Chapter Five
Ouch!
I knew I was in a small, firm bed, and I knew that above me bright lights threatened to blind me.
I could smell sanitizer, medicine, and industrial laundry detergent.
Hospital?
I heard an annoying noise – like a beeper – to my left, and the gentle hum of a heater to my right.
Small, circular pads stuck to my chest were irritating, the needle in the crook of my arm felt uncomfortable.
My mouth felt swollen.
I wanted to get up because I had a sense someone was watching me, but I remained still instead.
I heard his sigh. He was standing near enough that I could smell his soap.
Gentle fingers caressed the back of my hand before moving to my cheeks and the outline of my mouth.
This gave me an opportunity to let my power out.
Maybe that was a mistake.
I was bulldozed by feelings that I couldn’t understand.
Love too strong for words, or maybe even actions.
I was heartbroken over the fact that the person I loved was hurt and I was powerless. It broke me.
Crippled me.
Yet under the surface of those feelings was a sense of anger. He didn’t want this love. He didn’t know me, yet the sight of me made him weak at the knees. He hated the fact that he wanted me. Wanted me like mad. He knew even the taste of my lips even though his had never truly been pressed up against them.
“I wasn’t aware she was in need of police supervision,” a familiar male voice said.
The connection to my subject was broken and I felt relief.
The voice sounded like Stephan – my alarmingly beautiful and tragically unavailable best friend.
“She isn’t,” another male voice said with a sigh.
The air felt tense.
“I just wanted to make sure she was okay. I’m Officer Adrian Kincaid.”
“Stephan Brooks. I thank you for your service, Officer Kincaid, but I’m here now, and I think she will appreciate a familiar face when she wakes.”
“Of course. Keep her safe.”
“You can be certain I will after tonight.” Stephan agreed. “Have a good night, officer.”
I didn’t hear a response but heard a door softly open and close.
Stephan sighed deeply as his warm lips kissed my forehead.
“Oh, Duchess…” he whispered.
The sound of furniture scraping across the floor of the room echoed in my ears and made me wince. Moments later, soft hands wrapped around mine, and I felt his head lean on my stomach.
I wanted to tell him I was fine, but I couldn’t talk. Not yet.
He kissed my hands and then he started humming, low and gentle, until I slipped back into the numbing darkness.
***
Hours later when I awoke, it wasn’t the overwhelming smell of the lilies in the room or the smell of dripping IVs that threw me – it was hunger.
It was rising and raging with persistence from the core of my stomach.
My mouth watered for a bite of meat yet I was a vegetarian. I craved the potent flavor of bloody meat because somehow I felt it would satisfy the unyielding desire sweeping over me.
I licked my lips and groaned.
“Easy, Duchess.” Stephan’s voice urged calmly.
I never heard it so clear or smelled him so intensely. His scent was exotic, like a summer night after the rain.
I wanted to see his face. That beautiful honey-bronzed face with high brows over intense steel blue eyes, and a glorious crooked smile.
He kissed my temple and ran a smooth finger over my cheek.
I smiled.
“Stephan,” I managed a whisper through my arid throat.
Had there been a tube down it?
Maybe.
Probably.
I decided I didn’t want to know.
“I’m here, Duchess.” Stephan’s sweet voice assured me. “Can you open your eyes, love?”
I shook my head, and the gesture hurt sharply all the way down my spine.
“Give me a moment,” Stephan said.
I heard him move around the room, pulling the curtains and then hitting the light switch.
“All right, Duchess. It’s safe now.”
The rim of my left eye felt raw while the right felt tender and swollen.
Gently, I peeled them both open and Stephan’s handsome face blurred before me.
I think he smiled and then leaned down and kissed my forehead.
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Duchess.” He slid into bed with me and folded me into his arms.
I sank into the comfort of his chest and he held me close – closer than ever before.
I could feel the thud of his heart against my cheek. He held me while I cried, while I hurt and fell apart. He held me and hummed my favorite tune “In the Still of the Night”.
“You really scared me, Jade,” he whispered in my ear after he was done humming.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” I said with a voice as steady as I could manage it. My throat was still raw and thick with tears and loss.
Seth…
Oh, Seth…
Had there been any news about him since I’ve been in the hospital?
I was fearful to ask, so I didn’t.
Not yet.
“I thought you might not come back to me and I was so afraid…” His voice broke.
I pulled him tighter around me.
“You’re all I have, Jade,” he said against my temple.
I pushed myself up to see his face, and although it hurt like hell, I brought my hands to his eyes and wiped his budding tears.
“I know,” I whispered. “But I’m here and I’m fine, Stephan.”
I kissed him on the lips.
Stephan smiled briefly and then rested his chin on top of my head as I fell back into his arms again.
“You’re lucky I’m gay.” He joked.
“Are you sure about that?” I countered playfully.
Stephan squeezed me tighter and chortled. “I think you and I have already tested that theory.”
I smiled remembering the night we tested it at a basement party during our high school sophomore year.
It was after his confession, and the first time in my life I was drunk. He was drunk with me, and I wanted to test his control.
The night was disastrous, and I ended up in the emergency room with a sprained ankle after Stephan ran away and I ran after him.
“Yea, I guess we did,” I said. “If you’re not gay, then I am not your type.”
“Oh, Duchess.” He sighed. “If I were straight, you would most definitely be my type.” He gave me a kiss on the head and then we both drifted off to sleep. For now, the pain masked my hunger, but it was there – growing.
All I want to do is hold her and take away her pain.
Adrian