Read Online Give Me Hope by Zoey Derrick - Free Book Online Page B

head to that of Rebecca Black and the video I watched this morning, but before it gets too involved, that sense of fullness associated with Seraphina comes over me and I hear her voice, singing the same gentle melody as before.  
    Thank stars. It took you long enough.
    “Now, now, young angel. I was giving you a chance to rectify the situation yourself, which you had obviously started to do so well. Not the images I would have chosen to use to calm myself, but it worked nonetheless. Now to settle those wings of yours.”
    My head flies up and my eyes open. After I removed my shirt, I became more interested in calming my erection than the possibility that my wings were coming out. I lean forward slightly so that I can see over my shoulders, and I can instantly see what she’s talking about. Coming from my back are the white tips of feathered wings. My eyes widen in shock as I watch them slowly retreat. Once my back becomes flat again, I feel a light clicking within my body. A lockdown on my back.  
    Thank you again.  
    “In due time you will learn to manage this yourself. I’m rather impressed that you were able to stop the full spread from happening. Though I would imagine the time is coming where we need to work on letting them out and locking them down, provided you want to stay where you are.”  
    “What is that supposed to mean?”
    “You will need to learn to control your emotions, not allow your inner angel to get the best of you. If you don’t, you will expose yourself to the world and to the demonic ones who surround you. One thing to remember is that instances of heightened emotion – whether it is happiness, sadness, or carnal desire – will cause your body to react differently.” I watch in the mirror as my eyes flash to black and back to their normal greenish-blue again.  
    “Relax, young angel. They cannot harm you unless you expose yourself to them.”
    Knowing that certain highly emotional situations could bring about this kind of reaction will help me better understand what can trigger an unexpected response. Knowing this will help me be more conscious of my reactions.
    The thrum in my back flares and settles just as fast.  
    “Your doctor friend is coming,” Seraphina adds, and she quickly retreats.  
    I take a big, long breath and reach for my shirt.

Twenty-Four
    I step out of the bathroom to find Dr. Alston and Amanda looking over Vivienne.  
    “Hi,” I say and try to smile as Dr. Alston looks up.  
    “Hey, Mikah. We’re just checking her vitals and making some notes. Amanda tells me that Vivienne is responding to your touch?”
    I blush. “My voice too, I think.”  
    Amanda lets out a snort. My head turns in her direction and then follows her line of sight to the monitor.  
    “I’ll say.” Amanda retorts. “That is by far the strangest thing I’ve ever seen. What makes it even stranger is that you hardly know this girl and vice versa, and she has this completely subconscious reaction to your presence. But it also means that things are not as damaged up there as we first thought.”  
    “What does that mean?” I ask.  
    “It means that we could probably bring her out of the coma right now and yield a pretty positive result.” Dr. Alston says very matter of fact.
    “So why don’t you?”  
    She smiles back at me. “Well, two reasons. One, the coma is keeping her in one place and allowing her shoulder, lung, ribs and wrist to heal better. And two, I think we should wait at least another twelve hours, run a CT and make sure that we’re not jumping the gun on the swelling.”
    “Alright,” I say. I heard what she said, but I’m not sure it is registering properly. I want Vivienne to wake up sooner rather than later, but it really needs to be on her terms. But I also feel a little relieved that, with any luck, she will be awake sometime tomorrow. “What else can I do for her?”  
    “Well, nothing really. Sit here and talk to her. Or go home and get some