A/N: Okay, so Wattpad is at it again. :/ If you see any words that should be two words (example: thehat or weare) would you be so kind as to let me know so I can go back and fix them? I already spotted two already.
When I awake the next time it is because of my burning and aching body. A whimper escapes my parched throat as I forcefully peel my eyes open. The room has dim lights with odd flashes of blues which I realize after a moment is a TV. The show Friends plays on the TV softly. Those hot sparks are still on my hand, but this time I realize fingers are threaded between mine as a thumb rubs softly back and forth, sending tingles to shoot up my arm.
As another whimper leaves my throat the hand on mine tightens before a face is hovering over mine. I blink a few times to clear my suddenly blurry vision.
"Niles?" Leandre's voice is gentle. "Are you in pain?"
"Niles?" A familiar voice says in surprise.
I lick my dry cracked lips, the action stinging my poor lips. My throat is so dry I fear I will die of thirst in a matter of moments.
"W-w-wat-," I pant out. "-er,"
"Water," Leandre echoes in understanding. "Right here,"
Then, a straw is being guided between my chapped lips. My response is pure instinct as I suck on the straw to get to the liquid at the bottom of the cup. The cool water hits my tongue and slides down my throat, soothing it some. I suck more of it in until the cup is empty and the straw makes an annoying empty sucking sound. I still feel so thirsty, though.
I push the straw out of my mouth using my tongue and attempt to turn my head to the side in search of more water. Pain hits my sore neck, halting my movements with a gasp.
"Do not move, Niles," Leandre warns. Then, his cool hand gently pushes my head back to the position it was first in.
"More," I gasp in a whiny voice. I don't care if I sound whiny or not, as long as I get more water in the end.
Leandre squeezes my hand for a moment before he lets it go and gets up. The loss of those sparks was like a flip being switched in my body. Sudden pain fills me completely until silent tears fall from my sore eyes. My body feels as if it is on fire and everything aches in such a horrible way.
"No," I whimper in pain.
I silently beg for Leandre to return to take the pain away again. I don't know what makes me think he was the one taking the pain away, perhaps it was because as soon as he was gone I was suddenly aware of the pain. I wish Leandre would hurry up and return and take my hand again. Beyond the horrible pain, I still crave those hot sparks he causes.
"Niles, are you in pain?" The voice belongs to Beowulf, I vaguely register.
"Yes," I whimper pathetically.
"Okay, I'll push the nurse call button," He says.
Then Leandre returns, as soon as he is in reach, my hand seeks out his even through all my pain. I grip his hand tightly, needing to feel those sparks once more. Once I do feel the sparks, my body no longer feels as if it is on fire. It was like the sparks extinguished the flames. My body is still in pain, but the pain is considerably lessened.
I let out a breath of relief, not caring who heard. I don't even feel embarrassed for bluntly grabbing his hand. Leandre lessens the pain and that's all I care about right now.
"I brought you orange juice," Leandre says in a gentle tone. "Would you like some?"
"Please," I whisper. I'm not even sure it was audible but he still guides a straw to my lips.
Again, my reaction is pure instinct as I suck on the straw and take in the orange juice. The flavor is rich and sweet, making my taste buds dance. I'm glad I have a straw because I know if I didn't the acidic juice would have burned my cracked lips. By the time the juice is gone a male nurse has made it into the room.
"How are you feeling, Niles?" The nurse asks.
I blink slowly at him. I don't really feel like speaking, especially to him. I don't want to be around anyone but Leandre right now, to be brutally honest. The nurse takes in my appearance before he nods his head.
"I see you don't want to talk to me," He chuckles. "That's fine, I'll just refill your pain meds and be on my way, how does that sound?" He sounds friendly enough but it still doesn't make me want to talk to him.
He works in silence as he refills the pain meds into the IV attached to my arm and hand. When he is done he murmurs something that I didn't catch before he leaves the room. The pain meds work fast after that. They don't just take my pain away, but they make me sleepy as well. I don't really want to sleep, but I can't keep my eyes open now.
I fight the darkness, refusing to be pulled in for as long as I can. I don't last long, though, before I can no longer resist as I get dragged under into a sea of darkness.
*****555*****
I don't know exactly what did it, but something startled me awake. The room is still slightly dark but I can see the sun coming up from the cracks in the blinds. I have to take a few calming breaths because my heart is currently beating like a racehorse. I don't really remember having a dream, but that's probably what woke me up, I was probably having another nightmare. God, these frequent nightmares are so annoying. At least I can't remember this one.
It takes a good minute or two for my heart rate to go back to normal. After I get myself calmed down, I take in my surroundings. The room is still a bit dark but I can still make out everything. The only other person with me is Leandre who is currently sitting in a chair with a thin cushion with his head resting on my bed. He holds my hand even in his sleep, which I find adorable beyond explanation. This time, the lights are completely off as well as the TV. It's a tiny hospital room but at least it's private and I don't have to share it with anyone else.
I close my eyes and relax back into the bed. There is a tight sensation on my shoulder blade as I shift to get comfortable. It doesn't really hurt, it's just tight and uncomfortable. I ignore it best I can as I try to go back to sleep.
I can't really sleep, though. I'm just not tired and the gears in my mind are currently working a million miles per hour. I can't shut my mind off from what happened yesterday... or whenever it happened, I don't even know how long it's been. I can't stop thinking about what went down with my dad.
My dad has never gotten physical like that, no matter how drunk he got. He's never laid a hand on me, never thrown things. The worst he's ever been was screaming and mentally abusing me. He's mentioned mom before and how I was the one to kill her, which is stupid and ridiculous, so that didn't surprise me much. What really surprised me was how much he believed what he was saying. He truly believes that I was the one who killed her.
It also surprised me when he said I was ungrateful and never did anything. He really had the balls to say that I was living rent-free and not helping out. Did he really think he was the one paying the bills? Where did he think his dinner came from every night? Did he think the bills were free and that elves cooked him dinner? That was the part that really angered me. The fact that he didn't even have the balls to admit that I was the one taking care of him.
I take another deep calming breath because I'm working myself up again. It's past, it's over, I need to stop thinking so hard about it. I just need to think about my next step. There is no way I'm going back to that house if he's there. I'm done with him and his bullshit. Maybe I'll take up Beowulf's offer and crash at their place just until I can figure out what to do next.
For the next few hours, it was just me and my thoughts, which can actually be pretty scary. I thought about a lot of things that I probably shouldn't have, but I also did make up my mind about what to do next. Coming to my final decision was pretty difficult actually, but in the end, I think it's what needs to be done. Hopefully, Beowulf will be okay with my decision because I really need him to be on board with me or else it will make things that much more complicated.
It was eight-fifteen in the morning when a nurse came in to check on me. Leandre is still fast asleep with his head next to my hip and his hand clamped onto mine. Honestly, he looks very uncomfortable but I don't want to wake him. The nurse probably thought I was asleep because I had my eyes closed so she just checked the screens next to me and that the cords attached to my arm and hand were still in place. Honestly, I let her think I was asleep because I didn't want to talk to anyone and I wasn't in pain. I didn't find a reason to talk to her so I kept my eyes closed.
Around ten is when Leandre started to stir. He must have been exhausted from how long he slept. Actually, I don't really know when he fell asleep in the first place so he could have only been asleep for a few hours for all I know. He stirred awake from a vibrating phone in his pocket.
I watch him from squinted eyes, trying not to let him know I'm awake quite yet. He glances at the phone for all of two seconds before he answers the call with a frown.
"Luv, what's wrong?" He answers in a husky just woke up voice that sends pleasant chills throughout my body. On another note, the way he answered the phone has my breath hitching in sudden jealousy. "Luv, slow down," He says as he shakes his head. "What?"
Through my cracked eyelids his face looks utterly confused but then it morphs into annoyance. I obviously can't hear the other side of the conversation, but Leandre does not look pleased at all.
"Did you tell this to Charlotte?" He asks as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "No, you need to tell Charlotte," A moment passes before he sighs loudly. "Amelia, luv, go tell Charlotte right now,"
I can't help but wonder who is Charlotte and Amelia? And why the hell does he keep saying luv? I don't like it at all. Not one bit.
"I do not care if she is preparing lunch, go tell her right now. Amelia Grace, go tell your mother what the doctor said right this moment, that is an order," He says in a harsh tone that surprises me.
A shiver runs down my spine. I want to tell this Charlotte and I don't even know what. That command was just so demanding that it has my body aching to obey. And it wasn't even directed at me! What the actual fuck?
"Amelia, luv, it has to come from you," He says in a gentler tone this time. "No, you cannot wait until I get back because I do not know when I will be back," He sighs heavily. "You chose the actions you took, now you have to deal with the consequences," He rubs his temple with two fingers. "If you are that scared then have Delphine be with you when you tell Charlotte. No, you need to tell her as soon as possible. If she finds out another way she will be even angrier. What? Of course, she is going to be angry, you are her baby, Amelia," He shakes his head with another sigh. "I will be home as soon as possible, Amelia, I promise,"
Another long moment passes with me just being confused out of my mind. I feel half bad that I'm pretending to be asleep and listening in on his conversation, but then again, I don't really care. If he wanted it to be private he would have left the room, right?
"Yes, luv, I will tell you all about it," He says with a faint smile. "However, when I do get back you had better have told Charlotte," He runs a hand through his hair that is surprisingly still nice considering how he had been sleeping. "Yes, go tell her right now. The sooner the better. I will see you soon, luv," Five seconds later he ends the call.
He stares at the phone for a moment before an adorable crooked smile pulls at the corner of his lips.
"You can stop pretending now," He chuckles.
My heart skips a beat. Is he talking to me? Who else would he be talking to, dumbass?
I slowly open my eyes completely and stare at him innocently. If he isn't going to mention the weird cryptic phone call, then I'm not going to ask. No matter how curious I am. It was rude enough that I was listening in.
He smiles at me with this sad smile that doesn't look right on his beautiful face. He closes his eyes for a moment before he opens them again and slips the phone back into his pants pocket.
"That was my kid sister, Amelia," Oh, now I feel stupid for being jealous. "She, uh, she," He licks his lips. "She just went to the doctor after feeling off for a while,"
I keep my mouth shut. This is obviously hard for him to talk about.
"She is only fifteen, barely found her mate," He shakes his head in frustration. "She went away for only two days, and when she came back, she was mated. Of course, everyone knew because it is hard to miss when you are a supernatural. Our mother, she was visiting her family in Victoria, so she did not know. She just got back last week, she was angry, very angry, about Amelia having mated at her age,"
Staying silent is honestly the best thing for me right now. One, I have no idea what to say to him. Two, I think he just needs to talk about it with someone. And three, he is so out of character right now. He looks so frustrated, angry, confused, sad, and just a bit happy maybe.
"The doctor told her she is pregnant today. Which is great, in a sense," He runs a hand through his hair. "She is only fifteen," He bites his bottom lip for a moment. "At least the baby is from her mate and not some random boyfriend," He chuckles humorlessly.
After that, he falls into an awkward and extremely uncomfortable silence. I have no idea what to say or if I should even speak at all. But in the end, after sitting in silence for a good thirty minutes, I finally spill.
"You want to go home, I can see that," I start. "And I'm not going to stop you. I told you I needed three weeks, but things have changed and I've made my decision,"
"Niles," He starts before I cut him off.
"Just- just listen to me for a moment," I take a calming breath before letting it all out. "I can't deny the pull I feel towards you. I understand what a mate is, I know what it does to someone like you and even to a human like me. It would be hell if we were separated, of course, don't get me wrong, I'm not rejecting you or some bullshit like that. I'm just saying, I need time still, time to get to know you before I rush into anything,"
He watches me with intense blue eyes. He stays silent, though, which I am grateful for.
"There is no way in hell that I'm going back to my dad's place. I'm done with him. I've put up with his bullshit for long enough. I- I was thinking about taking Wulf and Ridge up on their offer of letting me crash with them for a while, but, in the end, I know I need to give you a chance. And, unfortunately, long-distance relationships suck and I know I wouldn't feel comfortable with that. So, with that said, I'll go with you. But, I'm not jumping into anything. I'm not going to be introduced as your mate or partner or whatever. And I'm not going to just be there doing nothing. I want to take you up on that offer of getting a job,"
A smile lights up his face, showing a dimple that I never really noticed until now. My mouth literally waters at the sight of that one single dimple.
"Is the offer still available?" I ask almost nervously.
"Of course, absolutely!" He says cheerfully.
I bite my bottom lip. "Good. I still have to talk to Wulf, but, I want you to go home as soon as possible now. With what's going on with your sister and all..." I trail off.
He doesn't say anything but smiles. That smile shows off that dimple in his left cheek so prominently that it makes me stare and literally droll like a dog looking at a steak. That dimple is driving me absolutely crazy!