Merely Human

Chapter 22

    The first thing I was fully conscious of was a beeping noise and the feel of a slight pressure on my finger. I shifted uncomfortably and opened my eyes to look down. A little clip was attached to my finger and I reached my other hand to take it off, only to be stopped mid-motion.

"No Andy, you need to leave that on."

I jerked my head to look at the source of the voice and immediately broke into a smile when I saw the familiar face.

"Caden!" I said happily. And then his words sunk into my brain and I began to pout. "But it's annoying!"

"I know you're really drugged up right now, but listen to me okay? Leave it on."

"Fine." I said sulkily, settling back against my pillows, crossing my arms, and turning away from him.

It took me a few minutes of sitting there before I began to realize it. At first I attempted to twitch my toe, and then my foot. It wasn't until I realized I couldn't move my entire leg that I really began panicking, something Caden was alerted to both by the sound of the heart rate monitor speeding up as well as our connection.

"Andy?" He asked in a scared voice.

"Why can't I move my legs!" I demanded, my vision blurring with tears and my words getting almost to a scream. I attempted to struggle my way out of the bed but a combination of the drugs and my own lack of mobility made it difficult.

Caden reached over to hold me and I felt a warm sense of comfort and calm wash over me suddenly, clearly originating from Caden. My movements started to slow and my tears stopped flowing as he muttered comforting words to me over and over again.

"I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry. Everything's going to be okay."

"The wolf." I muttered to myself as I began to remember. "Caden, what's happening?"

Caden pulled away to look me in the eye. He brushed his thumb against my cheek as his eyes grew watery from tears held back.

"I'm so sorry." He said again. "They did everything they could, Andrés was there with them during the surgery. Your spinal cord was damaged by the attack and riding back on Ben took a huge toll on you. I almost-" his voice broke and a few tears escaped, cascading down his cheek. "I almost lost you, Andy."

That did it. I was completely sober with tears running down my own face.

"I almost lost you." He repeated again, this time his voice coming out as a sob and he gently leaned down to hug me again.

I sniffled pathetically as I nuzzled myself against his neck, breathing in his comforting scent.

"I love you so much." He whispered to me.

For some reason, I wasn't freaked out at all hearing him say that for the first time. I didn't speak, but instead tried to pour the love I felt for him into our connection. We held each other for some time before finally breaking apart.

"Did Tobias make it to you then?"

"Tobias?" Caden sounded shocked I knew the name, answering my question for me. "How do you know about Tobias?"

I hesitated, looking around our surroundings.

"What hospital are we in?"

He seemed confused by my question, but answered anyway. "The one close to the school."

I sighed, glad we weren't anywhere near his hometown or his father. "Good, I need to tell you something. Tobias is the new werewolf you guys were sensing, it wasn't the Marco Anderson guy. They only used his name as a cover since none of you knew him."