After a few days of observation, Dr. Daniels discharged me home. I wasn't in danger of relapsing. Mom brought me clothes to change into and even helped me do my hair. Dad handled the paperwork.
And yet, as I sat there, waiting, I couldn't help but feel anxious. It wrapped around my chest, weighing it. The last time I was in a car, I'd been kidnapped.
"Ready, sweetheart?" Mom asked.
"We-we'll go together, right?" I asked.
"Of course," she said. "Your dad will call me when he's up front. Oh, that reminds me, Lisa called. She's been asking about you for a while now."
"She didn't believe the car crash story?" I asked.
My mom had brought me up to speed on our cover story. We added a car crash to the list of excuses. Thanks to Noah , it hadn't made it into the news. Other than the Royal family and my own, no one else knew what had really happened.
"She did," Mom said. "She's been keeping Brissa and the others updated on your health too."
"That's nice of her," I muttered.
Lisa probably knew the truth. Knowing her, she might have done to Alexander and asked about me. He would have probably told her the truth.
Mom's cell rang.
"It's your dad," she told me before answering.
"Emily," I heard Dad say. "The Royal family sent a whole escort for us. Didn't they say they wanted to keep this low key?"
"They wanted to make sure we got home safe," Mom told him. "I don't see the harm in it."
"At this point, everyone is going to know."
"They'll handle it. I'll bring Rin down so we can go home. See you in a bit."
She ended the call. "Rin, do you think you can walk or do we need to get a wheelchair?"
"I can walk."
It was a strange experience, walking. My body felt lighter like I hadn't been in a hospital bed the couple of days.
We met Dad outside; he had pulled up to the curb. Around our car, were two black vehicles; one in the front and one behind.
I stopped. "Are we sure they're from the Royal family?" I asked.
"Don't worry," he said. "I called to confirm and they did send us an escort."
I nodded.
Mom sat with me in the back seat on the way home. She kept her arms wrapped around me.
"When we get home," Mom said, "I want you to relax."
I gave her a look. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, don't try to find out what happened all at once. You've missed quite a lot so I want you to ease into it."
The last good thing I remembered was being Crown Princess. People may still be upset about that. There was no time to relax. I needed to talk to my people.
"Alright," I told her.
When we got home, the house looked clean and organized.
"The Royal family sent us a maid," Dad grumbled.
He helped me to my room. Like Mom, he had his arm around my shoulders.
"Is that a bad thing?" I asked.
"They only did it because they feel guilty."
I bit my lip. I didn't want to argue.
Mom had prepared my room for me. She helped me into bed.
"Rest," Mom told me.
She snatched up my phone and laptop. "You won't need these right now."
"Wh-what if I need something?" I asked.
At this, Dad put the baby monitor on my bedside table. I gave them a look.
"Really?" I asked.
"Let us know if you need anything," Mom said.
They both left and closed the door behind them.
Resting wasn't easy. Dr. Daniels's observations had told us plenty. First, I didn't need to sleep as often anymore. All I needed was about five hours every 2 days. I was wide awake on most nights. Noon was around the time when I felt groggy but it wasn't too bad. My appetite had changed. I didn't feel hungry has much and one meal a day was enough for me.
Dr. Daniels had given me blood through an IV drip - something we hadn't told my parents about - and that had satisficed my hunger. It was only done once.
This is weird, I thought to myself.
I wrapped myself up in my blanket. I wasn't a vampire but not a human either. I was something I between. I was going to need some time to get used to that.
Dr. Daniels said he would take care of everything, but I didn't know what that meant. I didn't want to drink . . .
This new diet was also going to take time getting used to.
My parents moved around the house throughout the day. They even took a nap. I fought the urge to look for my phone. Maybe Mom was right. I needed to ease back into it. Once I started contacting people, my life would start to get hectic.
So, instead, I lounged around doing nothing.
It worked well up until dinner when my parents had me join them at the dinner table. Turns out, Dad ordered dinner instead.
"Don't forget to take your medicine," Mom said. She placed a bottle of pills in front of me.
The capsules were red. 'Take one as needed' was printed on the label.
Was this what he meant by "I'll take care of it?". Well, I wasn't going to deny taking a pill wasn't too bad.
I took my medicine before I could rethink it. Dad passed out our containers of fried rice. Mine was smaller than theirs.
"Dr. Daniels said you can't have large portions," Mom explained.
"That's fine."
We ate in silence. Considering what had happened, it was a relief to finally be home.
"Has Mr. Keys made any progress?" I asked.
Dad and Mom looked at me. Dad put his fork down.
"You know about that?" he asked, glancing at Mom.
I shrugged. "Yeah. So, has Mr. Keys made any progress?"
"No," Mom answered. "Alexander told us about what you went through and Mr. Keys got your statement. They're all trying to build a case. It'll take time."
"I'll testify," I told them. "I don't want them to think they can kidnap me and not face the consequences."
"You let us worry about that," Dad said.
"Okay." I picked at my food. "I don't think I'll graduate in three weeks."
Mom frowned. "I'm sure they'll let you walk the stage. You can get your diploma later."
"The school knows about your situation," Dad said. "We didn't tell them everything but enough to give you an extension."
"Yeah," I said. "But I have a lot of work to catch up on. So, without my laptop, I can't do much." I glanced at Mom.
She gave me a look. "Rin," she began.
"I'm only going to do work," I told her. "I - I don't sleep as much anymore so, why not take advantage of it?"
"So, does that mean you have time to do more chores?" Dad asked.
I gaped at him. "Our appliances make noise," I reminded him. "Do you want me running the laundry at two?"
"John, she has a point." Mom sighed. "Alright. You can have your laptop back. But promise me you'll take it easy. You're just recovering for a harrowing experience."
"I will," I told her.
Later that night, when I managed to log into my student account, I saw the mountain of work I needed to complete. I started with Math considering, I didn't have to read anything and watched the videos for how to solve the problems.
Mom had kept my phone "until tomorrow", she had said. No worries. If Alexander wanted to find me, he would.
It was close to four in the morning, when I sensed Alexander outside my window. Grabbing the baby monitor, I turned it off.
"Come in," I said in a low whisper.
"You knew I was there?" he asked.
I smiled up at him. "Yes."
He scooped me in one fluid motion. "Hello, Princess," he said. He showered me with kisses.
I squirmed in his arms. "Wait," I said, "I'm taking a quiz. It's timed."
Sighing, he put me down. "Alright."
I finished the last three questions with minutes to spare. Luckily, I barely passed so I wasn't too worried. I closed my laptop and smiled at Alexander.
"All done."
Alexander pushed me down on the bed and laid on top of me. I wrapped my legs around him, hugging him.
"I missed you," he said, into my shoulder.
I kissed the top of his head. "I missed you too."
He snuggled into my neck. "I'm glad you're home. And you're feeling better."
"Me too."
I stared up at the ceiling. "How's everyone doing?" I asked. "Your family I mean. They had it rough too."
"Rin," he began. "My mom, she - she was the one who dropped you off at the hospital."
I sucked in a deep breath.
"She - what?"
My head spun. So, we had managed to reach her guards on time.
"How is she?" I asked.
"Dr. Daniels treated her," he whispered. "She's better now."
I couldn't bring myself to lie and say I was happy to hear that. While normally, I didn't wish anything bad to happen to people, I also didn't like being almost dying.
"Dad got her to confessed," he continued.
I looked at him. "What?"
"Dad interrogated her," he said. "He wouldn't tell me the details only that "it had been taken care of". He's stripped her of her title, too."
"So officially," I began.
"She's not considered my mother anymore," he finished.
I bit my lip. "How are you feeling about that?"
He shrugged. "She tried to kill me. Then, she tried to kill you. So, I guess my mother is dead now."
I hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry it came to this."
He shook his head. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"So, what happens now?"
"Well, Dad's been busy. He's been arresting a lot of members of the Extremists and Purists. Noah is controlling the information right now. Like it or not, my mom was a royal member when they attacked her and so are you."
"And Antoine?"
"On the run. Lots of members of the Purists and Extremists are too."
"So, what happened?" I asked. "The Extremists kidnapped me and they what? Gave me to the Purists?"
"Basically. The Extremists were a bunch of old vampires led by Lady Hargrave. They wanted to blame your kidnapping on the Purists. But then the Purists double crossed them because they're vampires." He sighed. "It's a big mess."
"My dad said Mr. Keys is working on a case."
Alexander nodded. "Yeah, they'll settle out of court. No one wants this to make the news." He made a face. "Well, my future father-in-law might want to rattle the hornets nest and things might get ugly."
I gave him a look. "For us?"
"It might not be satisfying," Alexander said, "but a settlement is better in the long run."
I looked away. I didn't like the sound of that. It was almost saying like they would get a slap on the wrist.
"My father will handle the consequences," Alexander assured me. "A vampire harmed you so he'll be punished according to our laws. He won't get away with that."
I sighed. "Yeah. Okay."
"Don't be too upset," he said, kissing my cheek. "No one harms my princess and gets away with it."
I squirmed.
"Princess."
I looked away.
"Princess," he sang.
"Alexander."
"What? You don't like it when I call you that?"
"It feels weird," I said. "I'm not used to it."
"It's alright," he said. "I'll keep calling you a princess until you get used to it."
He kissed me slow, tender leaving me breathless when he moved away.
"I'm really glad you're better," he said. "I don't know what I would have done -"
I planted a kiss on his forehead. "It's okay," I told him. "Now, you won't have to imagine it."
The second kiss was a lot hungrier. I melted against him.
All too soon, he moved away. I pouted.
"Your parents are home," he whispered.
Right.
Sighing, I blew air in my face. "I know."
"We can stay here like this," he said. "It's been a while since I've held you."
I kissed the top of his head. "That's fine with me."