The Dawn will Break

Chapter One

The nurse wore a purple halo.

It hummed, soft mauve, while she wrote her notes. It buzzed, deep violet, as her suggestion to increase the patient's meds was dismissed. It shone, lavender-blue, when she whispered that everything would be okay.

She was kind, and Skye was thankful for that.

The nurse didn't make a big deal when Skye flinched as she cleaned the mottled skin at her wrists with gentle hands. She didn't laugh when Skye shrieked at the sudden sound of a medical cart barrelling down the hall. And she didn't say a word when Skye raised a tentative hand to touch the magenta border where the nurse's hair ended and her halo began.

She was patient when she explained the halo didn't exist, that it was just a side effect of Skye's concussion.

Skye was thankful for that, too.

A side effect could be explained away. It meant the tinted wisp of light curving around the head of everyone she saw was nothing but a temporary quirk. In the long list of Skye's issues, what was one more?

Skye's demons made her toss and turn at night. She'd wake up screaming from her hospital bed, scratching at the dark air before coming back to herself again.

Skye's demons made her hyper aware of unexpected sounds. Heart pattering, she scrambled to assign origin & meaning for every shuffle, click or bang down the hall.

Skye's demons transformed shadows into a tall figure with broad shoulders, cynical smile and a snub-nosed gun.

Tom.

Her breath stuttered and her teeth knocked together until the shadow-man morphed into a tall IV pole and spare lab coat that hung limp on the wall behind it.

He's dead, Skye.

A nervous giggle crawled up her throat and she gulped it back down. It wasn't funny; not at all. But he was gone, and that was another thing for which Skye was thankful.

Bottom lip trembling under her teeth, she bit back a sob.

Without Will, I'd be dead too.

A shiver nuzzled her ankles, raising goosebumps that raced up her calves, thighs, stomach, and neck. Traveling to her hairline, they singed the top of her scalp.

If I'd died, maybe I'd be with Dad right now.

Except she wasn't in any sort of heaven. No, she was at Reese Memorial Hospital, huddled under a nubby blue blanket in room 431. Her mom had been moved from ICU to a bed down the hall. And soon enough, they'd both be discharged home.

Home.

Skye's heart twitched in her chest.

She didn't want to go back to her aunt and uncle's house.

Images flashed behind her eyes in quick succession  — light glinting off Tom's gun, blood spurting from the improbable hole in her mother's thigh, and Will's hand reaching out in desperation as she fell backward into oblivion. Squeezing her eyes shut, Skye's breath caught in her chest as she struggled to push the darkness away.

Mere days ago, she and her mom had decided to find a home of their own, and settle down in Reese for good. Now those days felt more like a passing decade. A lifetime. A dream.

Now there'd be no place of their own. Not yet, anyway. Skye's mother's leg would require physiotherapy, and neither of them were ready to be alone. So, they'd go back to living with Shelby's family until they were strong enough to spread their wings.

Skye's fingers traced a determined ray of sunshine that had squeezed through the blinds and landed on her lap. She felt badly for Shelby and her family. If she didn't want to go back to their house, how would they feel about it?

Shel's texts had been frequent during Skye's hospital stay, a welcome distraction from her worried mind and racing thoughts. The Parkers were hunkered down at the Brody's cottage by the lake while the police finished investigating Tom's final violent mess.

There was no point in putting the Parker family home up for sale. Not yet, anyway. Reese was a tight knit community and the story of Tom's death would stain the house for prospective buyers across the foreseeable future. As Shelby told it, Aunt Judy had already lined up a designer, a slew of painters and a crew of craftsmen to refresh the house and reclaim the space.

Reclaim it from the mess. From the violence. From the fear. From the death.

Skye closed her eyes and counted to ten. She didn't want to think about it.

Her phone buzzed beside her. With a flick of her wrist she picked it up and scanned the screen.

Will: How are you this morning?

Heart skipping, she paused a second before typing back, trying to decide what response walked the line between truthful and too much.

Skye: I'm ok. How are you?

Will: I'll be better when I can see you. Shelby told me your doctor said maybe later this afternoon. What do you think?

Skye's heart skipped again, but this time in a good way. Her hand flew up to her hair, fingers feeling the bird's nest that bloomed around her head. It was ten o'clock, so there was plenty of time to make herself a step closer to presentable before he arrived.

Skye: Well, my schedule's pretty full but I suppose I can fit you in ;)

Will: Alright, smart ass. Try not to get too excited about it.

Skye: LOL. TBH, hearing I can see you is the best news I've had in what feels like forever.

She didn't have to think about that particular response at all. It was simply the truth. Being with Will just made things better. Maybe he couldn't erase the experience, or the pain and terror of what happened, but he'd been there. He understood. All of it. More than anyone else could.

Will: Me too, Stormy. Me too. Ask your doctor about visitors when they check you this morning, ok?

Skye: Affirmative, Mr. Brody.

Sighing, she set her phone on her lap, closed her eyes and waited for the doctor to arrive. Maybe there was something to look forward to today.

Maybe.

***
Is anyone out there? So, at long last, I've decided to try my hand at book two. It's been a while.
For anyone who enjoyed However Long the Night, book two has a bit of a twist — I'll be switching from Skye to Will's perspective throughout the book, hopefully creating a deeper connection with their characters for my readers in the process. If you've got any comments, or hopes for where this story will go, I'd love to hear it!! Thanks for reading.