My Midnight Love

Chapter seven

I didn't say anything in the car, I just sat there, leaning against Aelfric and thanking who ever it was that had been watching over us that we were alive. The only sound was the humming of the cars engine.

We had been discharged that morning after both spending a night on a ward. I had a mild MTBI according to the doctors, Joel said that meant I had a mild concussion. That with a side order of bruised ribs and a fractured wrist to top it all off.

Aelfric had a concussion too, he was bruised and battered as I was, but we were fine. We were leaving it all behind, just for a short while.

We were sat in the back seat of a rusted out old banger, in the drivers seat sat a true Viking. A light elf who had secretly made the change around eight years ago. Rafe, was huge, broad shouldered, massively muscled with shoulder length blonde hair. I hadn't had time to see what colour his eyes were before Aelfric bundled me into the back seat.

He was being more protective then usual and quieter too. I had a nagging feeling that there was something more that he wasn't telling me.

Sighing, I pulled my cardigan tighter about my self and curled closer into his side. His arm tightened around me reflexively and he pressed his face into my hair.

“How are you?” He whispered.

I was aches, confused, upset, angry. So many things, so I lied. “I'm fine.” That was probably the most commonly used white lie on the planet.

He knew me to well to fall for it and held me at arms length so he could see my face. “I'm sorry, so sorry.”

I opened my mouth to tell him he was wrong, it wasn't his fault. But Rafe beat me to the punch.

“It's not your fault that she is hurt.”

“Rafe, you know nothing of this.” Aelfric snapped.

I slapped his shoulder. “He's right, Aelfric.”

“No this is my fault, I should have been paying attention.”

“Even if you had, no one could ever have seen that coming, if you hadn't swerved it would have come straight thought the wind shield.”I reasoned.

He slumped back seeming to give up and snuggled into him once again. I rested my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, feeling his chest move up and down, revelling in the warmth radiating from him. My eyes closed of there own accord, contented.

“An Elf would of.”

I froze, my eyes flashing open. “What?”

“Aelfric! Don't say something you'll regret.” Rafe warned.

“No I want to know what you meant.” I demanded pulling away from him. My blood was running cold, my harsh breathing making my bruised ribs ache.

“Never mind.” Aelfric sighed and opened his arms for me to curl back into him. Yet more secrecy, great.

I realised I was beginning to sound insecure and whiny, in my head at least. But I knew there was something wrong. More then one thing, and he wouldn't tell me what. He resented being human, I saw that much.

I shot him a hurt look and sat back into my seat refusing to look at him. I watched out of the window instead. There was a tiny beetle on the other side of the glass, only a few years ago I would have been vindictive enough to roll down the window and flick it off.

I looked past that, to the hedges rolling by, and the fields behind them, the moss covered stone walls, the savaged landscape. It was all so beautiful and so depressing at the same time. The sky was looming, threatening rain.