11: Wounded

Olivia woke slowly, her head groggy and her back sore. She had slept in a chair by Maribelle's bed. She looked at her sister, sleeping peacefully in her bed, and sighed in relief. She was ok. Olivia looked closely at Maribelle's head and noticed there was a sheen of sweat at her hairline. She leaned forward and put her hand on Maribelle's forehead. Her sister was burning up.

She sat up quickly and pain shot through her abdomen and groin. She winced as the memories of last night flooded through her mind. Tears welled in her eyes and despair spread through her chest as images of Simon pressing her down flashed through her memory. She cringed and pushed the images away. She wasn't equipped to deal with the emotions that wanted to spill forth. She pushed it down, she pushed the memories away and the pain away. She pretended she had a particularly tough ride on her horse the day before and allowed her mind to block the rest of the images. If she told herself the lie long enough,