"Me?"
"Do you forgive me?"
After a brief silence, he replies, "I do."
"Don't lie," I tell him.
"I'm not lying, Rose. When you left, I was angry. You took my everything with you and left me in a pain that won't stop. There are days I thought I was going crazy. I was ready to do anything to bring you back, but Ben kept me in check."
He continues, "I felt so angry I was the only one going through hell while you were able to live normally. Then when I finally saw you again and saw you clutching your chest and lose your consciousness in my arms, I knew I wasn't the only one who suffered all these years."
"I'm not going to pretend that I can understand your reason for leaving me, Rose. But I know it wasn't easy on you. And it killed you as much as it killed me. So, yeah, I forgive you. I forgive you, Rose."
I close my eyes, tears streaming down the sides of my face, and feel the breeze comfort me. "Thank you."
"I love you," Luke says.
"I love you, too," I say to him.
We talk a little longer over the phone. Then he had to leave. I put back my phone into my pocket and turn around.
That's when I notice the man who was standing behind me. He looks like a homeless guy. His long hair is a mess. His clothes are dirty and torn.
"You," he says. "It's all your fault."
I recognize his voice. "Mr. Hinton?" I ask. Is he really my old principal, Mr. Harry Hinton?
"You broke in," he says. His words are hard to understand and slow. "You broke into my computer. You told them about our plan," he says.
My breath is caught in my throat. Is he blaming me for Timbernook's fall? "I-I don't know what you're talking about Mr. Hinton. Y-You're mistaken."
He doesn't give me much of a warning before he pulls out a gun and shoots at me.
As I fall down, everything feels like a deja vu, because not only I got shot again, but also at the same place as last time, in my right shoulder.
Once I'm on the ground all I could do is writhe in pain. By the time Mr. Hinton comes to my side and points his gun at my head, I've already begun to lose my consciousness.
Perhaps, my last near-death experience had somehow prepared me for a moment like this, I find myself getting calmer and close my eyes, ready to accept the fate with a sense of gratitude for my family, friends, and love.
Before the second shot could happen a large brown wolf attacks Mr. Hinton, killing him instantly.
Sid transforms into his human form and picks me up. I hear Mike's wolf howling in the distance.
While Sid hurriedly carries me to the clinic, I decide to give my apology to Sid another chance, and it might very well be my last chance to get his forgiveness.
"I'm sorry," I mumble. "I didn't mean to hurt you."
"Stop talking," Sid says.
"I really didn't run away," I continue my pleading. "I was going to come back. I just wanted to be with him before I could let him go. I'm sorry I made you think I didn't care about you."
"Stop it, Rose," Sid says. "You can tell me the rest after your injury is taken care of."
"No. If I die I–"
"I told you to stop it!" Sid shouts. Oddly, he sounds less angry and more scared. "You're not going to die. They'll fix you."
At the clinic, he puts me down on a hospital bed. The doctor rushes to my side. When Sid moves away I hold him back with my right hand which causes me to shout in pain.
Sid removes my hand and holds it. "I'm not going anywhere."
When the doctor comes near me with the anesthetics, I shout, "No! I've to talk to my brother."
"Rose, let them treat you first. We'll talk later," Sid says.
I start to groan in pain. "No, I'm not going under without knowing you forgive me. I don't want to die like this."
"I told you, you're not going to die," he says. His hand brushes back my hair. "For as long as I live I won't let anything happen to you," he says, tearing up.
"But you were angry at me."
"I'm not," he says and kisses my forehead. "I'm not angry anymore. Okay? I forgive you for leaving. Whatever happened is in the past. I'm not angry at you any more about it."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
I nod and let his hand go, and close my eyes.
The doctor starts to examine my shoulder. Mike arrives.
The doctor cleans up the blood. He looks perplexed and turns me around slightly. Then he asks me, "Did the bullet go through you?"
I nod.
He breathes out and stands straight. "Then I believe you are free to go, Rose."
"What?" Sid and Mike say. "What do you mean she can leave? She got shot!" Sid shouts.
"Beta, your sister did get shot, but her injury has already healed, as expected in a Beta's daughter. The bullet was not coated in wolfsbane, it was a normal one."
When Sid looks back at me, I open my eyes and sit up over my elbows, smiling. "So you're not angry at me anymore huh?"
Well... that sure did make him angry.
#24 Rose's Apology
Start from the beginning
