{"id":2806,"date":"2016-03-25T00:00:56","date_gmt":"2016-03-25T04:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2806"},"modified":"2016-03-24T23:01:24","modified_gmt":"2016-03-25T03:01:24","slug":"twenty-eight-01-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/?p=2806","title":{"rendered":"Twenty-eight – 01"},"content":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Marin’s point of view.]<\/em><\/p>\n

Matt\u2019s gone.<\/em><\/p>\n

If Thom hadn\u2019t been there, if he hadn\u2019t been the one to find out, to tell me, I\u2019m not sure what I would have done, what might have happened. As it was, it was hard to breathe as we walked back toward the tents to break the news to everyone else.<\/p>\n

In hindsight, I know that I was in some kind of state of shock in those first few moments, barely able to function or to even recognize where I was, what was happening. I was barely aware of anything beyond a single, solitary thought.<\/p>\n

Matt\u2019s gone. My brother\u2019s gone.<\/em><\/p>\n

Then, a second, traitorous thought crept in: What if you never get him back?<\/em><\/p>\n

I held onto Thom a little tighter. He pressed a kiss to the side of my head, his nose buried in my hair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll find him,\u201d he murmured in my ear. \u201cYou know that, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if we don\u2019t?\u201d I asked in a whisper. \u201cThom, what if we don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n

He promised me he\u2019d be here. He promised.<\/em><\/p>\n

Dammit.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t do this,\u201d I whispered. \u201cThom, I can\u2019t do this. I can\u2019t face them. I just can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t handle this. I can\u2019t be strong anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n

My brother\u2019s gone and that bitch took him.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thom paused, then glanced at Phelan and Cameron. \u201cCan you guys handle it?\u201d he asked quietly as he wrapped both arms around me and pulled me close again. I huddled in his arms, barely containing my shaking, my sobs.<\/p>\n

The Hecate has my brother.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Cameron said, answering for both of them. \u201cYeah, we\u2019ll handle it. You should go lie down, Mar. You don\u2019t look so good.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t feel<\/em> so good, but I suppose that went without saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s right,\u201d Thom said softly even as Cameron and Phelan moved off, heading for the fire. \u201cLet\u2019s get you into bed, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThom, what am I going to do?\u201d I asked. \u201cWhat am I going to do if we don\u2019t get him back?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to get him back. Don\u2019t doubt that for a second, Mar. Matt\u2019s coming home. I promise you, he\u2019s coming home\u2014before our son is born. I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

I pressed my face against his shoulder, choking on my sobs. He kissed my temple and just stood there, holding me as I swayed on my feet, light-headed and sick to my stomach.<\/p>\n

My brother was gone and I had no idea how to find him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[This post is from Marin’s point of view.] Matt\u2019s gone. If Thom hadn\u2019t been there, if he hadn\u2019t been the one to find out, to tell me, I\u2019m not sure what I would have done, what might have happened. As … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,199,14],"tags":[150,161,171,170,152,149,173,148,168,147,165,158,146],"class_list":["post-2806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-5","category-chapter-28-book-5","category-story","tag-awakenings","tag-cameron-mackenzie","tag-fantasy","tag-fiction","tag-marin-astoris","tag-original-fiction","tag-phelan-ocredne","tag-post-apocalyptic","tag-serial","tag-serial-fiction","tag-story","tag-thom-ambrose","tag-web-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1EBlN-Jg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2807,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2806\/revisions\/2807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/awakenings.embklitzke.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}