Chapter 22 Silent Stare
Maddie Pov
The infirmary smelled like herbs mixed with antiseptic. Sharp. Clean. Medical. I'd been lying here for two days now. Staring at the same ceiling. Counting the same tiles. Going slowly insane from boredom.
My feet were wrapped in thick gauze. White. Bulky. Made them look like marshmallows. The nurse changed the bandages twice a day. Each time I saw the burns underneath. Red. Blistered. Angry.
But they were healing. Slowly. The nurse said I was lucky. Said if I'd kept the shoes on any longer I might have lost my feet completely. Might have needed amputation.
Lucky. That's what she called it. I called it surviving. Barely.
"How are you feeling today?" the nurse asked. She walked over. Checked my chart. Smiled down at me.
"Bored," I said honestly. "And sore. But better than yesterday."
"Good," the nurse said. She sat on the edge of my cot. "I want to check your feet. See how the healing is progressing."
I nodded. Braced myself. This part always hurt. She started unwrapping the gauze. Careful. Gentle. But each layer that came off made me wince.
Finally my feet were exposed. I looked down. They still looked bad. Still red. Still damaged. But less than before. The blisters were smaller. The skin was starting to close.
"Slow heal but you'll walk again," the nurse said. She smiled. "Another week maybe. Two at most. Then you'll be good as new."
"A week?" I asked. That felt like forever. "I can't stay here for a week."
"You need to rest," the nurse said firmly. "Walking too soon will damage them more. Set you back. You need to be patient."
Patient. I hated that word. Hated waiting. Hated being stuck. Hated feeling useless.
"Can I at least have crutches?" I asked. "So I can move around?"
"Maybe in a few days," the nurse said. "Once the swelling goes down more. For now you need to stay off them completely."
I sighed. Lay back on the pillow. Stared at the ceiling again. This sucked. Everything sucked.
The nurse started rewrapping my feet. Fresh gauze. Clean. White. She worked quickly. Efficiently. Had probably done this a thousand times.
"Have they found who did it?" I asked. "Who put the wolfsbane in my shoes?"
The nurse paused. "I don't know. That's not really my area. You'd have to ask the administration."
"Do you think they're even looking?" I asked. "Or do they just not care?"
"I'm sure they're looking," the nurse said. But she didn't sound convinced. "This is serious. Attempted murder. They have to investigate."
But would they? Would they actually care about the wolfless girl who nobody liked? Or would they just brush it under the rug? Pretend it was an accident?
The door creaked. Someone was coming in. I looked over expecting Elara. She'd been visiting every day. Bringing me food. Books. Keeping me company.
But it wasn't Elara.
It was Calix.
My breath caught. My heart started pounding. He stood in the doorframe. Tall. Broad. Face hard. Eyes darker than I'd ever seen them.
He stared at me. Just stared. Not saying anything. Not moving. Just looking at me with this expression I couldn't read. Storm. That's what it looked like. A storm in his eyes.
The nurse stood up. "Can I help you?"
"No," Calix said. His voice was rough. Strained. "I just. I wanted to check on her."
"Are you a friend?" the nurse asked.
"Something like that," Calix said. His eyes never left mine.
The bond was pulling. Screaming. Demanding I go to him. Demanding I touch him. Demanding I close the distance between us. But I couldn't move. Could barely breathe.
"She needs rest," the nurse said. "No long visits. Just a few minutes."
"I won't stay long," Calix said.
The nurse looked between us. Seemed to sense something. Something heavy. Something complicated. She nodded. Walked toward the door.
"I'll be right outside if you need anything," she said to me. Then she left. Closed the door behind her.
We were alone. Me and Calix. First time we'd been alone since. Since ever really. We'd never talked. Never been close. Just that one moment when he saved me from Simone.
"How are you?" Calix asked. Still standing by the door. Not coming closer.
"I've been better," I said. My voice came out small. Weak. I hated it.
He nodded. His jaw clenched. Unclenched. Like he was fighting with himself. Fighting with something inside.
"Your feet," he said. "Will they heal?"
"The nurse says yes," I said. "In a week or two."
"Good," Calix said. "That's good."
Silence. Heavy. Awkward. I didn't know what to say. Didn't know why he was here. Didn't know what he wanted.
"Do you know who did it?" I asked finally. "Who put the wolfsbane in my shoes?"
His face got harder. Darker. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. "Not yet. But I will."
"Why do you care?" I asked. The words came out before I could stop them. "You don't even know me."
"I know enough," Calix said. His voice was tight. Controlled. Like he was holding something back.
"Like what?" I challenged. "What do you know about me?"
He looked at me. Really looked at me. Those eyes. Those golden eyes that haunted my dreams. That made my whole body light up with electricity.
"I know you're not what you claim to be," Calix said quietly. "I know you're hiding something. I know you're scared."
My heart stopped. How did he know? How could he possibly know?
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said quickly. "I'm wolfless. That's all."
"No you're not," Calix said. He took a step closer. Just one. "I can smell it. Your scent. It's too strong. Too powerful. You have a wolf. A strong one."
Panic flooded through me. What was I supposed to do? Deny it? Run? I couldn't run. My feet were destroyed.
He looked at me without saying another word and walked out. I let out a deep breath of relief.