grips of my crutches. She gives me the barest hint of a smile. I give her a nod in reply.
“Say,” Matt says behind me, “how did you break your leg, anyway?”
I turn just enough to give him one eye over my shoulder. “Tripped and fell, I guess. Just a stroke of bad luck.”
I refocus on my destination, and I don’t turn back.
I swing my way through the door that Naomi holds open for me. When I’m past the threshold, she lets it close, but gives Matt a final hard look through the thick glass before she returns to my side. “Hey,” she says, laying a hand on my arm. “You okay?”
“Yeah, are you?”
I worry that she’ll say no. That she’ll break down with guilt. That the news Matt just relayed about Eric’s truck will find its way to her eyes. But the only thing I see there is relief. “I’m doing really well. Thank you.”
I give her an unsure smile as we start walking down the hall. “I didn’t do anything.”
“No,” she says, as though she won’t accept an argument. “You dideverything.” Naomi’s steps slow. We stop in front of an examroom. When she turns to face me, there are tears in her eyes. “I really mean it. Thank you. What you did for me was life-changing.” She shakes her head and runs a gentle hand down my arm. “And if some rando shithead gives you trouble …”
“I can handle him. But maybe you can look in on his wife? Lucy Cranwell. She’s here, somewhere.”
Naomi smiles and nods. Her eyes light with purpose. “Yeah. I can definitely do that.” She nods to the open door. “This is you, Sparrow.” With a brief hug, Naomi leaves me to enter the exam room. I watch as she walks away, her steps sure.
It’s not until she’s gone that a long breath leaves my lungs. The next inhalation is an unsteady one. My heart is beating too fast, as though I’m already running.
I’m standing in the center of the room with my eyes pressed shut when I hear it. His footsteps. I can tell it’s him as he strides down the corridor. I recognize his presence before he even enters the room.
“Hey,” Fionn says. When I open my eyes, he steps in front of me, his brows furrowing with worry when he takes in my expression. “Everything okay?”
