The Fence

Chapter 33: Promise

~Grey~

When the doorknob leading into the infirmary starts to twist on its own, we all know that Donte's out of surgery and is about to break either some very good news or some very bad news to us. Ky is on his feet before the door even opens. Val rips her eyes from the clock and stares forward with wide eyes. Luci and Neveah stay seated, but they watch the door with baited breath. Merida has fallen asleep, sprawled across her seat with her arm hanging over the side. My heart seems to have stopped beating.

"Grey," Donte murmurs in the doorway, calling me into the room. "Come here, please."

If my heart were beating, it would have skipped one. I clench my hands tightly at my sides, standing from my spot in the waiting room and follow Donte into the infirmary.

"Well?" I sigh, running a hand through my hair.

Donte smiles softly, giving me a small nod. "She's going to make it."

"Oh God," I murmur, feeling my lungs start to work again. "She's going to make it."

Donte cleans his glasses with the front of his shirt. "We've stopped her bleeding and got her on a blood transplant. We removed the bullet. As far as we can tell, there are no fragments left."

"Can I see her?"

"Of course. But only two people are allowed in the room at a time. That includes me."

Donte leads me back to her room, and my footsteps seem to echo off the hollow walls. Her heart monitor is beating loudly, and I'm thankful for that fact. Her hair is finally pulled out of her face, pale and covered in a layer of clammy sweat. She looks close to a ghost, so I reach out and touch her arm, making sure she's still here. I let my eyes drift shut when I hear the door close quietly behind my back, sucking in a ragged breath, practically telling Donte of my desperate state.

"Grey?" Donte murmurs, and his voice is close behind me. "None of this is your fault."

"That's not true," I exhale, running a hand through my hair. "I knew about Demi. I brought Nixon inside. I defended them."

"You didn't know. Nixon fooled all of us. And Demi? Well, Demi is your-"

"But Kirbena was right about Nixon, and I was too blinded to send him away. I let him get close to the people I care about. Look where she is right now!" I growl, waving to her spot on the bed. My voice is loud, magnified by my own anger, but Kirbena's lashes only flutter.

"She's stable, Grey."

"Will she stay that way?" I cry, burying my face deeper into my hands. Donte remains silent at my pessimism and shakes his head in defeat. He knows there's no reasoning with me right now. "You say this isn't my fault, but it is," I sigh. "I let my guard down."

"It happens to everyone. Everyone slips up once in a while!" Donte says.

"No," I snap. "I was going to...I let her in, and then I couldn't stop, and then I let my guard down, and I just wanted to...I wanted to so bad, but Nixon shot her! I let my guard down!"

Donte crosses his arms over his chest. "She'll be okay."

"She'll never be the same," I reply. "I wasn't the only one who let her in. She let me in too, and now she's never going to again. I should do the same. There's nothing good about being vulnerable."

It is at this moment that Donte forces himself in front of me, breaking me out of a trance that I didn't know I was in. His caramel eyes are angry now, but under the heat is concern. "Grey."