Chapter 2 : Leaving My Heart Behind

*Lena*

The cruiser’s brakes squealed as it swerved to avoid me, coming to a stop mere inches from where I stood. An officer jumped out, his wrinkled face a mask of shock and anger.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he yelled. I ignored his tone and stumbled toward him, my words tumbling out in a desperate rush.

“Please, you have to help. My boyfriend, he’s trapped in the woods. Animal trap. He’s hurt. Please,” I begged, my heart breaking all over again at the thought of Eason all alone.

The officer’s expression shifted from anger to concern as he took in my battered state and the urgency in my voice. “Okay, miss. Calm down. We’ll get help,” he said gently, reaching for his radio.

But I couldn’t calm down. I was bruised and traumatized by my encounter with the wolf. What if the wolf went back, found Eason, and finished him off.

The officer looked at me with doubt etched across his tired face. “Can you tell me exactly where he is?”

I nodded, quickly describing the trail where he was, down to the exact color of the trees. As he called for backup and an ambulance, I swayed on my feet. The adrenaline was fading, and the full extent of my injuries was making itself known. But I pushed the pain aside. None of it mattered.

All that mattered was getting back to Eason. I closed my eyes for a moment, picturing his handsome face. Hang on, Eason. I'm coming. Just a little longer.

The sound of sirens filled the air, growing louder. As soon as the backup and ambulance arrived, I convinced them my wound wasn’t bad and the priority was to let me lead them to Eason, praying I’d find him in an okay state. That I’d find him still alive.

My eyes searched for him desperately as we reached the spot I remember leaving him at. There. Before I could think, my legs were already moving. The sharp sound of snow crunched underneath as I lunged at him, pressing kisses across his cold face. 

“I’m fine,” he said in an attempt to reassure me, but I could hear the weakness in his voice. “Your eyes are gray. You’ve been crying.”

I nodded, struggling to keep more of the tears at bay. I kissed his forehead which was drenched in sweat before stepping aside, allowing the paramedics to do their thing. Soon enough, Eason’s leg was free from the trap, and I was holding his hand as we drove to the hospital.

Seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, stretching into hours. The wound above my hip had been cleaned by a nurse as I waited, my nerves threatening to take over. 

“It should heal fully in a couple of weeks. Maybe a month. Just remember to clean it every day,” the nurse instructed. I nodded, still focused on how Eason was doing. 

The hospital corridor felt endless as I paced, my heart pounding with worry and anticipation. When a nurse finally nodded, granting me permission, I rushed to Eason’s room. My hand trembled as I pushed open the door.

The sight of him lying there, pale against the white sheets, made my breath catch. The injured leg was elevated, wrapped d in thick bandages. Despite the tubes and monitors surrounding him, his eyes lit when he saw me, and I felt a wave of relief wash over my body.

“Hi baby,” he breathed out, managing a tiny smile just for my sake.

And for his sake, I pushed through the struggle and pulled myself together, shoving any negative emotions away before fixing a smile on my face. I approached his bed slowly, careful not to disturb any of the medical equipment. “Eason,” I whispered, taking his hand in mine, “I was so worried.”

He tried to shift, wincing slightly. “The doctors say I might not be able to walk properly for a while. I guess you might want to rethink everything you said tonight.”

“I don’t care,” I said firmly, squeezing his hand. “I’m not leaving you, even if you can’t walk on either foot. I will never leave you.”

Gratitude welled in his eyes, and before I knew it, he had pulled me closer. Our lips met in a soft, tender kiss, tugging on my heartstrings. As I leaned in, the pain from the wolf bite on my waist flared. I swallowed my wince, pushing the hot pain aside. Now wasn’t the time to worry Eason with my own troubles.

As days passed, I rarely left Eason’s side. I helped him with his meals, read to him, and simply kept him company. Occasionally, a nurse would come in to check the wound on my waist.

“Oh wow,” the nurse exclaimed, a week into being in the hospital. “That’s healing rather… quickly.”

I nodded absentmindedly. My injuries were trivial compared to Eason’s. He was still dealing with his broken wrist, and now his leg. This wasn’t about me.

Then finally, after two long, agonizing weeks, Eason was discharged. We made our way back to Los Angeles together, the familiar skyline greeting us as our plane descended. 

“I’ve got it,” I exclaimed, rushing to collect our luggage. He didn’t argue, he just smiled at me, taking my hand in his. My eyes drifted to his right hand, which was no longer in a cast but still bandaged tightly. Unlike his similarly bandaged leg, which would heal fully in a couple of days, his wrist would take longer to heal. 

We were home, but our time in our little world was coming to an end.

“So,” Eason said as we stood outside the airport, the busy sounds of LAX surrounding us. He balanced his weight on his right leg. “I guess this is where we part for now.”

I nodded, feeling a lump form in my throat. “Yeah, I suppose it is.”

He reached out, tucking a strand of brown hair behind my ear. “Why does it feel like I’m leaving my heart behind?” His hand moved gently to my cheek.

I leaned in, relishing the amazing feeling of his touch. “I know how you feel.”

Eason grinned, that special one where his lips fully upturned to show off his bright teeth. It always made my heart skip a beat. “Your eyes are blue again. You’re not happy to see me go, are you?”

I giggled. “Of course not.”

We stood there for a moment, neither of us wanting to be the first to leave. Finally, Eason leaned in and kissed me softly. “This isn’t goodbye,” he murmured against my lips. “It’s just... see you soon.”

I nodded. “See you soon.” My fingers gripped the material of his shirt, squeezing it. Not wanting to let go. But I had to. I peeled myself away from him, hailing a cab. With one last glance in his direction, I climbed into the tiny vehicle and made my way home. 

—

I sat in the stuffy lecture hall, trying to focus on the boring lecture. But the class was unusually noisy, and even though I didn’t enjoy the lecture I’d like to at least pay attention.

“Would you keep it down?” I turned in the direction of the noise and glared at the girls speaking. I could barely see their lips move, and they stared at me as if I’d grown a third eye.

“What was that about?” Zara, my best friend, asked from beside me, her hazel eyes shifting into concern. But I didn’t have an answer for her. I shook my head, not knowing what it was about. I tried to focus again, but more voices filtered in, louder this time.

“Hey, did you already mix the sodium with the water? I’m not trying to blow anything up today.”

I turned around, scanning the lecture hall. No one was speaking.

“Noted. Let’s not make this lab any more exciting than it needs to be.” 

Lab? My eyes narrowed. The voices were coming from the physics lab down the hall. But that couldn’t be. There was no way. I shouldn’t be able to hear that…

I noticed the clock on the wall. The second hand seemed to be moving in slow motion, each tick stretching out impossibly long. My heartbeat quickened as I realized something wasn’t right.

I mumbled an excuse about feeling unwell to Zara and practically bolted from the room. The hallway was an uproar of sounds – conversations from classrooms down the corridor, the scrape of chairs against floors, even the rustle of papers – all crystal clear despite the distance.

I wasn’t sure where I was going or what I wanted to do, but I ran. I jammed my hand against my ears, trying to drown out the voices. But it was no use.

“Lena?” 

My feet were tired, but I kept moving. I thought I heard someone calling my name, but the voices were all mushed together and I couldn’t separate them. So I ignored it.

A strong hand clamped over my arm, halting my movements.

“Lena,” I turned to find Eason staring at me, clear worry lines on his face. “Hey… what’s going on?”

“I…” I looked at my surroundings, suddenly feeling the chill. Somehow, I ended up at the ice rink. Staring at my feet, I wondered how I’d managed to run here without tripping.

I could hear the distinct sound of skates carving into ice and sticks slapping against pucks. The players were moving as if through thick air, their movements slow and exaggerated. And the puck – that small black disc that I could barely follow on a good day – now seemed to float through the air, its path clear as day to my eyes.

The game I had always struggled with suddenly seemed so... slow. I remembered all the times Eason had tried to teach me and every time I fumbled with the stick or lost sight of the puck on the ice.

“Eason!” I whispered, my voice sounding oddly loud in my ears. He's putting most of his weight on his right leg – we’ve been back a week, but his left must still hurt a bit. I want to ask him, but a player on the rink catches my attention. I watched as he took a shot in seeming slow motion. I wondered – if I were to pick up a stick right now, would I suddenly be good at this?

“I… I have to go.” Without another glance, I sprinted out of the rink, ignoring Eason’s protests behind me.

I needed to find Zara.

I found her quickly, her bright red hair and tall frame sticking out like a sore thumb in the campus library, tucked away in a quiet corner. As I approached, I could smell the faint scent of her favorite lavender perfume from meters away.

“Zara,” I whispered, sliding into the chair across from her. “I need to talk to you about something... weird.”

She looked up from her textbook, eyebrows raised. “You want to talk about whatever that was earlier?”

“I…” I didn’t exactly know where to start from. I decided to start from the beginning. I told her about the wolf bite, the voices, how time seemed to slow down around me, and how even my sense of smell had become incredibly sharp.

“A wolf, really?” She scoffed, leaning into her chair. “You don’t have to make up stories to impress me anymore.”

“I’m telling the truth!” I said, frustration creeping into my voice. 

She let out a small laugh. “Lena, are you sure you’re feeling okay? This sounds... well, it sounds crazy.”

“I know it does. But it’s true. I’ll prove it to you.”

I closed my eyes and focused on my heightened senses. “You have a piece of candy in your pocket. Strawberry flavored, I think.”

Zara suddenly looked up at me, her hazel eyes widening in shock. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a small, wrapped candy. “How did you...?”

“I told you,” I said, a mix of relief and anxiety washing over me. “Something’s different about me.”

Zara’s face suddenly turned serious, and she leaned in, as if about to tell me some sort of secret. “Lena, I think… I think you might be suffering from some kind of illness.”

“What? You know what it could be?”

“Yep,” she nodded gravely. “You have a case called being delusional.” Her face broke into a wide grin and she laughed. “But hey, if you really do have superpowers, can you use them to ace our next exam?”

I couldn’t help but laugh along with her. Maybe Zara was right. Maybe I am delusional. Maybe there was nothing wrong with me after all and this was all in my head. “Sure, I’ll just use my super-hearing to listen in on the professor’s thoughts.”

“Oh, and while you’re at it, can you figure out if Matt really likes me?”

I giggled, the tension slipping away. This was what I needed. A nice, simple chat with my best friend to remind me that I was, in fact, sane. But as we talked, I suddenly remembered I hadn’t checked on the wound like the nurse instructed since being back in LA.

“I should probably head home,” I said, rising to my feet. “I haven’t looked at the wound since we got back. My nurse would probably have a seizure if she knew.”

Zara nodded, her eyes full of concern. “Take care of yourself, okay? And remember, you’re okay. You’re just overthinking things.”

I nodded, quickly making my way out of the library. By the time I made it back to my house, the sun had long since set. I didn’t waste any time. I made a beeline for my bathroom, eager to examine the wound. I lifted my shirt, bracing myself for the sight of the angry red gash that I had glimpsed the last morning when leaving Alaska. 

I looked down, my breath caught in my throat. 

Where there should have been a raw, healing wound, there was nothing. Not even a faint pink line remained to show where I had been bitten. My skin was smooth, unblemished, as if the attack had never happened.

It had only been a week since we got back to LA, three weeks since the attack. Yet, it had vanished. 

No scar, nothing. Just smooth skin.