Page 67 of Heart Sick

This heart connects us in every possible way.

“I was given a new heart because mine was failing me. Most would be thankful for a second chance at life, but since the transplant, my life has changed.”

“How?”

“Music was my life. Piano, my mistress, but I can’t play a single thing now. This heart has choked the life from me. Ironic, as it was supposed to save me. If I can’t play music, then I don’t want to live,” I confess, and unable to help myself, I reach out and brush a strand of hair behind Luna’s ear.

She leans into my touch.

“The only time I hear music, however…is when I’m with you. And the only time this heart ever feels like mine is when you’re with me. Without you…I feel lost.Wefeel lost.”

The room falls silent.

I expect her to shrink away, terrified of the insanity she hears. And if she does, then I will accept the consequences.

“Why we?”

“Because this heart doesn’t belong to me…it’s his. It always has been. But in some morbid way, it feels like it belongs to you too.”

“How does that make sense?” she asks, placing her palm flat against my chest.

“It doesn’t. I don’t understand it, which is why I wanted to stay at Parkfields. Dr. Norton thinks I’m experiencing something called heart memory transfer. That his heart is giving me his memories, and those memories—”

“Those memories what?” she prompts when I pause.

Placing my hand over hers, I squeeze her fingers gently. “Those memories consist of violence, anger, and murder.”

It’s the first time I’ve said it aloud, but I know, without a doubt, he was murdered. I just don’t know why.

A horrified gasp escapes Luna, and a tear trickles down her bruised cheek.

“The man was kind, but he was also hiding a grave secret. He loved someone with all his heart, and that’s the only thing that kept him going. He wanted to end it. But he couldn’t…because of her.”

The more I speak, the clearer things become.

“I need to find out who he is because a dead man holds the answers I so desperately seek. I think I’m reliving this because he needs my help. A heart is the epicenter of a human being, and even when broken, it still is able to love with all the tiny pieces.

“And that’s why I need to find all those tiny pieces to make it whole again.”

Luna cries softly, but not in sadness. She’s crying in happiness. She bends down and places her ear to my chest, listening to the beating of his heart as she’s done before.

“I want to help.”

Relief overwhelms me because I thought she would be hitting the road come dawn.

“I don’t know where to start, but I remember something from a flashback I had which wasn’t mine. I saw the sign for Woodland Waterfalls.”

“What’s that?” Luna asks, the fatigue heavy in her tone.

“It’s the perfect place to hide secrets, which is why I want to start there. But first, will you let me help you get cleaned up?”

I stopped by a pharmacy and quickly grabbed the essentials. I couldn’t stay too long as the pharmacist no doubt called the police before I even left the store.

Luna raises her head, and the space between us is mere inches. The chemistry between us is almost suffocating. Eventually, she nods.

I don’t give her a choice as I scoop her up in my arms and carry her into the bathroom. I don’t know the extent of her injuries because she’s caked in dry blood, so I turn on the shower faucet. She’s in her underwear, so once I ensure she’s steady on her feet as I place her down, I turn my back to give her some privacy.

I don’t leave the room, however.

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