Frozen Tears

Chapter Twenty-Two

"So... you and Drake huh?" I attempt to lighten the mood but Lily sends me a deadly glare that makes me shut up. I'm currently lying in the luxurious king bed, while Lily finishes to display rows and rows of medical stuff that I don't understand or have ever seen before.

She rummages through the various products and silver sharp tools scattered around on the nightstand until she finds a glass flask and something that looks like those things the doctors use to make ultrasounds. She pops the lid open and spreads the gel-like substance on my forehead, making me grit my teeth at the coolness from her touch. She doesn't give me any time to react or ask any questions as she sighs and places the instrument on the same spot as the gel and closes her eyes. 

It's been ten minutes since Jay left the bedroom in a completely livid fit, fists clenched and eyes glowing red at his big sister's sharp dismissal. With him went the little, warm glow of comfort that managed to reassure me in Lily's cold and collected presence, and the air now feels like a million ice cubes have been stuck to my body in a frozen chaos. 

"Yes... Drake and I are soulmates." Lily then whispers. Her eyes are still closed but her interest seems to peek somewhere else in her own head. I take this as my opportunity as my curiosity grows.

-But he already had a soulmate." I throw in a small voice, prepared to receive her wrath. She doesn't seem to give much of a reaction though. Instead she seems to stiffen but gets over it quicker than it came. 

"I was surprised myself when he told me." She says with a cool tone, "Only vampires in rare cases have ever had a beloved twice, but that was decades ago, and no other has ever had the same fate. You may understand his surprise when he saw me and we felt the bond."

-When did you meet?

-A week ago. Hunter called for me and I've been staying here in secret ever since." Silence darkens the mood again and I nearly jump back in shock as her voice reasonates into my ears again. "Jay loves you, you know..." I chose to ignore her and straighten up my posture, attempting to change the subject. But inside I'm melting under her words, knowing full well that she's right. And what's more scary is the feelings that I'm starting to develop as well. 

"What are you doing?" I say with more enthusiasm than I had intended, and in my ears it sounds more than fake. Lily sighs and opens her sparkling eyes, turning them back to me. 

"I'm a Visioner." She explains. "There are only a few vampires with these powers and therefor we are extremely important to maintain alive. This gift seems to come with some benefits." She shrugs at the questioning look that I send her and goes on, "Basically, we can detect images, sounds, movements inside of other people's bodies and that way we sense if something is wrong. We do the same things as x-rays, you could say, and thereby we are equal to doctors in the human world."

I nod, attempting to take in all of the information my brain just processed. Suddenly, a stab of pain slices through my head and I take it in my hands, letting out a yelp. 

"I can feel something." She says sharply, suddenly back in her professional and calm stance. "Don't move." 

-It's hard not to." I manage to let out before my body begins to shake violently and I have to bite my lip to restrain the upcoming cry. 

-When you tried to read the man's mind, you lost control and was taken into his figure far too much. Your soul replaced his, and he was forced to vanish, because you were probably taking up all of the place in his body. When his soul left the body, it didn't have any protection from the outside world, and immediately melted." A long silence falls over us and I try not to vomit at the thought of his torn-up body. 

"Something's wrong..." She declares and I shut my eyes, hoping that the pain will just go away. I've never wanted my sister or even Jay as much as I do in this moment. "Your mind seems...broken. It's hard to explain."

-Broken?" I repeat, slightly dazed, feeling the consciousness slipping away from my reach. I blink as dark splotches form in front of my eyes in chaotic jumbles of mess.

-Hunter's told me that you've been fainting a lot recently, so this is probably why." She continues, completely ignoring the stabbing agony sifting through me. I restrain the urge to punch her, but in my current condition that would be impossible anyway. 

"Could you care to- to explain this?" I groan, and curl myself tightly into a ball. 

-Your mind seems to have dislocated after your first session, with Hunter. But now that you've done all of that possessing stuff, it's really damaged. I can't do anything about it, you just have to rest. But seriously Emma, don't even move. If something happens to you, violently, you'll most likely lose conscious... and you won't wake up." 

"What was that?" A deep and threatening voice sounds. My head snaps up at the sound of Jay's voice but I quickly realise that it was a big mistake. My back arches up and my body twists as I squirm in pain, like razor blades are cutting through my body. "What's going on?" He insists, more powerfully than before and with some urgency to his tone. Suddenly I can feel his presence beside me by the bed and he grabs my hands. My nails claw into his cold skin and I grip onto it as if I'm going to slip away if I don't. 

"Her soul is fighting her mind." Lily yells back, slightly more stressed than before. "I told her not to move!

-Do something!

-Calm down. She can't be surrounded by a guy who's being even more hysterical than herself. She needs space.

-She doesn't need any fucking space! She needs me." A pair of cold but comforting hands cup my own but I'm to zoned out to feel any reassurance. I exhale and inhale, feeling a stabbing force every time the air forces its way down to my lungs. 

"Has she even accepted you yet?" Lily's voice rings in my ears and the room suddenly falls silent. Between crinkled eyes, I manage to see strips of Jay's eyes turning darker and darker as he tries to control his anger. They flash red. I can see him battling within himself but surely he wouldn't attack his own sister?

"Don't ever speak of a subject that you don't understand. I'm giving her time." He replies coldly.

-Time?" Lily presses further but I'm trying too hard to battle the excruciating agony to make out his response. 

"I can feel something. Her mind is giving space." And surely enough, Lily's Visioner powers seem to have gotten it right. I can feel my breathing slowly returning to its steady pace and the soreness in my head begins to fade. My heart beat slows down to a steady rhythm and I let out a long and heavy sigh of relief between closed eyes. I'm too afraid to open them. 

"What does that mean?" Jay asks, relief clear in his voice. He's forgotten all about Lily's prodding into the dreaded subject of our bond because of my sudden recovery. His hands are still gripping mine and I find comfort in his touch. Even though I'm telling myself that I don't feel anything for him, I'm constantly lying to myself, and the bond getting stronger is a complete reminder of that. 

"If her mind were to give up the space completely in her body, her soul will have nothing to control it and it will simply fade. Because of her powers, the process may be less painful, or more... I can't be sure. 

-But that won't happen." Jay says back, urgently. 

-You can't be sure of that Jay. I'm just saying that -

-Go." He cuts her off and she takes in a deep frustrated breath, turns on her heels, and disappears out of the room in a second. I can hear Jay take a heavy breath to steady himself and then a light finger is brushing away strands of blond hair that's fallen into my eyes. "Emma? Em... Don't worry, you'll be fine." His melodic voice is the only thing keeping me sane and conscious, but I can feel the darkness approaching dramatically fast, giving me no time to rethink the risk of losing awareness before I drift into the hole within myself, his words fading away. 

...°...

It's officially winter holidays! Don't be surprised if the uploads take longer time coming up, but I'm going on vacation and the laptop might not come with me :-(

Being positive... I hope you enjoyed this chappy and happy holidays!

-Sophia, xoxo