I grabbed my crutches, and Luke picked his keys off the hook by the door.
I opened the door to Gavin’s room and expected to see him lying there like before. He was lying there like I’d left him, but I was surprised to see a blond-haired woman sitting in the chair beside his bed. She must have heard me hobbling through the door on my crutches, because she lifted her head and turned toward me. When she did, I saw Drew’s eyes stare back at me, and I realized she must be Gavin and Drew’s mother.
“Um… hi.” I wasn’t sure what to say. I was biased against her already, and I didn’t even know her. “I just came to see how Gavin was doing today.”
“You must be Chloe.” She didn’t smile or offer to shake hands with me.
Maybe she was mad at me. The only reason Gavin got shot was because of me, so it wasn’t completely unreasonable she might be mad at me. I looked down at the sterile white floor and fiddled with my hands. I mumbled. “Uh, I’m sorry Gavin got shot.”
She made a noise that sounded sort of like an ‘uh huh’.
So I continued to babble. “But it was nice of him to come and help rescue me.”
Gavin’s mother nodded and reached for his hand. “Yes. Thankfully, he is going to be all right. He'll live to hunt another day. We take this risk on every mission.” She eyeballed me and pinched her lips together. “Hopefully, next time, his head will be in the right place, and he might avoid being injured. Not to mention the fact that he never should have been on an unauthorized mission in the first place.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what she was talking about, but I think she blamed me, and maybe Drew, for Gavin being in the hospital.
It was time to go.
“Well, I gotta go. Will you tell him I stopped by?”
“Of course,” she told me with a little bit of snoot coating her voice. She turned back to Gavin, basically dismissing me.
“Well… bye.” As smoothly as I could, I backed away from her and out the door. Once I was back in the hallway, I couldn’t help but mutter, “Nice meeting you, too.”
Man, I really liked that woman less and less, and I barely knew her at all.
Luke was waiting for me at the nurses’ station. He leaned on the counter and chatted it up with a couple of the pretty, dark-haired ones and drank coffee out of a little paper cup. I guess he’d made some friends while he was laid up in here after the attack.
“I’m ready,” I told him and hobbled on by.
“What happened?” he asked, hurrying to catch up with me.
I stopped at the elevator and slammed the button for the main floor. “Nothing…”
“Doesn’t look like nothing.”
The elevator door opened. “His mom was there.” We both stepped inside. “She just seemed… rude, I guess.”
Luke didn’t look surprised. I guess he probably didn’t like her much either, considering how close he was with Drew. I couldn’t see him defending her after knowing Drew all that time.
“Daphne Turner is…,” he paused, trying to find the right words, “somewhat strange.” He didn't look certain of his choice of words.
“Well, I didn’t really like her much, just from what I’d heard about her… and now, her being rude to me, too, didn’t help her case any.”
The elevator doors swooshed open, and Luke held them while I hobbled out.
“Drew told you about Gavin?”
I nodded. “Yeah, but he wouldn’t have if I hadn’t made him.”
“It is a big deal for him to tell you about all that.”
“I know,” I told him. That was the end of the conversation.
We crossed the hospital lobby and exited through the front doors. I felt bad for Drew, but maybe he was better off without a mother like her in his life. I felt horrible even thinking something like that. No one should be without a mother, but I couldn’t imagine who would want one that had the ability to leave her child as a baby and then live in the same town with him without ever trying to make contact.
I felt like smacking her.
When we arrived home, Drew paced the living room again while Alice and Oscar sat on the couch and watched him. They looked cozy sitting there together. Oscar had his arm thrown over the back of the couch behind Alice. Well, I couldn’t really complain. She needed comfort and attention, and Oscar was nice, and hot, too.
“What’s going on?” I asked when Luke and I came through the door. “How long has he been doing that?”
I leaned my crutches against the end of the couch and flopped down next to Alice.
Drew didn’t give either of them a chance to answer. “We had to drive up to the gate and meet with some guy who is apparently a courier for Trevor’s lawyer.”
I felt my jaw drop, and a quick glance showed Luke’s hanging open, too. For a minute, I couldn’t find my voice. The first of my concerns, before anything else, was the safety of everyone here. I worried we had unintentionally brought the danger to them.
“What did he want?” Luke asked.
“Don’t worry.” Alice shifted on the couch, effectively scooting a little bit closer to Oscar, if that was possible. “It didn’t seem like he wanted any trouble.” She leaned forward to pluck a paper off the top of a manila envelope and handed it to me.
I scanned the first line. “What? We have to go to a will reading? You have got to be kidding me! I don’t want anything of his.”
“Read on, Chloe.” Drew pointed at the paper. “He didn’t leave you anything.”
I stared at the paper and read down the first paragraph.
“Oh.”
It was Alice they wanted to meet with.
I shrugged and handed the paper back to Alice. I guess I was a little jealous I didn’t get anything and she did. I had no idea why I was jealous about it. “So we have to go there and meet with this guy?”
“Yeah, there is no way we are letting them through the gates.”
Luke reached for the paper and scanned it. “When is the meeting?”
Drew went back to his pacing. “In four days.”
“We will be ready,” I told him, and then looked at Alice. “Right?”
She nodded in agreement. “I’ll be ready.”
The next day, I woke a little later than I wanted. I had slept in again, and it was about nine. I rolled over and was surprised not to feel any pain in my calf. I gently pulled the blanket over and bent my leg at the knee to check and see how the wound was healing. I peeled the tape off around the square bandage, peeked at the wound and discovered that it was covered in a thick, bumpy scar tissue.
Gross!
It actually looked like a big, huge wart or something. It was nasty, but at least I could cover it with my pants. I sat up and slid my legs over the side of the bed, then slowly stood, testing the ability of my legs to hold me up. Once I was all the way up on my feet, I took a few tentative steps.
Nothing, no pain.
Yay for vampire super-healing!
At least I wouldn't need the crutches any more. It did seem a little strange that just the day before I couldn’t even get down the stairs without help, but I sure as heck wasn’t going to complain about it.
After a quick shower, I dressed and went in search of Luke to take me to the hospital so I could see Gavin. I needed update him on everything that had happened.
I found Luke at the kitchen table reading the newspaper.
“Morning.”
He smiled and set his paper down on the table. “Feeling any better this morning?”
I nodded and headed for the fridge. “Yeah, actually, perfect. Look!”
I turned, left the fridge door hanging open, stuck my leg out toward him and wiggled it around.
“No crutches!” I declared with a smile.
He raised his eyebrows. “How is that possible? You were shot all the way through your calf.”
I let my pant leg fall back down, grabbed an apple and a bottle of water out of the fridge, and closed the door.
“Vampire super-healing,�
�� I told him, then uncapped my water and took a big swig.
He shook his head in a combination of amazement and surprise. “I should have known.”
“It’s okay," I said, and I shrugged. "I only realized it was happening because I cut myself last year, and then I was punctured by a branch when I tried to escape from Trevor. I think it’s getting stronger as I get older, because it’s only been a few days, and this was more than a scratch.”
Luke’s paper crinkled while he folded it into a square. “It makes sense that it would get stronger as you get older.”
I grinned. “You should see my fire power now.”
He chuckled. “That good, huh?”
“Yup!” I polished my apple on my shirt. “Can you take me to the hospital today?”
“Absolutely. I already expected you'd ask. I’m ready when you are.”
He scooted his chair out and stood up.
“Let’s go now. I’m ready.”
I hurried out of the kitchen and grabbed my sweatshirt off the hook by the door.
When we arrived at the hospital, I left Luke at the nurses’ station to chat with his lady friends while I went in to see Gavin. I worried his mother would be in his room. I really did not want to meet up with her again.
I crept up to the door and tried to listen. I could hear voices through the door, but they sounded more like part of an action scene on television. I rapped lightly on the door before I opened it a crack.
“Gavin?” I whispered.
I couldn’t see him because the curtain was drawn across his half of the room. As I had suspected, his television was on, and it was blaring male voices above the sound of revving car engines.
“Gavin?” I tried a bit louder, as I entered the room. I pushed the curtain aside and saw he was asleep.
I studied him for a moment before I woke him. He slept on his back, with his head tilted. He had an oxygen cannula in his nose, and his outturned wrist had an IV inserted. I hated to wake him, but I wanted him to know I’d come to see him. I smoothed down my hair, moved to the chair beside his bed and scooted it close to the bed.
After thinking about it for a minute, I gently took his hand in mine. He woke up then, his long eyelashes fluttered open and exposed his pretty green eyes that were so similar to Drew’s.
“Hey,” I whispered.
“Hi,” he said, his voice weak.
“Do you want some water?” I asked. He had a pitcher and a plastic cup on the rolling table near the head of his bed.
“Sure,” he nodded slightly.
I let go of his hand and poured water into the cup until it was about half full.
“How are you doing?” I asked him, handing him the water.
He adjusted his bed so he sat up more. “I’m doing better. I guess I’ve been better.” He finally smiled. “I’m glad you came to see me.”
“I came to see you yesterday, but your mom was here.”
He rolled his eyes like he already knew how she’d acted. “Yeah, sorry about her. She’s just overprotective.”
“Yeah, I’d be the same way if I had a kid,” I said.
In my head, I thought, She has two kids, not one. Maybe she should try protecting the other one every now and then.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” I finished. “That’s all that matters.”
He nodded and closed his eyes.
“Are you tired?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s these pain killers. I sleep all the time.”
Suddenly, I didn’t feel comfortable at all. I had come to tell Gavin he and I couldn’t continue any kind of relationship, but there never really was a relationship in the first place. It didn’t seem right to say anything about that now. It all seemed petty compared to him lying there recovering from a gunshot wound and major surgery.
“What is it, Chloe?”
“Hmmm?” I had drifted away while considering my reasons for wanting to talk to him. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking.”
“About what?” Even in his drug-induced haze he managed to raise his eyebrows in question.
I smiled and hoped it looked real. “It’s nothing. Just worried about you, is all.”
God, I am the biggest liar in the world.
I left Gavin at the hospital without telling him how I felt and probably had him thinking the complete opposite of what I wanted to tell him. Sometimes it felt like I failed at everything I tried to do. I wondered when I would actually succeed at something.
I had gone up to my room after we got home and stayed there all night. I didn’t want to see anyone or have to talk to anyone, especially Drew.
The next morning, I woke at five and slid out of bed quietly, trying not to wake Alice. There was something I wanted to do, and I figured I could take my run while I was at it. I dressed in black yoga pants and tank top with a pink hoodie over the top. I brushed my teeth, brushed my hair and pulled it into a ponytail. Finally, I grabbed my MP3 player and earbuds off the dresser on my way out the door.
I tiptoed down the stairs, trying to be as quiet as I could, and turned the corner to go into the kitchen. At five in the morning, I should have expected others might be up, but when I slammed into Drew coming around the corner, I yelped in surprise and punched him in the face out of reflex.
“Ow!” Caught totally off guard, he covered his nose with his hand. “What the hell, Chloe?”
“Oh, my god. I’m so sorry!”
I moved forward instinctively to try to look at his nose.
“I didn’t mean to hit you… you surprised me.”
He grunted and held his hand up in the ‘just give me a minute to recover’ signal. After a couple of deep breaths, he removed his hand from his nose, examining it to see if there was blood. Finding no blood, he whispered, “Why don’t you be more careful?”
I tried to sidestep away from him because he was in my path. “You scared me. I didn’t know you were down here.”
He sidestepped also so I couldn’t pass. “I’m always up this early.”
“I know, but I haven’t been here for a while, okay?” I sidestepped back the other way. “Let me get by!” I hissed at him, trying to keep my voice down.
He surprised me by grabbing my upper arms and pulling me toward him.
“No,” he said simply and lifted his hand. I felt one finger run gently down my jawline. I tried to pull away from him. I didn’t want to play his kiss-me-one-minute-ignore-me-the-next games that morning. I had plans for the day. My efforts were useless, however. He cupped my face with both hands and kissed me.
Oh, man.
I kissed him back. I let him pull me close and wrapped my arms around his shoulders as his moved to my waist.
When it was over, which was far too soon in my opinion, I pulled away and ran for the door. I didn’t want him to say anything like before about how he shouldn’t have done it or how we wouldn’t be doing it again. I didn’t want him to ruin it.
The only thing I heard before I jammed my earbuds in was him calling out for me to wait.
While I ran, I chose ear-blasting, blood-pumping music that wouldn’t make me cry.
What the heck am I going to do about this?
I just didn’t think I could take any more. It was time to make some kind of decision, on both ends. I still had Gavin to deal with. He would probably be upset if he knew I was going to choose Drew over him. Oh, for crying out loud. I never thought in a million years this would happen.
I ran the trails through the woods, over the tops of the dirt and crunchy autumn leaves, with music blaring in my ears and sweat running down my face. When I emerged from the woods on the edge of town, I ran down the side streets all the way to the other side of town, toward the cemetery… toward my mother.
I didn’t even slow when I passed through the tall iron gates that surrounded the small cemetery in the woods. I ran between, and probably over, some of the graves, trying to remember where my mother’s plot was located.
Finally, as the sun began to rise,
I arrived at the spot under the huge maple trees, which now had golden leaves, and I dropped to my knees before her headstone. With a yank, I ripped the earbuds out and let them fall to the ground. My fingers dug into the grass surrounding her plot.
I had been holding back tears since I’d left the house, but as soon as I looked up and my eyes met her name on the headstone, the dam broke.
“Why are you gone?” I screamed at her. “You should be here to help me!”
I fell back onto my butt, wrapped my arms around my knees and rocked back and forth until the tears diminished.
“I need you,” I whispered to her, hoarsely. “I need you.”
No one spoke back to me. Her ghost did not appear. The sounds of nature were all that could be heard around me. My mother’s headstone, where Sostrate had first appeared, remained the same. No demi-goddess appearances for me today, I guess. It was just me, talking to my dead mother.
I’d half expected… no, I had hoped and wanted Drew to come after me. But he hadn’t. So I sat there until the need to pee drove me back home.
Back at the house, I entered quietly. Finding no one, I removed my shoes and headed back up the stairs to my room.
Alice was in bed, awake, staring up at the ceiling. She turned her head toward me when she heard the door open. The moment she saw me, her eyes widened. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing, I just went for a run.” I waved her off and headed for the bathroom to pee. When I came back out, I fell down onto the bed beside her.
“It looks like you’ve been crying.” She turned onto her side to face me.
For a moment, I didn’t say anything.
Finally, I decided to go ahead and let it out. I told her all of it… Drew, Gavin, my mother…all of it.
When I’d finally exhausted the whole story to her, she lay there for a moment, taking it all in, and then she said, “Well, except for the part about your mom not being here, none of that really sounds so bad.”
I sighed. “Really? Because it feels crappy to me.”
“I’m sorry it does, but what can I say? I would love to have two guys after me.”
“But that’s the problem. Drew acts like he likes me one minute, and the next he ignores me.”
The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: Complete Collection Page 21
