“Whaaa?”
“Jessa’s coming over here,” Jaxx asks cautiously from his position at the stove.
“Yes. I need clothing, don’t I?”
“I like you in mine just fine,” he smirks at me. I stroll over, stand on my tip toes, and brush my lips against his.
“Gag me now,” Gavin grumbles.
I turn to Seb and really look at him for the first time that A.M. He is looking a bit peaked.
“Hey, Seb, have you eaten?”
“A bit ago, but after having something fresh, after so long, it didn’t agree with me.”
“Bagged blood,” I ask.
“Yes,” he nods.
“Well pony up, Uncle Seb. I don’t mind being your main tap,” I laugh at myself.
Seb looks genuinely surprised.
“You would do so again? Willingly?” Astonishment is written all over his face.
“Of course. Why not? You are going to train me and we are family now. So like I said, pick a spot.”
He leans over me and gently takes my wrist into his cool hand. Jaxx and Gavin watch silently as Seb sinks his fangs into my left wrist with a lightening quick burst of movement.
I can’t stop the gasp of pain that escapes my mouth and Gavin grips my right hand. I smile at him in gratitude. Then as quick as it starts, it is over.
“My thanks, again, little niece,” Seb says with a smile as he licks the last of my blood off the corner of his mouth.
“It is nice to have my family expanding once again.” He looks from me to Gavin.
“Well we need to get our stories straight before Jessa gets here because Seb doesn’t pass for a stodgy uncle.”
“I agree.” Jaxx stands once again behind me, gripping my shoulders.
“I’m your roommate. Simple as that,” Seb says with a shrug of his shoulders.
“Simple and true, I like it. I don’t like lying to Jessa. I’m not any good at it either. She always catches me out.”
Gavin looks at me and nods.
“Better not to lie then.”
We wait around the table until the breakfast Jaxx cooked starts to get cold.
“Let’s go ahead and start eating, I’m sure she’ll make an appearance when we are almost done. I’ll make her plate and set it aside,” I tell everyone.
Everyone but Seb starts filling their plates with French toast, bacon, eggs, and hash browns. Everything looks perfectly scrumptious.
Seb is reading what looks like an old history tome while we are all moaning and going on about how good everything is. When we are all about done eating, I am starting to get worried that Jessa hasn’t shown her pretty face yet. My phone gives off a shrill ring from beside me.
“Hello,” I answer.
“Hey you freaky witch, I just wanted to let you know that I will fuck up everyone you love. No one makes me look like a crazy cunt and gets away with it!”
“Sabrina,” I ask.
“Who else,” she cackles into the phone then hangs up on me.
I rush from the table, frantically ringing Jessa’s phone. It just rings over and over. When I can’t get a hold of her I slump down onto the floor in the hallway and start to silently cry. I try to call Devon next and he answers on the second ring.
“What’s up, hag,” he calls in his usually happy voice.
“Have you seen or heard from Jessa,” I practically yell at him through the phone.
“Calm down, chick. And no I haven’t. What’s wrong?” His voice isn’t so happy anymore.
“That’s what we all would like to know,” Jaxx says from behind me.
I turn to look at him as I explain to Devon over the phone what Sabrina had just said to me.
“Jessa was supposed to be here an hour ago, but she isn’t here yet. I’m worried Devon. Really freaking out here!”
“Calm-” he starts to reply, but my call waiting beeps in.
I look and notice that it is Jessa’s mother.
“Hang on, Devon. Jessa’s mom is on the other line.” I hear him say ‘fuck’ as I click over.
“Hello,” I say, scared out of my mind.
“Ella, honey, is that you?”
“Yes’m. What can I do for you?”
She starts crying softly into the phone.
“Honey you need to come down to the hospital. Jessa has been in a car accident. They don’t know what has happened or how she is yet, but I know she would want you here. I need you to come now. I hope to see you here soon.” She hangs up without me even saying a word.
I click back over to Devon and explain what had happened.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital, and Devon, be careful!” I hang up with him and I lose my shit. Jaxx gathers me in his arms and rubs my back as I soak the front of his shirt.
“Pretty eyes, you need to calm down. The maid has washed your clothing from yesterday. We need to get you dressed and get on the road. I know you want to be there.” Jaxx continues to rock me until I suck it up and get moving.
I run up to our room as I am starting to think of it. I rush through getting dressed, not even worrying about my hair. I brush my teeth in record time, slip into my socks and boots, and am out the door in under five minutes.
I am rushing down the stairs when my boot heel snags on something and I am sent stumbling.
“Fucking Damn Shit Fuck Me Sideways,” I scream as I land at the bottom of the staircase.
I automatically start to check myself over to see what I have fucked up on my way down. Yup, my left wrist and left ankle hurt like the devil. I heat up my right palm and concentrate on healing myself, but it doesn’t work.
“Why the fuck does it have to stop working now?” I realize I am cursing like Jessa and almost start to laugh.
Jaxx is by my side in a flash.
“What has happened,” he croons to me as he tries to run his hands over me, checking me for injuries.
“My dumb ass fell down the stairs and I can’t fix me,” I mumble at him with silent tears streaming down my face.
“Here, take my hand. Breathe deep. Now try.” When it doesn’t work right away, he knows I am getting agitated again. “Concentrate, Ella. Clear your head.”
I do as I am told and grip his hand tightly. I feel the tingling start in my palm, the heat radiating in my chest, traveling down my arm, and I then touch my right hand to my left wrist. The pain disappears almost instantly. I repeat the process with my ankle.
“Hmm, I guess we have to be linked to heal ourselves,” I look up at Jaxx and tell him thoughtfully.
“Good to know,” he tells me as I jump up and grab his hand, taking off at a run for the front door.
Chapter 10.
We all load into Seb’s spacious Porsche and haul ass all the way to the main emergency entrance of the hospital. I am out of the car and running through the doors before the car is even fully stopped. I abruptly halt at the nurse’s station completely out of breath.
“Jessa Carpenter,” I say to the lady behind the counter.
“Honey, she’s in ICU, on the fourth floor,” she tells me in a calming voice after looking it up on the computer that’s sitting on the desk in front of her.
By the time I have the information everyone has caught up to me. Jaxx twines his fingers in mine as we sprint side by side to the elevators. While we are waiting, Jaxx tries once again in vain to calm me down.
“Baby, you have to calm yourself. You are wreaking havoc all around us,” he urges me to see what is happening around us.
I look around and finally notice that the windows at the front entrance are rattling and the ground beneath our feet is quaking. People all around us are running to take cover in doorways and under tables, yelling that there is an earthquake. Screams from the people surrounding me give me the strength to finally listen to what he is telling me to do.
“Deep breaths,” Seb whispers in my ear as Gavin reaches for my free hand.
The united front, they have cocooned me in a bubble of family and it is actu
ally working. I can feel myself calming. I take a deep breath and look at them.
“I’m okay now, I think. Just stay close. I still don’t feel totally in control of myself.”
The elevator doors ding and swoosh open. We enter and take what seems like an endless ride to the fourth floor. When the doors swoosh back open, I am out of them like a shot. Only this time I am not alone, Jaxx has me shackled to his side. As we enter the ICU wing I see Devon sitting slumped in a chair with his head in his hands. His fingers are running through his hair over and over again.
He looks up as if he feels me walk into the room and he is out of his seat, rushing to me. He flings himself into my arms and completely breaks down. He is sobbing out his pain so loudly that the nursing staff is looking at us worriedly.
“Shhhhhhh, baby boy, it’s going to be okay,” I tell him, trying to calm him down and not break into shards myself.
I look around and notice that Gavin and Seb have taken up seats close to where we are standing. Jaxx is rubbing circles on Devon’s back, trying to give him comfort. In that moment I look at him and feel the walls that I have had around my heart since childhood crack just a tad more.
“She is strong, Devon. She is going to be okay. Jessa wouldn’t want us crying for her. She would crack a bottle of Vodka and have it waiting for either one of us for when we woke up.” I laugh a little. “Then she would crack it over our heads for worrying her at all,” I tell him with tears in my eyes.
After what seems like hours he finally calms down enough to tell us what he knows.
“I talked to her mom when I first got here. She said that she somehow lost control of her car and rammed straight into that giant maple tree at the end of her road. They had to cut her out of the car, Ells.” He begins to sob again.
I lead him over to a chair and sit him down. I take the seat beside him and put my arm around him, wrapping him up tight. I look over at Jaxx and he nods at me. He strides from the waiting room to find out if he can get an update from anyone.
When Jaxx returns, he is frowning at me and shaking his head no. I slump. Jaxx takes my hand into his and we wait. We wait for hours with nothing but silence to keep us company. Sebastian and Gavin take turns going to get all of us coffee and snacks. Finally I spot Jessa’s mom as she slowly trudges into the waiting room. She looks as if the life and energy has been sucked out of her. She has aged at least ten years since the last time I saw her.
Devon and I jump up from our seats at the same time and hurry over to her. We each take a hand and lead her to my vacated chair. She looks up at us both with glassy eyes. I wonder to myself where her husband is? I know that Jessa and her mom are home alone a lot since her father travels most of the time for work. But shouldn’t he be here for this?
“She has a back injury,” Jessa’s mother finally bursts out. As if she can’t keep the news to herself any longer. She wants to share her pain.
“She is in surgery right now. That’s all I know.” She looks at me, then Devon.
“How can they not know more? All they are telling is that something went wrong with her car. I spoke to the police and they told me that the brakes were bad. That she couldn’t have stopped that damn car even if she had wanted to.”
Devon and I both share a look of pure horror. It is the exact same thing that happened to Carly Stevens last year. Only this time it is way more personal. Sabrina is one dead cunt. I can feel the black rage building inside of me. The walls and ground below our feet start to shake and shiver again.
“Everyone has been saying that there have been a series of earthquakes this morning. How odd,” Jessa’s mom mumbles out absently.
I start to take deep breaths and reach for Jaxx’s hand. I snuggle into his side, trying not to think of what is going to be left of Sabrina when I get through with the hag.
I look around the waiting room and finally introduce Devon and Jessa’s mother, Martha, to my newly found family.
“This is Jaxx, my boyfriend,” I introduce Jessa’s mom first since Devon already knows him. Then I point out Seb and Gavin.
“And the guys sitting across the room are my twin brother, Gavin, who recently located me,” I begin telling her, Devon dumbfounded and shocked at the news, but stays blissfully mute. It isn’t the time for explanations so I continue as Seb walks over to stand next to Jaxx and me.
“This is Sebastian. Seb for short, he’s my cousin.” I look at him with love. Seb nods his dark head at Martha and Devon, shakes their hands, then walks back over to his own seat across the room. I glance over at Martha.
“Do you know when there will be anymore news,” I ask her quietly, knowing that she probably doesn’t. But I just can’t help myself. I am going nuts not knowing something. Anything.
“No, sweetie. She will be in surgery for quite a while. When they finish trying to fix what is wrong with her the doctor will come here to give us the results.” Her voice is broken with tears.
I slump in my seat and cuddle into Jaxx. I put my head in my hands and start to pray.
This is my fault, I think to myself. If I hadn’t teased and reminded her that I am going to be gone soon she would still be at home asleep in her bed.
I have never really prayed for anything this important in my life, not even growing up with a Pastor for a father. I still don’t believe in anything bigger than me watching over everyone, but now I pray. I pray for Jessa to make it through the surgery. I pray to anyone out there that might be listening. I just want her to be okay, whole and healthy enough to help me dismember the cunt that did this to her. I must have nodded off because the next thing I know Jaxx is shaking me awake. I was dozing and leaning against his shoulder.
When I blearily look around, I see that Martha and her husband are talking to a surgeon. I sit up straight and Jaxx has to restrain me from running over and asking a million questions of my own. Martha turns to everyone in the room.
“Please, we are all family, we all love Jessa. Please just tell us how she is. What is her condition,” she pleads with the surgeon.
We are all gathered around the doctor and looking at him expectantly. He runs his fingers through his hair nervously. That can’t be a good sign. He looks to Martha and begins to speak.
“Your daughter made it through surgery just fine, but we won’t know how serious the injuries to her spine are until the swelling goes down. Serious spinal cord injuries resulting from automobile accidents can lead to significant nerve damage and can potentially cause paralysis, muscle dystrophy, autonomic, involuntary nervous system disturbances and/or loss of reflex function,” the doctor’s voice is very monotone as he is listing everything that can go wrong. I want to rip his damn throat out for not showing more compassion.
Martha slumps into her husband’s arms, looking as if she is about to faint. Tears are streaming down Jessa’s father, Tom’s face. I feel nothing. I am completely numb from top to toe. I am still latched to Jaxx’s side. I think he fears that if I let my emotions get the best of me I will turn the hospital and everyone in it into rubble.
“Will my baby be able to walk? Will she be normal again,” Martha begs the doctor for good news once again.
“We just don’t have any answers at this point. We will know more by tomorrow when the swelling is down.” Again with the monotone. I grit my teeth to leash my temper.
“When will we be able to see her,” I ask the doctor in a sugar sweet voice. I have an idea brewing in my head.
I can heal her. I know that I can.
My world was shattered when I found out that Jessa was hurt, but I can fix this. It’s my fault… I know that it is my fault. I may not have started or caused it, but Sabrina was gunning for me. Jessa got hurt because of that.
Jaxx looks at me with glowing, icy blue eyes. I sometimes forget that Norms can’t see the lights that we radiate. He knows exactly what I am thinking. What I am willing to try to get her back and well again.
“You may go into her room one at a time for now, but you must not dis
turb her. She needs her rest,” the doctor tells us, then quickly leaves the room as if the hounds of hell are nipping his ass.
“Ponce,” Sebastian mutters from behind me. I can’t help but chuckle at that. Tom looks at me like I am demented for laughing at a time like this, but he and Devon don’t know what we can do. I am going to fix her. I am determined. As far as I am concerned it’s already done.
We wait in the same chairs that we have been sitting in all day. Playing another waiting game until it is my turn to see Jessa. Her parents have been in and out of her room for hours now, hoping in vain that she will wake. Finally Martha walks into the waiting room alone.
“You can go in now, Devon. Tom has to get back on the road for work. After you are done, Ella can have a turn to see her, but you both must be quick. I don’t want to be away from my baby for too long.” She slumps once more into a seat across from me and passes out almost immediately. This horrid day has finally caught up with her.
Devon reaches for me and hugs me tight.
“I’ll be quick. I know you want to see her as much as I do,” he whispers sweetly into my ear.
Then he quits the room at a trot. If he only knew what was going to happen when I am finally alone with Jessa, he wouldn’t have made me wait until he was done. It takes about ten minutes for Devon to make it back to the waiting room. I sit up and pull out of Jaxx’s arms. Sebastian and Gavin have already returned to Jaxx’s house for the night. There is nothing they could have done by staying here any longer than they already had.
“Walk with me” I tell Jaxx in a low tone. “I need you to stand outside the room so I’m not interrupted.” He nods and we are once again walking down the hall, hands tightly entwined.
When we make it to the door of Jessa’s room, I reach up and brush my lips across his.
“Thank you for being here,” I tell him quietly.
He pulls me to him tightly, hugging the life out of me. I draw strength from his embrace. He is my lifeline in this place.
“Anything for you, pretty eyes. But please be quick. I don’t want you in this place of death any longer.” He shudders as if he can feel something that I cannot.
The Awakening: A Witch-Vampire Romance: Feel the Heat. Page 11
