Possessed Soul

Chapter 34

"Ask someone else." I didn't want to tell him I was having trouble sorting through all the events of yesterday. Kaden or even Aaron would probably do a better job of explaining. "Where's Emma?" I enquired.

"With Holden, in the bedroom next to yours and Kaden," Flynn replied. He didn't know about the pregnancy, I realised. If he did he wouldn't be referring to me and Kaden as a couple.

"Thanks," I said, and turning around, I began to walk away. Going to speak to Emma was the only thing I could do. I just needed to make sure she was okay. I knew that she'd be mad at me, I couldn't expect anything else. I just wanted to see how she was; if the fainting had affected her in any way.

"Sage?" Flynn called me back. "What happened to your neck?" I still hadn't changed the bandage. It was wet and sticky; and only when Flynn mentioned it, did I notice that it was very uncomfortable.

"Nothing," I fibbed. It wasn't worth telling him, especially since it wasn't painful anymore.

"Doesn't look like nothing," he replied. He took a step toward me and reached out as if he was going to touch me. I took a step back, not wanting him to get infected by my blood as well.

"I'm surprised Kaden's letting you walk around with a bandage that's soaked in blood," he pointed out. There was a slight tinge of humour in his voice, but not enough to make it seem like he was relaxed.

"He told me to change it," I explained, not entirely sure why I was defending Kaden.

"And you didn't listen?"

"I forgot," I stated. "But I will do it now," I assured him.

He nodded his head and smiled weakly at me, and I immediately found myself smiling back. It wasn't a happy smile, more like a smile that said there was not much else to do. The smile was mostly for Flynn's benefit, because he was the most worried out of all of us. I felt bad for him, since he still had not been brought into the loop yet. I hoped either Kaden or Aaron would tell him what had happened soon, he deserved to know.

***

Before I went to see Emma, I went into the kitchen. To my surprise I saw that all the blood had been cleaned up and the place stank heavily of bleach. I had been to hospitals enough times to know that the kitchen now smelt like a hospital The smell assaulted my nostrils and made me want to gag, as the memory of being rushed to the emergency room crept into my mind.

The first aid kit had been placed carefully on the granite counter. I opened it and the slippery lid slid out of my hands and fell onto the floor, making a loud bang. I didn't bother picking the lid up. I just took the roll of bandage out of the box and used the surgical scissor to cut a decent length of bandage off. I ripped the old bandage off and discarded it in the bin. I used the shiny granite counter as a mirror and I titled my head to the side, to see my neck. I was just about to put the fresh bandage on, when I realised that my wound was no longer open. It looked like the skin had somehow managed to knit itself back together overnight. There was a pink line that stretched over where the wound had been, but other than that I was completely healed. How was this possible? I wasn't a doctor, but I knew enough to know that this wasn't normal. I decided not to ponder on this and to count my blessings instead, since it seemed like I was able to heal faster than any other living person.

"I'm happy to see that you're listening to me for once." I jumped as Kaden strolled in. He was so light on his feet. That was something else that wasn't normal, not for a guy of his physique. He was wearing a button-up white shirt, paired with dark blue jeans, and his hands were in his pockets as he took me in.

"Did you clean all the blood?" I questioned, gesturing towards the floor that had been covered in a thick layer of my blood.'

He nodded. "But don't worry, I wore gloves and I also managed to carry Emma to the bedroom, and haul Holden's heavy body up a flight of stairs." He took a step closer to me and his face twisted into a confused expression. "Your wound?"

"It's not a wound anymore," I corrected him. "It's already healed."

"But how?" he asked, with knitted eyebrows and a mouth that was slightly gaping open.

"I don't know," I replied. "By the way, where's Gina?"

"I have no idea," Kaden shrugged. "Nor do I care about her, I only care about you."

"Wow, you really know how to chat a girl up." I rolled my eyes dramatically.

"One of my best traits," he stated, wrapping a hand around my waist. "It's what made you fall for me." I wasn't going to deny it; he wouldn't believe me anyway.

"I need to go." I squirmed out from under his arm.

"Where?" He didn't try to hide the worry in his voice.

"To speak to Emma," I replied.

"Oh." He let out a relieved breath. "I thought you meant that you were going away from me."

I am going away from you. I didn't dare say what I was thinking out loud. I had no doubt that if he knew I was planning on leaving and never coming back, he would lock me up somewhere and throw the key away. Before he could say anything more, I quickly rushed out of the kitchen.

***

Emma was kneeling by Holden's bed, her hands clasped in front of her face as if she was deep in prayer. She was muttering under breath, and only when I went closer was I able to make out her words, "I love you." She was repeating these three words over and over again in a sort of mantra. "I love you."

"Hey," I came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, but some strands were plastered to her neck and the rest looked tangled. Her face was red, but not in an attractive way, it was blotchy and not all how I remembered her looking.

"Hey," she greeted. Her voice was flat and deflated. To be honest I was expecting her to flat out ignore me. I thought she still hated me.

"You're not still mad at me for what I said back at the Warehouse?" I sat down next to her, looking at Holden's ashen face. It was easy to believe he was dead, but the subtle rise and fall of his chest signalled that he was still breathing.

She shrugged. "There's no point anymore," she replied. "I'm over it now. But I do have a question for you," she said and then paused, waiting for me to give her the go-ahead.

I nodded my head and sucked in a deep breath, knowing this was going to be about what had happened last night.

"How is it that Holden and I both fainted? And why did I wake up before him? Sorry, that was two questions."

"I'm not sure," I said, in response to her second question, but I tried to make it sound like I was responding to both her questions at the same time.

"I'd gladly give up my life for him." I could see that her body was shaking with nerves, and she was exhausted. "Do you think we should take him to the hospital?" She was breathing heavily, and her face was stained with tears. She didn't wait for me to respond; she just carried on talking like she didn't care what I thought, and asking the question was just a formality. "He's already been through so much," she said, burying her head in her hands. It almost seemed like she had forgotten that I was there and she was talking to herself. "His sister Alicia, and girlfriend Sabrina, both died in a freak accident ; they were driving home together. They were all he had. He tried to commit suicide after they died, but Flynn saved him and brought him to the Warehouse." Now I was certain she wasn't talking to me. Why would she tell me all of these things? She was probably too out of it to realise that she was telling me all of Holden's secrets. "I fell in love with him the second that I saw him," she continued. "You can imagine my surprise when he took no interest in me. I'm not used to boys ignoring me." She didn't say this in a self-centred way; she said it like it was a simple statement of fact. "Maybe the fact that it took me a year to get his attention is what made him so alluring," she finished, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Maybe." I wasn't sure what else to say. I was glad Emma and Holden's love story didn't seem like it was dying out; it was blossoming. It made me wish that what Kaden and I had was worth fighting for.