Ice Cold

Chapter Sixteen

          Hayden seemed to have calmed down some since Connor had left. I explained to him that I could still make decisions for myself despite what he thought was best for me and my protection. Hayden agreed but still strongly disagreed with letting Connor mark me. He said that being marked is special between a human and a vampire and it should be saved for someone special.

          I'd told him that I wasn't even sure how I felt for Connor. I wasn't even thinking about getting marked at the moment. When I said that it seemed to calm Hayden down the most. During all the struggle between Hayden and Connor I'd forgotten about my hand.

          I looked down at my palm to see that I had reopened the wound and blood was pooling in my hand again. There was blood on the floor and practically covering my hand in blood. I wondered how Connor hadn't smelled it, my guess was that when a vampire was mad you could get almost anything past them. Now that I thought about it, you could get anything past a vampire if they had any strong emotion going on.

          I looked up at Hayden who was following where I was looking and then he cringed. I could have sworn I'd seen fear cross his face. "I guess I reopened it," I said.

          "Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Hayden said, practically snatching me, with my good hand, into the bathroom across the hall.

          Hayden quickly wet a washcloth and pressed it against the pool of blood. He then started shaking, looking away from me. "Hayden? Are you okay?" I asked.

          "Get me out of here," Hayden said quietly, suddenly falling to his knees.

          I bent down to help him and then he cried out. I could see from the look on his face that he was in agonizing and excruciating pain. "Get... out," he said between breaths.

          "I'm not leaving you like this," I said, not caring that I was getting blood everywhere now as I tried to help him.

          "Get out of here!" Hayden managed to yell before he doubled over in pain again.

          "Hayden, what's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

          Hayden was now bent over on his knees holding his stomach with one arm and head in the other. "Please... get...out," Hayden asked in a pleading voice. "I don't want to hurt you," he managed to say.

          "You're the one that's hurting," I said and paused, "what can I do to help you?" I asked.

          "Leave!" He shouted with all his might but I refused. I couldn't let someone I was so close to keep hurting like this. My mom and dad had already left for work so it was just Hayden and I.

          Hayden was now panting, trying to catch his breath. I had a hand on his back, comforting him. Hayden bent farther over, gripping his hair in both hands. I heard what sounded like a whimper and then Hayden was silent for a few moments.

          "Hayden?" I asked, pulling at his shoulder so that he would face me.

          Hayden wouldn't budge, instead he stood up. I stood up along with him as I took in his disheveled hair that curled around his ears and was starting to slightly curl in the back. "Hayden?" I asked again, more sternly.

          Hayden suddenly spun around, grabbing me by the shoulders, and slammed me up against the wall behind me, pinning me. I was shocked by the speed he had that I hadn't noticed the glowing, blood lusting red eyes and pointed fangs until I looked up at him. I put a hand over my mouth as the fact that Hayden was a vampire slowly sunk in.

          Hayden's black hair fell into his crimson eyes as he stared at me. He slowly reached up and grabbed the hand that covered my mouth. I noticed that it was the injured one and I almost burst into tears when I felt Hayden lick the blood from my wound. When the blood was gone he pushed me harder into the wall and his eyes trained on my neck.

          I looked back up at him then. I pathetically pushed at his chest with my uninjured hand and tried to squirm out of his grasp. "Hayden, please," I said, a tear falling down my cheek. Hayden's head lowered to my neck and I felt his fangs graze my skin.

          I felt a couple other tears fall down my face then as memories started going through my brain of the best friend I always had that was always there for me. "Hayden, don't do this," I said louder. He ignored me though and sunk his fangs in. I grimaced and stifled a scream. Then I saw memories of Hayden comforting me all those times while we were growing up. I saw memories of Hayden always protecting me.

          I would have never thought the person I was the closest to could be a vampire and could have kept it from me for all these years. I started feeling lightheaded and I pounded against Hayden's chest. I also would have never guessed that the person I was the closest to my whole life could hurt me the way he was right now.

          "Hayden, you're hurting me," I whispered into his ear.

          A few seconds later he withdrew his fangs and shot back from me. I clung to the wall since it was the only thing keeping me up. Hayden brushed a hand over his mouth and then looked at me with the most heartbreaking and regretful look I'd ever seen.

          I took a step forward to comfort him and tell him it was okay but I fell. Hayden instantly shot across the floor and caught me, bringing me back up to stand beside him. "I'm sorry, Lex, I'm so sorry," he said, emotion flooding his voice and clear on his face.

          "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked as I clung to him.

          He hugged me close, "it was to protect you and I didn't want you to look at me like the sick, blood lusting monster I am," Hayden said.

          I looked up at him, "you're still the same Hayden I knew when I was little, just with a few enhancements," I said, hugging him back.

          I knew if I let go he would catch me but clinging to him was the only thing keeping me consciousness. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to hurt you, I've been trying for so long to resist the temptation of your blood and now I've done worse than hurt you. I've put you in even more danger, I've marked you," Hayden said in a worried, haunted voice.

         "Don't─," I started and then found it hard to talk, "─don't worry," I said and then I faded from consciousness.