Chosen

Chapter Forty-Six: Athena

I paced the hallway outside of Scarlett's door. The look on her face...it was like she thought I hated her. I didn't know why she would think that, but then again...

I couldn't take it anymore. I had to go in there and fix things with her. I pushed the door open quickly and began to speak. Then I looked up.

What I saw almost killed me.

Scarlett was looking down at her chest, which had a dark blade in it, and her hand was on it, like she was the one who stabbed it in there. Bright red blood stained her white shirt and dripped to the floor. She looked both horrorstruck and fascinated. Then she let go of the knife, and the black blade clattered to the floor. The blood poured down more freely now. It was all over her hands. Then she looked up, and she smiled sadly.

"I did this for you," she whispered.

I ran over to her and put my arms around her, but I hit her too hard and she collapsed to the ground. Her blood was all over my dress now, but I didn't care. her eyes were closing now, and her breath was slowing.

I realized that this was a fatal wound and she probably wouldn't be able to heal herself without help, and I surely couldn't heal her with my magic.

That's when I had an idea. She was weaker than usual since she hadn't had human blood in a while, if at all. If I could provide her with some...

I sat up and crawled over to the knife, then crawled back over to Scarlett. I cut my wrist open and stuck the bleeding wound above her mouth, letting the dark blood drip into her mouth. She didn't move, didn't swallow, and that was when I realized that I wasn't exactly human. I hoped I was human enough.

I realized I was crying, and I was screaming for help. Julian burst into the room, his hair messy and clothes wrinkled. He looked at me, then at Scarlett, his face pale and his eyes worried.

“What’s going on, Athena? What are you doing?”

“Julian, she stabbed herself. She stabbed herself!” I screamed.

“Why would she-”

“Before she passed out, she looked at me, and said ‘I did this for you’.”

“Oh, Athena-”

“Shut up and help me!” I shouted. I was still crying. “I’m not human. My blood won’t work. I need your blood.”

“She doesn’t even look like she’s-”

“Alive? She’s a vampire, Julian. Besides, as long as we do it soon enough…”

“Okay. How do I do this?”

“Give me your wrist. I will cut it open like I did mine, and you will put it over her mouth. I will try to heal her cut as you do it.”

“She won’t Turn me, will she?” Julian asked.

“Julian!” I shouted. “Does her life really depend on whether she will Turn you or not?” I sighed. “No, I do not think that she will turn you.”

Julian gave me his wrist reluctantly, and I cut a shallow wound, then guided his hand above Scarlett’s mouth and twisted it so that it was dripping into her mouth, like I had done. Then I went to the other side of her and put my hands gently on the bleeding wound on her chest. I reached into my mind for the most magic that I could grab and released it, willing it to heal her cut and bring her back to the half-living state she had been in before. I closed my eyes as the magic and energy left me and went into Scarlett’s body.

My energy was sapping quickly as I released my magic. It was very difficult to break the connection, and if I didn't soon I would pass out, or possibly even die. I tried to break the connection in vain. My vision was darkening and I could see bright spots of color floating around. My head was starting to spin. I cried out right before I passed out.

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When I woke up, I was under a warm blanket in bed next to someone. My limbs and eyelids were heavy, too heavy to move or lift. My head was still fuzzy, and I couldn't think clearly. I didn't know where I was, or who I was with, or why I was asleep...

All I could remember was the blood. All of the bright red, sticky blood.

I tried as hard as I could to remember what had happened. Why was there so much blood? Who was I with? Why was I so tired?

And then it all came rushing to me in an overwhelming wave. The knife, the blood, all of the blood, and Scarlett's near death. Possible, probable death. That's when I sat up straight.

I looked beside me. It was Scarlett, and she was breathing. Her face was peaceful, like she was sleeping. She was sleeping. She was alive. I almost sighed in relief. She was alive.

"Julian!" I yelled, but my voice only came out as a quiet croak. Luckily Julian was right beside me, sitting on a chair. His eyes were closed, but they snapped open.

"You're awake," he said. He sounded relieved.

"Yeah, I'm awake," I croaked. "How long-?"

"Three days. Scarlett hasn't woken up, but she drank my blood soon after you passed out. Anyway, you haven't eaten anything except for the liquid of some stew I managed to make you swallow. Come on."

I slowly climbed out of the bed reluctantly. The air in the room was cold. I shivered as I followed him down the stairs.

"What about Scarlett? Shouldn't someone be in there when she wakes up?"

"I'm sure she'll be fine for a few minutes.Come on, let's go eat."

"Fine," I said, and sat down.

Julian set a bowl of warm soup down and handed me a spoon. I ate it quickly, and when I was finished, I pushed the bowl away and ran back up the stairs. I wanted to be there when Scarlett woke up.

Only, it seemed to be too late for that, I realized as I opened the door to the room we were in. Scarlett was sitting up on the bed, facing the wall. She was very still, except for a slight twitch when the door opened. Then she turned around, and I saw that she was crying. Her fists were clenched. 

“Where’s the knife?” she asked so quietly. 

“The - Scarlett-”

“I need the knife. You don’t understand. I need to die. I need to be dead. And I need to be the one to do it. Can’t you see? I’m only a danger. I’m a disgusting creature. You don’t really love me. You hate me. You’re disgusted by me. I need to go, or people are going to die.” 

“Scarlett, why-?”

“My mom showed me. She told me all about what happened, and why I need to die. She’s going to kill Rosalie if I don’t die.”