"So are you going to tell us what actually happened with Gloria?" Jaymi sighed as she finished her meal, placing down her fork with a clink
"Well we figured out who wants to kill me" I smiled, playing with the food on my plate with my fork
"Who this time?" Riley asked, stuffing his face casually
"Two Angel brothers, Ollie and Alex" I revealed
"Angels? Why would Angels want to kill you?" Jaymi asked furrowing her perfect eyebrows
"Because they are sick of having to 'protect' someone who hangs out with Vampires so closely" I rolled my eyes
"That's pathetic, some Angels they are" Riley scoffed, chewing his food like a wild animal
"I know right" Jaymi agreed, nodding
I shook my head, unable to force down another piece of food as I put my cutlery down
"So what's the plan then?" Riley asked, muffled by his mouthful of steak
"Gloria's going to track them down, question them, take care of it accordingly" I shrugged.
I wished it was that simple, yet I had my doubts
"That easy?" Jaymi asked, almost reading my thoughts
"I hope so" Duke told her, finishing his own meal
"You know, it'd be nice to not have people want to kill me, just for a few months anyway" I shrugged
"As long as you're with us, you're safe" Riley winked, licking his lips
"I know that, but it'd still be nice" I rolled my eyes.
"I know what you mean" Jaymi agreed, nodding in my direction
"What are the plans for the next two days anyway, I mean, we're going home soon, which sucks, so we should do something really different, something that I can't ever forgot right?" I asked eagerly
Again, like before, Jaymi's smile widened, her face directly aiming down, attempting to hide it.
"Well, Dukey pukey here is planning to take you to see the Eiffel Tower tomorrow night" Riley smiled, pointing towards Duke with his full fork
"Really?" I asked, looking towards him "It's about time" I almost jumped with excitement
Duke turned and smiled "About time?" He repeated, furrowing his eyebrows
"I've been dying to go there, more so than any other place here" I explained, rolling my eyes "I mean, this is Paris after all"
"It's a date then" Duke smiled
"And what about tomorrow during the day?" I asked, wanting to plan out what was going to be my last 48 hours in France
"Can you ever just be patient?" Duke shook his head
"No. I can't" I smiled proudly
"Well you're just going to have to be" He bravely winked at me
As we laughed, teasing one another, our attention had been captured back to reality when we noticed a familiar figure walking towards us.
It was Andrè, he was smiling, charming as usual as he stopped beside the table end where I was sitting.
He truly did not care an inch about Vampires and their presence beside me
"Hey everyone, Rosie" He greeted with a simple wave of his hand
"Hey" I chirped ignoring the tension that rapidly formed
"Can I have a word with you for a moment, it won't take long" He smiled, speaking his last sentence towards my friends
"Sure" I answered for myself, not needing permission
I got up to leave, follow him, taking one quick look back at Jaymi, Riley, and Duke with a reassuring smile.
Typically, they looked unimpressed.
I followed Andrè with a fast pace as he walked towards the empty side of the street outside. He stopped and turned to face me, his expression stern.
"What's wrong?" I panicked, knowing something was off
"I have to tell you something Rosalie" He spoke seriously
"What?"
"It's Callum"
My heart sank, my palms sweat and my ears turned hot
"Is he okay?"
"He's been hurt"
"Hurt? What happened? What do you mean hurt?" I urged
"Ollie found him, right here in Paris, he attacked him. He was ambushed, caught off guard, he wasn't ready for a fight, he was left bleeding on the street until Gloria and Clu found him. He's going to be okay, but he's in a pretty serious state. The knife that was used, it just missed his heart" Andrè explained, my worst fears crashing down on me all at once
"Take me to him, now" I demanded, my voice shaking
"I can, just let your friends know and we can go" Andrè agreed
I did not hesitate for a moment, turning on my heel, storming back into the café, my face burning hot as my eyes fought back tears
Instantly Duke, Riley and Jaymi knew something was wrong, standing. Duke's eyes meet my face as I reached for him
"What's wrong?" He asked, watching me intently, concerned
"It's Callum, he was attacked" I mumbled out, breathless and rocky.
Even saying the words out loud, pained me
"Is he okay?" Duke practically held me up
I nodded, but looked to the floor "It's serious, I need to see him, now" I told him.
I didn't need permission, I didn't need a pep talk, I needed to make sure Callum was okay, I needed him to know that I cared for him. I needed to see for myself that he was in one piece, that he was going to make it through.
Duke bit into his lip, seemingly annoying, but I wasn't in the mood to confront it, nor did I care what he or the others thought of me needing to ensure Callum was okay.
"Okay" He sighed, rubbing his temples "When can I expect you back?"
"I don't know, I'll keep you updated, I promise" I rushed out, leaning up on my toes to kiss his lips before turning to walk back towards Andrè who was waiting, pacing, irritable
"Let's go" I told him as he stopped and nodded
He began pushing through the people that shrouded the streets with me in hot pursuit
It was hard to keep up, but I managed. I was sure it had something to do with the adrenaline pumping in my system.
Five minutes later, he stopped in a small street, deserted from existence, he walked towards me, stopping a meter in front of my face
"You know the drill right?" He asked, holding his arms out towards me
I nodded and took a step towards him telling him I was ready
Andrè wrapped his arms around me as I held my eyes shut gripping him tightly. Routinely, our bodies were greeted by the hurricane rush of wind and passing air.
Seconds later, my feet were back on the ground unsteady beneath me as I let go all too quickly.
I stumbled, but Andrè caught my elbow preventing me from tumbling to the ground
"You alright?" He asked, watching me as we walked towards Gloria's "Just relax Rosie, Callum's going to be okay"
"I'm fine, I just want to see him" I rushed out, watching as the house in the distance grew closer and closer
"He wants to see you too, you know" Andrè spoke, raising his eyebrows at me casually
"Really?" I asked
"As soon ad they found him, he was saying your name" Andrè revealed, the tightening of my chest clenching
"Are you sure?"
He nodded "I'm sure"
I thought things were getting better, I had thought things were finally looking up, and that's when the chaos hit me hard. I wished that this time, it had hit me, not those that I cared about. It made me angry.
When we finally reached the house, I found myself to be walking ahead of Andrè, moving into the house, into the hallway and trailing down to Callum's room.
The next time I took a quick glance behind myself, I noticed that Andrè was gone.
Reaching the door, I stood motionless. I was afraid of what he might have looked like, I was afraid that I would let my feelings get the better of me. I shouldn't have reacted so hastily, I shouldn't have cared as much as I did.
I felt rude and selfish for running off on Duke and the others the way I had, but I had to make sure he was okay, that need was inbuilt.
Slowly, I pushed the door open, the wood lightly creaking in response. I peered my head in first, followed by the rest of my body.
I could see Callum's figure on the bed, motionless, covered in the red satin quilt cover.
I moved towards him and could slowly begin to see the marks on his face. He appeared peaceful, quiet, the rise and fall of his chest slow.
I stopped at his bedside and looked down at his face. He had a black eye, a punctured lip, bruises along his jawline and small scratches over his cheeks and neck. I felt the sudden need to run my fingers over the wounds.
My eyes trailed down to his arms resting at his sides. Slowly, I lifted my hand and placed it gently on top of his.
Just as I did, his eyes flickered open, a small smile creeping to his features when he noticed me beside him
Naturally I smiled in response, looking down at his piercing green gaze
"Hey" I smiled, keeping my eyes firmly on his
"Hello" His deep raspy voice replied
"How are you feeling?"
He managed to shrug "Better now"
I rolled my eyes "Don't use this to your advantage Mr" I joked
He tried to laugh, but I could tell it was hurting him
"Sit" He instructed, his hand in mine patting the free space on the edge of the bed
I did as I was told and sat beside him
"What made you come?" He asked, his voice never loosing it's rasp
I shrugged "Oh, I don't know, was just passing through the neighbourhood" I joked again
He smiled and tried to let out a small laugh, but it developed into a cough
My smile vanished as I remembered what Andrè had told me, imagining the beat down Callum had endured at the hands of Ollie
"They said it was close" I mumbled, forcing the pictures of him being attacked from my mind
"It was" He mumbled back
"I'm glad you're okay" I smiled, squeezing his hand
"Me too" He lightly smiled, his lips dry and cracked "And just think about the cool scar its going to leave" He joked, his humour alive and well, a good sign
How was he so calm? Surely he was on some form of strong painkiller shadowing his sense of reality.
"If you wanted a scar, you could have just asked, I would have worked with you, it would have been safer than this" I commented, lightly resting a clenched fist against the bottom of his jaw.
I joked nudging his jaw with my knuckles.
"Gee, Rose, you could have suggested that before I had this planned out" He winked with his good eye, making me laugh
Medication was definitely at play here.
"Are you on pain meds?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him
"Sure am" He winked again
I rolled my eyes and continued to smile towards him.
It had certainly made me feel better seeing him.
"How long are you staying for?" He asked, his face softening again
I shrugged "I'm not sure"
I knew I would have to get back to Duke.
I felt slack for having ditched him, I wanted to somehow make it up to him. But I also knew he would understand, I would be the same if someone he had cared about was hurt.
"I think it's better I go back soon. I kind of ditched a nice dinner with everyone" I scoffed out, looking down at Callum's hand on top of mine
"You ditched a nice dinner for me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow
"Well, Andrè did tell me the knife had just missed your heart" I rolled my eyes "So yeah"
"Could have been worse" He commented
"Yeah? How?" I shot
"I could have died"
I sighed "Don't say that"
"Well, that's what I mean by it could have been worse"
"I get it"
"Did he say anything when he attacked you?" I asked, breaking a short silence
Callum's face turned serious and he fiddled with the ring around my finger
"He wanted to know where you were staying. I told him he'd have to kill me before I told him that. I told him, most of the Angels were out looking for him and it would only be a matter of time until they found them both. He didn't like the sound of that"
"I guess not" I weakly smiled
"So I guess I was right about him and Alex wanting to kill me then" I sighed
"You were, you're extremely smart" He smirked
"Lucky guess" I shrugged
"Whatever you say"
There was another drag of long silence until I spoke again
"What did Gloria have to say about all of this?"
He shrugged "She's upset, very dissapointed in them. She's now got some of the most powerful Angels out looking for them. I mean, it won't be long now until they catch them. Even i'm scared of some of the Angels that are out looking" He explained
"I have a feeling Alex and Ollie are way more clever than we expect them to be"
He shrugged "They probably are, but they can't hide forever"
"They can, actually" I joked
He smiled a small smile that brightened up his entire face "You know what I mean. I don't get why they are trying to get to you. You've got more security than Obama does"
"I guess I do" I laughed
"Duke will take good care of you" He whispered, his face serious again, soft
I felt my smile slowly fall as I looked down at our hands, together
"He will" I agreed in a whisper
Another long drag of silence burned between us. It stung, and it became awkward. I moved my hand from his and stood up.
I needed to go, before conversation took a turn for the worse, before my inner demons came out to confuse the situation a little more.
"I should go" I mumbled, looking back up at his face
He nodded "Yeah"
"I'll visit you again soon, I promise" I weakly smiled "Get better"
"I'll try my best" He smiled in return before I turned around and walked out of the room, pulling the door lightly shut behind myself.
I walked through the house, and luckily I didn't come across Gloria or Andrè.
I just wanted to get home, but it had just then occured to me that I had no way of getting home.
I stood in the middle of the hallway, debating whether or not I should find Andrè or somehow call upon Duke to come and get me.
I decided that finding Andrè or another Angel would be best. After all, everytime I seemed to wander, I would end up hurt.
I had to be smart now.
I walked through to the living room, peering around the beautiful antique furniture.
"Andrè?" I called, looking around the corners
"Yo" He beamed, his figure popping up from behind the couch. I jumped a step back, surprised that I hadn't noticed his feet sticking out from the end
"Can you take me home?" I asked, regaining my composure
"Sure" He nodded, jumping up from the lounge, putting a thick novel down on the table beside him "I told you he was okay, is he still talking shit that makes no sense?" He winked, walking towards me
"Um, not so much anymore. But the meds are still somewhere there"
"They will be, for awhile anyway" He smiled, walking me out the front of the house.