BORROWED [Watty Awards Finalist/NEWLY EDITED!]

Chapter Thirty-one

|Beginning of the End|

The heat from the sun swarms around my body. A welcoming feeling beating down on me is like saving grace. Then, I remember I was shot. Blood settles into pools beneath the palms of my hands resting on the pavement.

They got away...

Tears swell in my eyes, escaping, trailing down my cheeks. Raising my blood-dipped hand, I wipe away the wet droplets plaguing my face. I won't cry. Not even in death. If I should die, I won't go crying. I could never let Sylas have that satisfaction.

Footsteps.

I hear people. Shouting.

"Iris!"

It's Finn. He's come to say goodbye. Maybe he brought Kyler. I hope Bianca is with them, too. I want to see her petite face, those sparkling blue eyes.

Finn kneels next to me, stroking my cheek with his thumb. "You're alive. You will be okay, just hang on. Don't close those beautiful brown eyes."

I lick my chapped lips. I'm dying of thirst. Where is all the water? Desert stretches as far as the eyes can see. I try to sit up. "Finn, I was shot." He grips my shoulders, helping me lay back down.

"Don't talk," he says. "You've lost a lot of blood." His eyes linger over my lips, then back to my eyes. "I should have never of let you come up here alone. What the hell was I thinking?"

Kyler looks down at me. "They got you good," he says jokingly, trying to lighten the mood.

Finn glares up at him. "Do you think this is funny? She could die!"

Evelyn pushes the boys out of the way. Kneeling next to me, she raises my shirt to examine my side. Her face brightens. "A deep flesh wound. The bullet didn't penetrate. She will still need a lot of stitches."

Finn exhales a sigh of relief. "That's good news."

I look at all three of them. "Sylas and Julian escaped."

Kyler says, "Doesn't matter. All that matters is you're going to be okay. We'll hunt them later."

Evelyn stops the bleeding. Her fingers tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. "Tell us what happened later. Right now, let's get you patched up."

"Thank you," I mumble.

Closing my eyes, I listen to them talk. Feeling sleepy, I let them handle the rest.

I must have slept a few hours. I lie awake in a familiar white room. Clean clothes shroud my body. I lift the scrub top. A white bandage covers the area where the bullet grazed my skin. I'm alive. I didn't die.

Evelyn walks into the room. "You're awake," she says.

I lift myself upright, resting my back on the pillows. "How many stitches?"

"Too many," she says with a sigh. "But you're alive and well. I'm grateful."

My heart feels hollow. I press my palm against my chest. "Julian was going to kill Sylas. I hesitated on the shot. If I fired, then both of them would have fallen to their death." My eyes linger on Eve, who now sits down by my feet. "Was I wrong for not taking the shot? Should I have killed a man or two? I'm not sure I was ever capable of that task."

Eve frowns. "You did what your heart told you to do. There isn't a right or wrong. No one is ashamed of the result."

"They're gone," I cry. "Now what do we do?"