Chapter 23
Over Night
We’re only about ten minutes behind the ambulance. When we arrive at the hospital, Nathanial’s parents run up to me, concerned about the blood on my dress. “My dear, are you okay? Did you get hurt?” Mrs. McCord frantically checks me for injuries.
“I’m fine. Nate protected me and kept me from getting hurt. I’m just a little shaken up and worried. Is he...is Nate going to be okay?” I ask, panicking a little.
“Your uncle says he has no internal injuries. Everything is superficial and just needs a few stitches and a little bit of blood through his IV because the knife nicked an artery. It’s a miracle he wasn’t hurt worse than that. Your uncle said you helped Nate by putting pressure on the wound,” she reassures me. “Thank you for saving our baby.” she adds as she sheds a few tears.
“Miss, may I ask you a few questions?” requests a tall man in a police uniform. “My name is Officer Smith, and I’m here to investigate the attack,” he adds.
“Yes, of course. Anything you need, Officer,” I reply as I look to Elijah.
I follow the officer into a small room dedicated to interviews. Elijah follows, being that I am technically a minor and can’t be questioned without a guardian or lawyer present, and he is both. Elijah will observe as I recall the events of this evening for the officer, minus a few minor details.
“Okay, Miss Pierce. Can you explain to me what happened this evening?” Officer Smith pulls out a chair for me to sit in and walks to the other side of the table.
“We left the formal to go for a walk in the park. A man about fortyish, kind of scruffy looking, approached us from out of the bushes. He pressed the knife up to Nate, and Nate pushed me behind himself to protect me. Alex and Mati had also come on the walk, but they were slightly behind us, and the man did not see them. When Alex saw the man, he snuck around and came running from behind the man and grabbed him. This startled the man, so he stabbed Nate. The only thing I remember after that is Nate bleeding everywhere. I pressed my hands to his wound, like they teach us to in first aid class, until the ambulance came.”
“Do you know what happened with your brother and the man?”
“All I remember is seeing the two of them struggling with each other a little. I didn’t see a lot, because I was mostly focused on helping Nate.”
“Thank you, Miss Pierce. Could you please ask your brother to come in?” requests the officer.
“Yes sir.” I leave the room, and Elijah stays behind for Alexander’s interview.
Out in the waiting room, I tell Alexander it is his turn, even though he already knows that since he was listening in while I was interviewed. He hugs me and then turns and heads to the interview room. He is prepared to give the same story as I did; only he will add the part I could not remember. He will explain that he fought with the perpetrator in self-defense. He will tell the officer that when he arrived, he placed the man in a headlock with one arm twisted behind his back. During the struggle, the man stabbed Nate, and the two of them fought. The man tried to stab Alexander but then ran off into the woods. What Alexander will not admit is the fact that the attacker was a vampire and that he and Isaac destroyed him.
Ebony and Matt arrive at the hospital. They run up to me and hold me as I collapse in their arms. “Are you okay? What can we do to help?” she asks.
“Ebony, I almost lost him tonight. I can’t. I need him. I just found him,” I sob.
“Sophia, Nate is awake, and he wants to see you.” Mrs. McCord takes my hand and leads me to his room.
Entering his room, I see the most beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on, injured or not.
“There she is, my beautiful savior,” Nathanial says in a raspy, weak voice.
I rush to his side. “Shh. Save your energy. I’ll stay with you...uh, as long as I have your permission, Mrs. McCord?”
“Yes, of course, my dear, as long as your parents are alright with it. I know he’s in good hands with you. We’ll be back first thing in the morning.” She winks.
The McCords hug and kiss their son goodnight. They say their goodbyes and hug me as they leave.
I can see that Isaac has various monitors and IVs hooked up to Nathanial. He needs to stay overnight for observation because of the blood transfusion, just to ensure a full recovery. He is extremely drowsy, drifting in and out of sleep, and I’m not leaving. I will stay by his side all night–forever if need be.
He opens his eyes for a moment. “Hey, sweetie. You are still here?”
“Where else would I possibly want to be?”
“I’m so sorry.” He reaches for my hand.
“What on Earth are you apologizing for?” I question.
“I’m sorry for putting you through all of this torment and anguish. I’m sorry for ruining the winter dance.”
“You did not put me through anything. There was nothing you could have done. I’m sorry you got hurt when Alex came.” I lower my head, ashamed at the memory of craving his blood.
“I’m fine, thanks to you. Please don’t worry that pretty little head of yours.” He pauses for a moment and then continues, “I’m just so glad nothing happened to you. If you had gotten hurt or worse, I just...I would not be able to live with myself,” he said with pain in his voice.
“Really, you don’t ever have to worry about me. Nothing is ever going to happen to me,” I reassure him with more truth than he’d ever realize. I lean down and kiss him on the forehead and then wait for him to fall asleep again.
I sneak out to the waiting room so I can speak with my family. “What did the officer have to say?” I inquire.
“He didn’t say, but he is putting out an APB matching the man’s description, or at least that’s what he was thinking of doing. Obviously they’re never going to find him,” Alexander confirms.
“So what happened? How did you destroy him?” I ask, wanting to make sure he won’t return.
“When Isaac came, he grabbed a stick and staked the vampire in the heart. We decapitated him, and he self-combusted due to the stake. He is gone, no coming back. It was a difficult fight since he was so hungry. We’ll explain more later, but we think he could have been Cerberus.”
“Oh that’s not good. We will have to talk about it later. You guys should all go home. We don’t need people getting suspicious. Isaac or Constance can stay with me and Nate,” I suggest, and everyone agrees.
Constance decides to stay the night as well, and we head back to Nathanial’s room. He has enough medication in him that he should sleep through the night. Isaac is transferring care of Nathanial to Constance. With that dealt with, we settle in to the large recliner chairs situated in Nathanial’s room and begin a night of girl talk. I’m not sure if chairs like this are normally in the rooms, maybe Constance pulled some strings.
“Did you foresee what happened?” I question.
“Yes. I tried to call you but your phone was at home, so I called Alexander, but it was too late. It was after you left. I was putting things away in your room. That’s why he and Mati were close behind you and why he was listening to your thoughts,” she explains.
Constance usually needs to have some kind of connection to the person or situation in order to have a premonition. Touching my things must have given her the connection she needed.
“Is there anything else you should tell me? Anything I should know?”
“No, not yet at least, although I was surprised you chose to heal him instead of turning him. I know you love him,” Constance admits.
I’m extremely surprised with that comment, and she has caught me off my guard, but I figure there is no point in hiding it or trying to lie. “I do. I have since that first moment I met him, since I bumped into him on that first day on my way to class. As much as I want to be with him, I can’t do that to him. It was extremely hard for me not to feed from him tonight. I have never been faced with such temptation before,” I’m ashamed to admit.
“Love is more powe
rful than anything else in the world, but...”
“But what?” I ask, wondering why she is hesitating.
“Well, I do see him joining out family in the future,” Constance discloses.
I walk over to Nathanial, still sleeping peacefully. I lightly run my fingers through his hair. “I know we are soul mates, he is the other half of me. My life is finally complete, with him in it and Mati confirming it helps, but I can’t. Why would I want to damn him to a never-ending existence like ours? When I think about the reasons behind it, they are all selfish. I just can’t turn the sweetest man I have ever known into a killer, a monster,” I argue.
“I don’t know the details behind his change. I only know I see him as a member of our family,” Constance sighs and adds. “What is meant to be shall be, and we cannot always change it.”
Constance and I talk all night and she assures me that Nathanial’s pain is well managed and that his vital signs are good. It’s funny, because every time I touch him, his monitors indicate that his heart rate increases a little; it is becoming a joke to us. When the nurses come in to check on him and speak with Constance, I pretend to be asleep. Constance takes a few moments to review hospital charts and records, make a few notes, and perform various hospital duties. Once the nurse leaves, we start talking again.
“Constance, I’m just so torn! Nate is amazing. I couldn’t ask for anything more from him. He has given me more than I could have ever hoped for, and because of him I have felt things I never expected. What on Earth am I supposed to do?” I plead.
“Enjoy him for as long as you can, but always know the option is there. Because he does not know any different, you can’t possibly know what he might want,” she reasons.
We agree to talk about some less stressful issues, and Constance starts to tell me how much she is enjoying her job at the hospital. “It’s great here. Isaac and I fit right in, and the staff is very welcoming,” she explains.
“The whole town really is great. I hope we can stay here for a while,” I add
I really believe the Wenham has a lot to offer us. The feeling of belonging I get from this town is really making me want to get to know the people better. If they can accept me, maybe I should try to accept them. I look over at Nathanial and begin to wonder if he’ll still accept me if he finds out what a monster I am. How did Caspian do it? How did he keep such a secret from someone he loved?
Constance and I reflect on the times when Caspian was around.
“It’s been too long now, over thirty years. Maybe we should try to find him. Maybe we should bring Caspian home,” I suggest.
“Isaac and I have thought the same thing. This might be something to talk to Elijah and Florence about.”
It’s been a long time since Constance and I spent the whole night talking, and it’s nice to fully open up and express my feelings about Nathanial. They all know how I feel. It just feels good to open up and admit it to myself as well.
S S S
Morning comes quickly and my Nathanial awakes.
“Good morning, sunshine,” I greet with a smile.
“Good morning, sweetie.” He smiles back and says, “I could get used to waking up to you.”
“Okay kids, I’m still in the room!” Constance announces. She proceeds to give him a complete checkup. “One more day in here with the IV antibiotics, and then I can give you a prescription to take at home. Your stitches are looking good, and they can come out in a week. There should be no physical activity for six weeks, and do not lift anything over ten pounds,” Constance orders.
“No football?” He looks devastated.
“I’m afraid your season ends here, Nate. I’m sorry.” Constance hates giving people bad news.
Mr. and Mrs. McCord are back at nine o’clock sharp, and Mrs. McCord hugs me and thanks me again for taking care of him before she gives Nathanial a hug and kiss. I can’t help but ask why they allowed me to stay here with Nathanial.
“I have to admit I was surprised that you allowed me to stay after only just meeting me.”
“Well for one we trust our son and his judgment, two he is in the hospital and not feeling well. Not too worried about something happening here. Mostly though we knew your aunt would be right beside you most of the night. We could see the dedication in her eyes,” Mrs. McCord explains.
“Well, thank you again for allowing me to stay. He had a pretty good night and slept most of it.”
Nathanial repeats to his parents what Constance told him, and I fill in the parts he misses, ensuring they have all the instructions.
Constance had given me some hospital scrubs so that I didn’t have to stay in my soiled clothes all night. Since the McCords had arrived I decided this would be a good time to go home and freshen up. I say goodbye explaining I need a shower and change of clothes with a promise I will be back later.
S S S
At home, I clean myself up. I give Ebony a call to fill her in on everything that happened. I only saw her for a moment last night at the hospital. We speak for a short period of time and it is nice to have a friend to confide in. “How was your date with Matt?” I ask.
“It was nice...well, until we heard what happened. We were so concerned about you and Nate.”
I assure her that we are both alright and there is no need to worry. “I will call you again later. Thanks for being there for me.”
Immortal Embrace Page 23
