“Good evening.” Ashley said, watching the old woman try and stand up to her.
“You aren’t touching this baby.” The woman said, glaring at Ashley.
Ashley chuckled and took a step forward. “You must be mistaken, I am taking that baby, whether you like it or not.”
The old woman shook her head and stared Ashley right in the eye. “Over my dead body.” She said before taking a loaded gun from behind her back and pointing it at Ashley. Without warning she shot at Ashley, but Ashley was too quick and dodged every bullet. Ashley rushed at the old woman, knocking her off her feet and against a table; she hit her head on the corner of the table and fell forward, knocked out. Ashley grinned before taking the baby seat, the baby bag and leaving the house. She left through the back as to not draw attention to herself and then she rushed to her car, just as the child started to cry. Ashley tried to block the agonizing cries out as she drove, hoping no one had seen or heard the child getting abducted.
Hannah stared down at her plate of food. She knew she was being optimistic when she had planned the night out. The evening had started off with him fretting over Coral and then arguing over whether to call Mrs. Moon or not. Finally, he decided he didn’t even want to talk to her and would rather stare blankly at his wine glass or his entrée without speaking. Frankly, she was tired of the silence.
“OK” She said, finally breaking the silence. She set her fork down and looked up at him.
“I’m tired.” She blurted out.
He looked up at her.
“I’m just tired of the silence.” She elaborated, eyeing him.
“Tired of the silence?” He asked confused.
“All you’ve done since I came back is shut me out, Cas. What happened while I was…gone?” She asked, not knowing how else to refer to captivity and a coma.
“I don’t—“
“Don’t tell me you don’t know! I just…I wake up after being out of it and finally! Finally! I wake up and my boyfriend, the love of my freaking life, is acting like a total and complete…ass face.” She whispered, as to not draw attention to them. “I just don’t understand why you’re shutting me out after everything that happened? What did I do to make you…make you not want me?” She felt tears well up.
He stared at her, not knowing how to respond. He knew what he could say, but he didn’t want to lie to her. But, he also didn’t want to have this conversation in public.
“Do we really have to do this, right now?” Cas asked, irritated with her timing.
The tears froze in her eyes and she glared at him, becoming angrier with him.
“Yes.” She hissed.
“Hannah…I’m not doing this in a restaurant. If you wanted to talk about this, we should’ve—“
“Excuse me, sir, may we get these boxed and our check, please.” Hannah said, stopping the nearest waiter.
Cas stared at her in shock.
“Hannah we don’t have to leave, I know—“
“No. I want to talk to you. I wanted to talk to her over a nice dinner, but you…you’re so distant! I can’t deal with this.” She said as the waiter came back. The waiter gave them a polite smile and left. Hannah began to dig in her back for her wallet, wanting to find cash so they could leave sooner.
“Hannah.” Cas said, going to stop her.
She pulled away and threw a couple twenties on the table before spooning her uneaten dinner into a box and standing up.
“We’re going to talk about this.” She said, turning and leaving the restaurant. Cas sighed and begrudgingly scooped his own dinner up and followed after her. She was sitting in the car in the passenger seat, staring out the window, waiting for him. He slowly got into the car. Once he sat down, she turned to him with fire in her eyes.
“I was locked up for months, Cas, first in a real prison, then in a mental one. I should not have woken up at all and then lo and behold, I do! And I obviously am overjoyed to have woken up so I could see our child and be together, but ever since I woke up, you’ve been…you’ve been distant, unresponsive, it’s like your sad I’m home or something. Do you not want me? Is that what this is about? Are you done and you just can’t tell me because you feel guilty? What’s going on?” She demanded, angrily.
Cas looked away as he saw tears form in her eyes. “I—“
“You what? You met someone else? You don’t want damaged goods? You’re—“
“I’m guilty!” He yelled, cutting her off.
She stopped in astonishment, stunned by his outburst. Then she frowned, unable to understand what he meant.
“What for?” She asked after a long pause.
“If I wasn’t who I was. If I weren’t a werewolf, they never would’ve taken you. They don’t like humans. And they especially didn’t like the thought of you and me together. They called our baby an abomination and…and if I weren’t a werewolf, they never would have harmed you and we could just be normal. Us, together, we could be normal and none of that stuff would’ve happened. I’m just…I’m guilty. It’s my fault. All of it is my fault.” He said, turning his face away, not wanting to look at her.
After a long pause, Hannah said, “Don’t feel guilty, Cas. I don’t blame you.”
“Well I am. When you were gone… all I could think about was how much it was my fault. Everything was my fault. If only—“
“If only you weren’t you? No, Cas, I love you. I love all of you, wolf and all. If you weren’t a wolf, we would never have met. It was because you’re a wolf that you were able to save me from that vampire, which means I wouldn’t have became the person that I am today.
You gave me a life, a life that built my own confidence in myself.” She said touching his hand. “For days I’ve been wondering why you’ve been pulling away. I thought it was something I did.” She admitted.
He chuckled darkly, “You’ve done nothing wrong.” He said, opening his hand up to take hers.
“Don’t feel guilty Cas. I know its hard not to, but you need to know I’ve never and would never blame you. Those people were sick and demented. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine for encouraging you to hang out with them.” She said solemnly.
“No, Hannah it’s mine.” He said, not wanting her to feel guilty.
“Cas, no it’s mine.” She said.
He opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off with a swift hard kiss to the lips. He smiled into her lips, enjoying the almost foreign feeling. It had been so long since they could kiss each other. He had missed her so much. They pulled away slowly, staring each other in the eye, taking in each other’s sadness, despair and guilt.
“Promise me this is all over.” She said looking into his eyes.
“I killed all of them.” He said quietly.
“And we’re safe?” She asked.
He nodded, “Of course, I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to you or Coral.”
Hannah smiled, “Good, then neither of us should feel guilty.” She said squeezing her hand. “We’re safe. Everything’s fine and we love each other. Let’s not waste anymore time on negativity and guilt.” She said quietly.
He nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry I’ve been so distant lately.”
She laughed, “I’m sorry I tried to force this dinner date on you.”
“No it was a nice attempt. Maybe we can try it again next weekend.”
She nodded, “I’d like that. I think we both have a lot of issues to work through.”
He smirked, “Yeah, I’d say that was true.”
They laughed and Cas started the car and head home. Their hands were still clasped and they looked towards the future, hoping everything crazy in their lives was finished.
*
When the couple pulled into the driveway, they saw flashing red and blue lights next door. Hannah felt her stomach drop in sudden panic, just as Cas felt his heart begin to race at the dreaded possibilities that were running through his head. Hannah was the first out of the car, barely letting Cas stop before she ra
ced over to Mrs. Moon’s. She felt the anxiety increase exponentially when a cop stepped out and caught her arm before she was able to go inside.
She yanked her arm away and attempted to go around him, but he blocked her again.
“Ma’am this is a crime scene.” He said, almost rolling his eyes at her.
Hannah scowled and held her head high to the officer.
“My child’s in there.” She said, just as Cas appeared beside her. His breath was uneven. He was on the verge of seeing red, but he clenched his fists trying to subdue the anger that was spreading throughout his body.
The officer shifted uncomfortably and then called to the Sheriff who sauntered over. The Sheriff gave Hannah and Cas a stiff smile and then turned to the cop who’d called him over.
“What seems to be the problem?” asked Sheriff Washington.
“They say a child was in the house.” The officer said.
The Sheriff looked back and forth between Cas and Hannah.
“You seem to keep getting into these situations, is there something you’d like to tell us?” Sheriff Washington said, looking at Cas cautiously.
“What do you mean these situations? And I have nothing to tell you that I haven’t already.” Cas said stiffly.
The Sheriff and the officer exchanged looks again.
“Mrs. Moon had a break in. She was knocked out and has been unconscious ever since. If she had awoken before you came home, I’m sure she would’ve told us about the child. Where have you two been?” The Sheriff asked looking at Hannah and Cas.
“On a date.” Hannah said quietly feeling guilt, anger, and anxiety take over.
“Mrs. Moon was watching the child?” Sheriff Washington asked.
“Obviously.” Cas said bitterness filling his voice.
Sheriff Washington frowned. “Cas I’m trying to help you.”
Cas looked away trying to bottle up his anger. He felt Hannah grab his hand and squeeze to reassure him.
“We’ll do everything we can to find her.” Sheriff Washington said, after several long minutes where Cas stood glaring at the other man while Hannah was looking more and more anxious by the minute.
Cas let out a breath through clenched teeth, “You mean, like how you found Hannah?” He spat.
“Cas, there’s no need to get like that. We’ll find your daughter.” Though he was suspicious of Cas, the Sheriff couldn’t deny the look on Hannah’s face; she was pallid, shaking and seemingly unable to speak. “We already have a few leads,” He continued, hoping to reassure her. “…and Mrs. Moon will wake up after she’s been cared for. Once she does, we’ll have the culprit. We’ll find your baby.” Sheriff Washington said trying now to sooth the worried parents.
“What happened to Mrs. Moon?” Hannah asked, coming out of her shock.
“The kidnapper attacked her.” Sheriff Washington said shortly. Hannah collapsed at his words, in fright for her child. Cas caught her before she fell onto the ground.
“Is she OK?” Cas asked, steadying Hannah while feeling the guilt return to his stomach at the knowledge that his neighbor could have been hurt because of them.
“She will be. She just unconscious, but we expect her to wake soon.” Sheriff Washington said.
There was a pause as the Sheriff and his lackey shifted uncomfortably at a loss of what to do, unable to reconcile their earlier suspicions with the how the couple was responding to this tragedy.
“Well, we’ll call you if anything changes.” Sheriff Washington said, after a minute.
“OK” Hannah whispered, unable to speak louder. The couple slowly walked back to their car and up the driveway into the house. Hannah went to go make a drink, mechanically, and Cas went to sit in the living room. Tears stung his eyes and he recounted the night and how this wasn't suppose to happen anymore.
Hannah, while getting a drink for them both, suddenly snapped out her trance. This time, Hannah thought, she wasn’t going to be a victim. Cas had stayed strong for her last time, this time she would stay strong for him. She didn’t know what to do next, but she did know that things were different this time: it was two against one, this time.
Chapter 7
Hannah was woken by the shrill sound of the phone ringing. Hurriedly, she reached for the device.
“Hello?” She rasped, looking around the dark room for Cas but he was nowhere to be found.
“Hannah?” the voice asked.
Hannah sighed; it was Sheriff Washington’s.
“Did you find her?” She asked nervously.
There was a pause.
“No, but we’ve identified the culprit. Have you heard the name Ashley West before?” Sheriff Washington asked.
Hannah felt her stomach drop.
“Yes. She’s part of the group that kidnapped me.”
She could hear some scribbling.
“We will find your daughter, Hannah, just give us time.” Sheriff Washington said. Then he cleared his throat and offered a hello to Cas, as well.
Hannah got out of bed, too tense now to sleep. She began to walk around the room before looking for Cas. She found him in the nursery, staring at the crib, lost in thought.
“That was Sheriff Washington.” She said quietly.
He nodded.
“It’s Ashley.” She said.
He nodded, still staring. She looked over at the empty crib.
“What are you thinking about?” Hannah asked quietly.
Cas sat back and looked over at her. “It’s Ashley?” He asked, ignoring her question.
Hannah nodded, “Yeah she’s been identified.”
“Do you know where she is?” He asked.
Hannah shook her head. “No. Why would I?”
Cas looked away and then stood up suddenly. “You should be asleep.”
She scowled, “So should you.”
“I think I’m going to go for a walk. Clear my head.” He said, making to move around her, but Hannah grabbed his arm to stop him.
“I don’t want you to go. Please stay.” She said.
“Hannah I don’t want—“
“I know you don’t want to, but I’m asking you too. I don’t want to be alone. Please come back to bed.” She said.
He sighed. “I’m sorry, but I want to go on this walk. I can’t sit still. Thoughts…my baby is out there with a monster and you know a full moon is coming. What happens when Ashley changes, will she kill Coral? Will something happen to my baby girl?” He rambled while pacing around in the small room.
Hannah frowned, “she’s my baby too Cas.”
Cas looked over at her and sighed, “Yeah but—“
“But what?”
“You weren’t there in the beginning. I had to deal with all this by myself. You weren’t here.” He said.
“That’s not my fault! I was kidnapped.” She exclaimed, feeling even more dazed by what he was accusing her of.
“I know that! But all I’m saying is, you don’t know what it’s like sitting here and wondering, waiting, wishing. I’ve done this before and I’m not doing it the same way.” He said getting louder.
She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “And what about me? Sitting in that basement for months on end wondering where you were? Waiting for you. What about me? I know this is hard for you, but I was the victim! I know what she’s capable of and I know how much she hates me and how obsessed she is with you.” She paused trying to catch her breath.
He watched her. “It’s not the same.”
“You’re damn right it’s not the same. You get to sit here feeling guilty and sad for yourself because you let it happen. I had to deal with the consequences. I was the victim and I was hurt. Neither of us is right or wrong, you know that, but…” She trailed off and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, but we’re both in this together. We both have each other, that should be good enough.” She said clasping her hands together.
Cas looked at her for a minute before brushing past her and towards the doorway.
“Where are you going?” She asked calling after him.
“For a walk. Don’t wait up.” He said, before going to the front door and leaving. She watched him go, feeling helpless and sad. Hannah wondered if she would ever sleep again.
*
Ashley tried to shush the crying baby as she walked into the apartment at half past midnight, but the kid wouldn’t shut up. She took a deep breath to calm herself. She had tried to shake it when the cries became louder, but it only made her wail louder.
Getting Physical With Doctor Wolf Page 4
