Wings of Fortune - Part 10

“Thanks for the ride, Matt,” said Mara, smiling warmly as they entered the hospital.

“Of course! I hope Sam’s okay! I wonder what happened.”

“Yeah,” said Mara. She hadn’t told him about the strange texts Sam had sent, still unsure whether he was joking or hallucinating or… whatever.

As the two stopped at the nurse’s station to see which room Sam was in, Father Ryan passed by, talking on the phone.

Matt eyed the priest with a furrowed brow as he walked by.

“Why would a priest be…?”

His eyes widened, and he turned to Mara with sudden urgency.

“You don’t think Sam was the one that needed a priest do you?”

Mara whirled to see the departing priest.

“Omigod!” she whispered, her hands beginning to tremor.

The moment the nurse gave them the room number, Mara ran to find it. She burst through the door to find Sam lying on the hospital bed with a serious look on his face, speaking to Candace and her father.

Mara let out a breath, then hustled over and hugged Sam tightly.

“Thank God you’re okay!” she whispered.

“Careful!” Sam grimaced.

She released the hug, her eyes a little glassy.

“I was so worried when you didn’t respond! And then we got here and Matt was, like, freaking out when he saw the priest with this grim look on his face. And then he told me, and I saw him, and he got me all freaked out. And then I ran all the way up here. And then I just about cried when I saw you were okay. And now I’m just glad you’re not dead!”

“Geez, Mara! Breathe!” said Sam with a grin. “The reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”

Mara punched him in the arm, a stern look remaining on her face.

“That’s for making me worry…”

Sam’s grin widened while he rubbed his arm.

“Love you too, Mar.”

Matt walked in a moment later with Rob and Megan in tow.

“Look who I found on the way here! News travels fast apparently…” He winked at Mara.

“I may have told a few people to come to the hospital right away, but it’s all Sam’s fault.”

“My fault?” said Sam, incredulously.

“Of course, Mr. I-was-attacked-by-Batman! What was that all about anyway? What really happened to you?”

Sam glanced at Candace, who shrugged in response. But it was Candace’s father who spoke.

“There was some sort of huge batlike creature that attacked Sam, but Candace fought it off. We don’t actually know exactly what it was.”

“A huge bat, and Candace fought it off?” asked Mara, throwing a disbelieving glance at her ginger-haired friend. Her eyes lingered, giving Candace an appraising look. “Damn, Cand, fighting giant bats must be good for the skin. And the hair. And the boobs. And… geez! You look freaking amazing!”

Candace didn’t respond. Mara noticed that Candace was looking toward her, but not at her. She followed her friend’s eyes to… Matt? And Matt was staring right back at Mara’s increasingly gorgeous friend.

Mara waved her hand through the invisible string that connected their eyes. Neither seemed to notice.

“Earth to Matt…”

He didn’t respond.

Feeling a tingle of jealousy, Mara punched his arm, much as she had Sam’s a moment earlier. This time, however, her eyes were dark.

“Matt!”

Finally, he snapped out of it, blinking. He turned his eyes toward Mara, seeing hurt in hers.

“Excuse me,” said Mara, pushing past Matt, Rob, and Megan to leave the room. Matt stood there for a moment before following her out.

“Dude!” said Rob once the door closed. “Matt’s gotta be more discreet. As hot as Candace is, he can’t just ogle her right in front of his girl!”

“Look who’s talking, dumbass!” said Megan with a scowl.

“That’s different!” said Rob apologetically, suddenly remembering his wandering eyes from the other day. “That was at… church…”

“And that’s better because...?”

“Because…” Rob stammered, glancing over to Sam in desperation. Sam gave a slight shrug from his bed. He didn’t really blame the other guys for admiring his girlfriend. He snuck another furtive glance himself. She was pretty spectacular-looking. It was more of a badge of honor than a concern for him. He knew, however, that Mara would feel differently. He knew that he would have some best friend duties to do when he got home and could charge his phone.

Megan stood there, frowning and tapping her foot. When Rob said nothing more, she gave him a disdainful glare, then walked over to Sam, leaving Rob standing by himself by the door.

“What happened to your neck?” she asked, touching the black, charred skin on his neck.

“The thing bit me,” said Sam without further explanation. He shuddered, still feeling the deep, dull burn inside him.

“Ew,” she said, jerking back her hand.

The door opened, and all of them turned to see who it was. A figure in a white lab coat brushed past Rob, striding to the side of Sam’s bed. He flipped a page in the chart.

“Your ankle is mildly sprained, so we’re going to get you into a boot. The lacerations on your chest aren’t deep and none of them require stitches,” the doctor took a breath before continuing. “It’s this ‘bite’ that is unusual. It’s almost like a burn, but not…”

He paused, then shook his head.

“...it’s definitely unusual. But you should be able to go home. Once we have the biopsy results, we’ll give you a call. It didn’t seem to be poisonous, so no worries there.”

Sam nodded, relieved that he could go home. But a worry remained. What was that thing, and what had it done to him?

***

“Mara!” said Matt, running to catch up to her.

She whirled, and he slowed as he saw lines of moisture streaking her cheeks.

“You know, you don’t have to settle for me! You’re fucking incredible-looking just like Candace.” Her burning eyes flitted down his impressive physique before finding his blue irises once more. “I’m sure she wants to fuck you as much as you want to fuck her! Good luck, dude! I’m sure you’ll get serious cred for tappin’ that luscious ass.”

She spun on her heel and continued half-running, half-walking away.

“What?! Mara!? That’s not fair!” Matt called after her. “Mara!”

She didn’t break stride this time.

As she smashed her hands into the door of the hospital to launch it open, she realized that she didn’t have a ride home. Just great!

Today had started poorly with the crazy texts from Sam, and it had only gotten worse… other than the fact that Sam was okay. At least there was that.

Her thoughts turned again to Matt. Just when she thought she had a chance with him, her own friend screws her over.

She stepped to the brick wall of the hospital next to the bank of doors to the emergency room and slumped to the ground. Dropping her head into her hands, she began to cry in earnest.

How had Candace become so fucking jaw-dropping anyway? She had always been pretty, but fuck! She looked like she could grace a magazine cover now! She wouldn’t mind so much if she hadn’t finally landed the guy she’d been interested in. Why did it have to happen now! And what about Sam? How could she do that to him?

Calm down, Mara! They didn’t actually do anything. It was just a look she told herself.

Yeah.

A really long, really intense, really smoldering look.

Between two sexy-as-fuck model-perfect hormone-packed teens.

Fuck!

Sam would say she was overreacting. He might be right. She hoped he was right. He would probably call her tonight to convince her of that. Part of her hoped he succeeded. But Sam, bless him, was really stupid about people sometimes. Something had passed between Candace and Matt. Something wasn’t nothing.

Maybe she should talk to Matt about it? But if it was as she feared, he would just lie about it. He had to be attracted to Candace. I mean, what guy wouldn’t be?

Maybe she should talk to Candace about it. Now there was a thought. The more she considered that, the more the idea appealed to her. She could at least see about one end of what looked suspiciously like the blossoming of a new love connection.

That ending thought sent a fresh wave of loss rolling through her, and Mara felt more tears come.