Chapter 13:
Aldric drives me back to the clearing where we climb the trees back to the camp. We walk through the people each turn and glare at me as I go by. "What is wrong with everyone? They look like they want to kill me." I ask.
"People are skeptical of you. They think a human is worthless, and will only cause complications in the end."
I stay emotionless. "They can think what they want, but I don't see them volunteering for the job."
We continue through the unwavering glares, to the concrete building. He knocks on the door. Shae opens it, "Ah, this girl." She says and lets us in.
We walk down the long hallway. It is hard to remember which way was the door, they all look the same. It's all concrete. We stop at dead end with another door and Aldric turns to me, "Are you ready?"
I take a deep breath, "I guess so."
He opens the door; there is a stone table in the middle with straps to tie someone down. Aldric closes the door. "I can't say this isn't going to hurt. I'm sorry it has to be you." He says.
"I'm not." I whisper.
He walks up to me, close enough that I can feel the steady movement of his chest. He slowly pushes my hair back from neck, and bends his mouth down. I can feel his breath on my neck, and I lean my head over a little to give him room trying to speed him up. I expect to feel his teeth, but instead he kisses my neck. I'm confused at first, until he finally does bite me. The pain is so severe, I almost lose consciousness as I try to push away. He holds me until instead of feeling my blood being drained I feel warmth spreading through me, getting warmer and warmer. He pulls back, and I fall forward into his arms. He sinks to the ground, and holds me in his lap while I scream at him to make it stop. I keep trying to wipe whatever it is off of my neck thinking that will help. It feels like acid, it is spreading through my veins, burning every inch of my skin, colliding with my blood. I can't take the pain anymore, and thankfully everything blurs then goes completely black.
When I wake up, I'm still in Aldric lap. My neck is hurting, but I manage to look up at him. "Did it work?" I ask.
He shakes his head, "No, you still have a pulse. I can hear it."
I smile, "That's a good thing, right?"
He nods.
"Then why aren't you smiling?" I ask.
He sighs, "In the moment when I was about to? you know, I realized something."
"What is that?" I ask softly, cringing at the searing pain.
"I care about you. I don't know why, and I barely know you, but you remind me of my wife."
He won't look in my eyes. I don't really know what to say. I don't have feelings for him like that, at least not yet. He takes a deep breath, and stands up with me in his arms. "I need to get you to the doctor. She will patch that up for you. I will come get you when you are done, but I'm going to go talk to Bliss really quick. Okay?"
I try to nod, but it really hurts. "Okay." I cough.
He pushes through the door, and starts down the hallway. With every move he makes it seems to tear my neck open even more. The pain is still so horrible unconsciousness slowly takes me again.
This time I wake up on a soft bed. A woman is standing over me. "How long have I been out?" I ask.
She smiles, "A day. It's the eighth of August. You came in on the seventh." She motions to Aldric sitting with his head on the side of my bed, asleep. "He hasn't left your side." She whispers.
She quietly steps out of the room, and closes the door. "A whole day?" I whisper.
Aldric's head pops up, "Hey, you're awake?"
"I think so. Although, I'm not entirely sure."
He chuckles, "How are you feeling?"
I shrug, "Fine right now. Has my brother been here?"
He shakes his head, "No, I've been here, and Chris has been in and out."
"True brother, huh?" I say sarcastically.
"Yeah, well men aren't exactly the most caring type." He comments.
"You're not even related to me, but you never left."
"I'm a different kind of guy." He says grinning.
The door to the room opens, and Chris walks in. "Hey, she's awake."
"Yeah, I am." I sit up in my bed, "When can I get out of here?"
"Soon." Both of the boys say in unison, which seems to tick them both off, because they glare at each other.
"Okay, what's going on between you two?" I ask. Neither one of them say anything. I sigh angrily, "Do I need to leave, and let you two ladies have a heart to heart?"
They both chuckle, "No." Aldric says.
"Good, then chill out, because you guys are putting off some serious anger vibes."
The nurse comes in, "Okay, sign these papers, then you can go." She hands me a clipboard with release papers on it. I sign them, and sit on the edge of the bed. I look down at what I am wearing (ugly hospital gown), "What happened to my clothes?"
The nurse smiles, "Oh yeah. I'll go get them."
It gets eerily quiet when she leaves. No one says anything we just sit there in silence. The nurse comes back with my shorts and a freshly washed t-shirt. "Thanks." I say. She smiles, turns on her heels and walks out of the room. I look at the boys, "You know you have to leave, right?" I tell them. Both of their faces get incredibly red, and they both stand up mumbling their apologizes and walk out the door. I get dressed and open the door.
Aldric sighs, "Are you ready?"
I think about it a minute, "I don't know. I kind of regret saying yes last time." Chris laughs, but Aldric doesn't. I can see guilt written all over his face. "I'm sorry." I say.
He shakes his head, "I am too."
Chris looks at us both confused, "Okay, I'm feeling very left out right about now." When we ignore him he jumps up and down like a child, "Hey, third wheel is speaking!" Even Aldric chuckles, but I think it's more about Chris being left out.
We walk down the stairs to the first floor. "Is this your hospital, or ours? It looks very familiar." I say.
"It's the towns." Aldric answers. "They don't know about us, so they are very helpful."
"So, what bit me then?"
"Snake of course." Aldric grins.
Chris runs back to camp, and Aldric takes me home. When I get out of his car, I can't bring myself to look at my doorstep. I am afraid there might be someone else laying there. "Are you okay?" Aldric asks sensing my fear.
"Is there anyone on my doorstep?" I ask.
He doesn't answer for a minute, I look at him. He shakes his head, "No, there's no one there." I slowly turn to my door, and let out a sigh of relief. He is right. I walk up to the door, and unlock it. Jacob is sitting on my couch. "Hey, I was wondering when you were going to get here." He says.
"What are you doing here?" I ask.
"This is my house to remember?" He says defiantly.
He stands up and walks to Aldric. Jacob looks from him to me, "What have you guys been up to?"
"It's not your business. Don't you have a room at the camp?" I ask.
"I do, but it just doesn't feel like home." He says.
Aldric looks at me, "You want me to stay?"
Jacob answers for me, "No, she's good. We need to talk anyway."
Aldric looks at me, silently asking me again. "Stay." I whisper.
"No, he can't stay. Did you not just hear what I said?" Jacob commands.
Aldric looks at Jacob, "This is her house, Jacob. Not yours. If she wants me to stay, I will. And, you know if you even try to force me out, I can overpower you easily."
The tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife. "Fine." Jacob says and pushes through Aldric and me to the door. He stops and look back at me, "We're not done here." He warns and slams the door.
Aldric looks at me, "He's abusive. Someone will come to watch over you every night. He won't get to you, don't worry." I nod.
"I'm going to bed. You can sleep down here if you want, or where ever. It doesn't really matter." I say and start up the stairs. He follows and stands at my door until I'm in bed, then he sits in th
e chair across from me.
"I'll just stay here." He says.
I'm running, but I can't run fast enough. He's going to get me. I trip over something, and land face first on the ground. Jacob's face comes into view and he's laughing at me. "You shouldn't have worked up the guts to say no to me. You have no right." He pulls out a knife.
I sit up panting. Aldric is looking at me worried, and sits down on the edge of the bed. "You must have been dreaming. Who was going to get you?" He asks.
"Jacob." I whisper.
Aldric looks at me, "I won't let him." He says. I hug him, needing something to cling to like a child, and the longer I hold on the more I don't want to let go. I scoot over; he lies down beside me, and puts his arms around me. I fall asleep for once feeling completely safe.
When I wake up the next morning we haven't moved from that potion, and I still don't want to. He's already awake and staring at the window. I look at him, "Are you okay?" I ask.
"Never better." He says smiling.
"Did I dream anymore last night?"
He shakes his head, "Not after the one about your brother. How's your neck?"
"It hurts, but I've had worse pain."
We just lay there for at least another hour, until my phones rings. "And I will not bow, I will not break, I will shut the worlds away, and I am not proud cold-blooded fake, I will shut the world away."
"Ugh." I groan.
"Let it ring." Aldric pleads and tightens his arm around me.
"I can't." He sighs and lets me go. I crawl down to the bottom of my bed, and get my phone off the floor. The phone screen is highlighted "Jett". "Oh my God." I say.
"What?" Aldric asks, already by my side.
"It's Jett's number." I tell him.
"Let me answer it." He says. I hand my phone to him. He pushes the talk button, "Hello?" He listens for a moment then sighs, "No, Skylark she's not available right now. Can I take a message?"
Again another pause. "Ah, old friend, you know I won't allow that." He listens. "Yes, she does remind me of her." His jaw tenses. Whatever Skylark is saying its making him mad. "That wouldn't end well for you." Aldric warns and hangs up.
"What? What'd he say?" I ask urgently.
"He said you need to come visit him. Then he said you remind him of my ex-wife. Then he said that it would be horrible for me to have to watch him kill her twice." Aldric explains.
"That's horrible."
He shakes his head, "We need to get out of here."
I touch his arm, "How's that for ruining the moment?"
That gets a chuckle out of him. We get up and go out to his car, then headed towards the camp.