Despairing Tides (Fate's Intent Book 12) (33 page)

Chapter 66

Troy

I walked into Naomi’s room after seeing the others all oddly standing in the hall just before my door and she was sitting on the edge of the bed at Bryce’s side. I walked around to the other side of the bed next to Jaylyn so I could sit with her and stare down at her still face, making sure she was still breathing.

“Thank you for moving me last night.” Naomi said softly.

I smiled a little and looked up. “Not a problem. You needed your rest.”

“I hope I didn’t put you out. That’s the last thing I would want.”

“You need it more than me.” I looked back down at Jaylyn and moved her hair away from her eyes just so it didn’t seem like I were constantly staring at Naomi. “I would never put myself over you.”

I watched her looked down at Bryce at least and her voice weakened. “What’s going to happen?”

I didn’t know how to answer but truthfully. “I don’t know. We can only hope for the best.”

Naomi let herself go while she laid over Bryce and cried. “I can’t lose him!”

I didn’t want it to be like this. I got up and walked around the bed to her. “I know.” I helped her up and she fell into my arms. “But you need to be strong. He would want you to.”

“How can I be when he’s like this? I just want him back.”

“We all do but you need to be thinking of this child and take care of yourself through this.”

“The last thing I can think about is me.”

“But you must and it’s important that you do.”

“I can’t have this child grow up without a father, Troy. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“You’ll never be alone. If the worst should happen, know that I’ll always be there to take care of you. I won’t let you do this alone.” Naomi continued to cry with her face buried in my chest as I did what I could to comfort her. “Wait here.” I moved her away from me and she wiped her eyes. “I’ll bring you breakfast. You need to eat something.”

Naomi nodded as she sat back down on the bed next to Bryce. “Don’t let anyone come in here. No one else could understand what I’m going through but you.”

I nodded as I turned from her and left the room. I walked through the hall to the stairs and down to the dining hall. The four I passed in the hallway not long ago were sitting in there having their breakfast.

No one said a word though as I walked over and started getting food for Naomi in silence until Zayden cleared his throat. “So? How is she?”

Everyone looked at me and waited for my response. “Well, let’s see. She’s upstairs right now where all she can do is sit by and watch her husband and his mother fade away into nothing and think about how horrible it’s going to be to have their child grow up without a father. How would you be?”

“It’s not going to be like that.” Darius said.

“Don’t.” I cut in, feeling my temper raising. “You should already know by now that it’s too late for them because Trever is always right whether you like it or not. Sending the others south won’t change a thing.”

“But it’s worth trying for.” Cadence said.

“To get our powers back, maybe but it won’t help them. All we can hope for is them waking up on their own before they starve to death.”

I picked up the plate and walked out.

I was done trying to listen to these lost solutions because there wasn’t a single one that would work.

Naomi and I kept to ourselves up in her room with only the company of each other to tend to Jaylyn and Bryce. There’s been no change as darkness fell and I looked up to see Naomi drifting off to sleep in a nearby chair. I sighed to myself as I got up from Jaylyn’s side and leaned over her, kissing her forehead before walking around the bed to Naomi.

I lifted her up in my arms and took her out of the room, down the hall towards mine again. It was late and everyone else was in bed already. I was glad of it. I laid her down but this time she wasn’t that much asleep and woke up the moment I let her go.

“Troy, I don’t feel right taking your bed again.”

“No, please.” I said. “I insist. You need a proper night’s rest in your condition.”

“Thank you but you shouldn’t have to give up your proper night’s sleep because of me.”

“It’s nothing I don’t mind giving up.”

I was about to go over to the couch again but Naomi stopped me from moving by taking my arm. “No. You shouldn’t. You need it just as much as I do. Please.” I turned to her and paused. “I need you tonight, Troy.” Naomi moved her hand down my arm and took my hand. “I can’t be alone.”

I stood there for just a brief moment and looked at her innocent face. “It’s for the best if I didn’t.” I pulled my hand away but Naomi looked sad. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen that we’d regret.”

I was about to turn away again but Naomi got up on her knees and stopped me. “But you have rights to sleep in your own bed.”

“Not with my son’s wife, I don’t. Just get some sleep.”

I turned away fully but heard her start to cry. “Please. You said you’d take care of me and I need you to, Troy. I can’t do this myself.”

I turned back around while sighing to myself and walked back to her. “I’m not the one to turn to in your time of need for the reasons you need.”

“If not you than who? We both know what’s going to happen only neither of us has wanted to say it first.”

She started to cry more intensively and I took her in my arms to comfort her. “I don’t want you to think that way. There’s always hope. That’s what Jaylyn would say.”

Naomi continued to cry and I tried rubbing her head. She started to calm down just a little bit but moved her pouting lips up the side of my neck. I slowly started to loosen my grip around her as she moved out in front of me and brushed her lips up against mine before pressing them together. I reacted to it quickly and pulled her away. No words were exchanged. She just stood close in front of me and looked in my eyes. I was looking back and brought my hand up, touching the side of her face and wiping away the tears. She seemed to think that I was going to give in because she slowly started to smile but I had to explain otherwise.

“This isn’t the way.” Her smile faded. “We must live with some hope in their survival.”

“But—”

I put my finger over her mouth. “No. This is how this has to be but I will stay with you to give you the protection you need to sleep.”

“You will?”

“With restrictions.” I walked around the bed and began to take off my coat. “I love Jaylyn and I know you love Bryce. We can’t afford to forget it. They’re all we have.” Naomi sat back on the bed and nodded in understanding as I sat down on the other side and took off my boots. “She’s all I have. I want her back.”

I felt her crawl across the bed to me to give me some kind of comfort now. “I know you do.” She said while starting to rub my shoulders. “We all do.”

I did my best to hold back any emotions of doubt around her as I got up and took off my shirt. “I need to sleep. Tomorrow is another day that we need to stay strong for.”

Naomi nodded as she moved back to the other side of the bed and got under the blankets. I climbed in next to her but dropped my head back on the pillow with a sigh while looking up at the ceiling.

“What?” Naomi asked.

“I forgot to turn off the lantern again. Jaylyn usually does it.”

“Well, I’ll get it.”

“No.” I sat up all the way and she stopped. “I’ll do it. You just relax.”

Naomi laid back down and watched me get up the rest of the way. I walked over to the table and turned out the lantern before walking back to the bed in the dark. I got in next to her and laid my head down on the pillow.

The light from the moon was shining in just enough that we could see each other and Naomi rolled over and faced me. “You need to relax sometimes too, you know.”

“I don’t have time for that.”

“Well, you should make time. You know Jaylyn wouldn’t want you being this way just as much as Bryce wouldn’t want me to be.”

“I know. I just can’t help but think what will happen if I lose her.”

“Do you really believe the stuff that you tell me or do you just say those things to make me feel better?”

“A little of both. I know what I want. I want them both to get better but there’s always the possibility that they won’t.”

“But there’s still hope.” Naomi said as she moved closer and put her head on my bare shoulder. “That’s what you always tell me because that’s what Jaylyn would say so that’s what we should believe.”

I silently agreed as I turned my head to the right and kissed her forehead. “Just go to sleep. We should only take this a day at a time and hopefully see some good changes soon.”

Naomi nodded but kept her head on my shoulder and we fell asleep for the night.

Chapter 67

Lana

I got up early and went to look for Naomi in her room the following morning. I walked in and only saw Jaylyn and Bryce still laying on the bed like they were just asleep. I sighed when I realized Naomi wasn’t here again and walked closer to the bed. “Please get better. They really need you.” I put my head down before I turned around and left the room. I walked to the east wing and approached Troy’s door. “I hope I’m wrong.”

I turned the door knob and the door creaked open, allowing me to peek in towards the bed. The sun lit up the room and I saw Naomi and Troy laying together in his bed, holding each other. My eyes got wide and I closed the door then leaned up against the wall right next to it.

“I’ve got to tell someone.” I started walking through the hall and went to Darius’s room just one door down and went right in. “Darius?” There was no reply but he was still sleeping too. I walked over and stood next to the bed, leaning over him. “Darius?” He still didn’t wake up and I decided to tap his shoulder. “Darius?” He still didn’t wake up. Ruby once mentioned he was a heavy sleeper but I didn’t think it were this bad. I reached across him and lifted up Ruby’s pillow next. “Sorry about this but I have to get you up.” I drew back and got ready to hit him with it but he quickly grabbed my wrist before I could and flipped me over him, putting me on the bed next to him. My eyes were wide but I smiled sweetly. “Good morning.”

“What are you doing?” He asked as he let go of my wrist. “I could have hurt you.”

“Don’t worry, you didn’t. I just needed to wake you up.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” He sat right up.

“Well, I guess it could be classified as wrong. Guess where Naomi is?”

“Again?”

I nodded and the door opened, making us both turn our heads to it. It was Zayden and this probably looked awkward since I was still laying in his bed but I tried to make nice of it and greeted him. “Hey, Zayden.”

“I don’t even want to know.”

He started to turn and Darius was first to get out of bed fully. “It’s not anything like that. She just woke me up to tell me about Naomi and Troy.”

Zayden stopped and turned back in the doorway. “What about them?”

“They’re together.”

“You sure?” Zayden asked as he took a step back in the room.

“Look for yourself.” I said, getting up too. “I was just in there.”

Zayden quickly turned out of the room and of course we were going to follow. We went down to Troy’s door just as Cadence walked around the corner. “What’s going on?”

“Shh.” Zayden said as he put his finger up to his mouth and reached for the door knob.

“Are they in there?” Cadence whispered.

I nodded and Cadence’s eyes widened just like mine did but we were all ready to look inside. Zayden turned the door knob as quietly as he could and the door popped open. He slowly pushed it as it creaked and we all took a step inside. Naomi and Troy were still laying together in close range but Naomi slowly started to wake up and lifted her head up off of Troy’s shoulder to see us.

She gasped and quickly sat up. No one said a word. We wouldn’t even know what to say.

“Troy.” He didn’t wake up and she had to tap his shoulder. “Troy.”

“Go back to sleep, Naomi.” Troy said as he kept his eyes closed and pulled the blanket over his head. “We were up late and I am not ready to get up yet.”

“Ooh, wrong thing to say in front of company.”

“What?” Troy took the blanket off his head and looked over at her. She was still looking forward at us standing in the room and Troy looked too. When he saw us he sighed and fell back on his pillow like nothing were wrong with this. “What do you want?”

“Just proving a theory.” Zayden answered.

“A theory?” Troy sat up but was unusually confused about his question at first. “What, are you kidding me?”

“Are you saying this isn’t what it looks like?” Darius asked. “A beautiful woman in your bed that’s not your wife and nothing happened?”

“You have a lot of nerve coming in here and preaching to me about loyalty!” Troy’s voice was full of rage as he got out of bed. I’ve never heard him like this before and quite frankly, I was a little scared. “My wife and son are dying and all you four can think about is if I’m sleeping with Naomi? Unbelievable.”

Naomi started to get tears in her eyes and I guess this really only proved how foolish we were being.

“Come on.” Troy held out his hand to her and she got up off the bed with him. “We’ll leave them here to straighten out their priorities and maybe then they won’t think of such ridiculous stories.”

They walked by us and left the room.

“Well, that went well.” Cadence said.

“Yeah. Go follow Naomi.” Zayden replied. “We need to talk to Troy.”

Cadence and I nodded and we all left the room.

I kind have couldn’t believe how we were acting about this. Troy was right. It was ridiculous. Jaylyn and Bryce were dying. That was the real truth in all of this. I guess none of us really wanted to think about it but it became more of a burden that we couldn’t stop.