Raven
watched the yellow-eyed giant walk away to the door but she hadn’t heard a
knock. She guessed he could hear something she couldn’t. She tried to stay
relaxed but felt her muscles involuntarily tense up when she saw the doctor at
the door.
Isaac let him in and the Doc made his way up to her left
side.
“Good evening, Ms. Raven,” he greeted with a small smile.
“How are you feeling?”
Raven was about to answer but thought better of it; her
throat was still impossibly dry despite the water. So she typed out a message
on the phone’s notepad app. “You didn’t mention I could’ve died during the
procedure.”
She tried to angle the phone to him but her arm refused to cooperate
enough. She turned to Isaac as he returned to her right side and he read her
message aloud. She noticed him frown at the Doc and wondered if he was
directing her anger because she couldn’t… or it was his own.
“Ah, yes,” Dr. O fidgeted a little. “Considering the toxin
had a few days to truly grip onto your system, it would take a bit of effort to
release it. I had high hopes for your survival, however, based on the results
from the tests prior.”
Raven pursed her lips as she typed out another message for
Isaac to read, “Why can’t I talk?”
“I believe the toxin centered in your throat was highly
affected by the treatment. It may take longer for your throat to recover than
the rest of your body,” Dr. O stated thoughtfully.
Raven watched him carefully move aside her old cell phone
and her necklace to place a rolled-up kit on the bedside table. Before she
could type out the message, Isaac spoke,
“Pass me the necklace, Doc,”
She stared as the necklace was passed along over her. Then
Isaac set it beside her on the bed.
“It looks delicate,” he muttered, seeing her watching him.
Raven was about to type out a question when she felt the
Doc’s cold hand move her left arm toward him. She watched him sanitize the
inside of her elbow and typed out, “Do you need so much blood? I feel like a
pin cushion.”
The Doc chuckled and picked up a needle. “I do apologize,
Ms. Raven. As this is a very interesting case, I would like to be as thorough
as possible. We must learn as much as we can about your condition and that does
call for constant tests.”
Raven sighed heavily and stared up at the canopy as he
pricked her skin. She felt the jiggle as he attached the tube to collect her
blood flow but refused to look. She focused inward and checked her own
recovery. Her muscles were basically liquid and waking up slower than she would
have liked. She could move her fingers and hands but not her arms. Hell, if she
tried to make a fist, her muscles practically rioted against her until she
relaxed again.
I hate this, she grumbled in her mind. I can’t
fight. I have to rely on Muscles. I can’t even walk!
As if to underline this, she tried to wiggle her toes again
but they refused.
“What’s wrong, Raven?” Isaac’s voice asked and she noticed
his intense stare.
This guy takes his promises too seriously, she
thought before typing out, “My legs won’t move now and I feel like passing
out again.”
“I do recommend plenty of rest,” the Doc answered when Isaac
read her message aloud. “You may have random instances of unconsciousness but
with time, you will adjust to the side effects.”
Raven felt him remove the needle and quickly bandage her up.
She watched him carefully cork the vial of her blood and slide it into a pouch.
She couldn’t help but wonder if he seriously needed so much blood.
Suddenly, she felt the phone in her hand vibrate. She opened
the messages app and opened Anise’s recent text.
“Hey, Raven.”
This was odd. Usually, Anise called her by her nickname.
Raven frowned slightly and replied,
“What’s up, sis?”
“Well, Ms. Raven, I will ask that you contact me tomorrow to
report your progress,” the Doc said. “I am sure you will be up and moving
again.”
Raven switched to the notes app to type out: “Sure, Doc.
We’ll see.”
“If you do not experience any nausea within the next two
hours, I suggest eating a light soup,” the Doc recommended.
“I’ll walk you out,” Isaac growled as the Doc chuckled.
Raven felt the phone vibrate again as both vampires moved
away from her. She opened Anise’s message and felt her blood run cold. She forced
her heart to relax before the vamps could pick up on her sudden change. She
reread the message and quickly ran through a list of possible actions.
“There’s someone here asking for you. Says he’s a friend
of yours? A client?”
Raven figured she shouldn’t worry her sister just yet so she
sent. “At the college?”
She distantly heard Isaac shut the door to her room and
begin to move back to her side when she got Anise’s reply,
“Yeah… he says you didn’t check in for an appointment?
His name is Kurt.”
Raven couldn’t hide her eyes from widening and knew Isaac
must have noticed. She sent back a quick, “Hold on.”
“Raven?” Isaac frowned curiously.
Raven opened the notes app and typed, “Could you pass me
my old phone?”
Isaac nodded once and was on the other side of the bed in an
instant. He moved back around and set the old phone in her right hand. “What’s
going on?”
Raven didn’t try to answer him. She was busy typing in a
phone number she’d memorized to send a quick text message. “I got your
message. Not tomorrow. I need a favor.”
She waited, feeling Isaac’s stare heavy on her skin.
“What favor?”
“Extra surveillance during daylight. I’ve got full hands.”
“It’ll cost you,” came the reply. “In two days, for
72hrs. From now on.”
Raven pushed down the sudden wave of nerves and replied, “See
you then.”
She deleted the messages, locked the phone and grabbed the
other one to send Anise a text next, “Sorry, he’s a client and a friend.
Guess he got worried lol.”
She waited for a reply, forcing herself to relax. I can’t
believe that asshole made contact, she thought to herself with a sigh. I
need to fix this.
“Raven,” Isaac interrupted suddenly, eyeing her hand.
“What’s going on?”
Raven opened the notes app and typed out, “Just something
I forgot to do. I handled it.”
He frowned but gave her a quick nod. He busied himself with
pouring her another glass of water and she typed out another message,
‘Remember those days I told you that need to head out? I
need to be gone the day after tomorrow for a few days.’
Isaac’s frown deepened. “You did mention that.”
Raven waited as his mind worked. She erased the message and
prepared to type again.
“You still don’t want Luther to drive you?” he asked and she
typed out, “No.”
“So, you’ll need one of the cars,” he pointed out.
'Preferably a small one. I’m not sure I wanna drive an
SUV' Raven typed out.
“You’re not gonna tell me where you’re going, are you?” he
asked but he didn’t even glance at her answer.
Guess he’s not completely stupid, Raven thought.
“You’re asking for a lot of trust, Raven,” he muttered, his
hands fisting at his sides. “We cannot allow our existence to be compromised.”
Raven wished she could ask the multitude of questions she
felt like asking but resorted to typing out, ‘You asked how you could earn
my trust. What better way to earn yours?’
He crossed those massive arms and stared down at her, hard.
“Perhaps sharing some details about yourself would help. You raise a lot of
questions.”
Raven sighed and felt her eyes roll. She typed out, ‘When
I get back, I’ll answer a few.’
She watched him think about it for a few long seconds. He
sighed suddenly and moved away. Confused, Raven watched him go back to the
plush chairs and pick up a book. He sat down and began to read.
What the fuck?! She would have frowned if she could.
He didn’t speak to her and she wasn’t going to wait forever.
Eventually, her eyes grew heavy and she was out cold again…
Raven raced across the grassy yard, heading to the familiar
white wooden fence that lined the property. The grass was drying out in places
because of the drought or at least that’s what Dad would say. She could hear
the little girl behind her giggling as she clumsily followed. She let out a
giggle herself and stopped for a second to let the girl catch up. Then she took
off and heard the girl shriek with laughter behind her. She ran straight for
the fence and pretended to hit it, falling back onto the grass heavily and
closing her eyes.
She heard the little footsteps rushing to her; the
laughter had stopped.
“Ray?” she squeaked and her soft, small hands touched her
face.
“AH!” Raven suddenly reached up and pulled the little
girl into a bear hug, making her shriek in surprise. She buried her face into
the little neck and blew a wet raspberry as the tiny creature struggled in her
arms.
“EW!” she cried out giggling.
Raven laughed with her and held her until they finally relaxed.
“You’re silly,” Anise giggled.
Raven laid back down to stare up at the cloudy sky. It
was probably going to rain soon and she hoped so. The grass needed it.
“Excuse me,”
Raven bolted back up as her eyes landed on a pair of
strangers just outside the fence. She quickly grabbed Anise and held her hand
but didn’t answer them.
“Is there a Ms. Grace here?” the man continued; his voice
friendly.
“Uh, do you mean Mrs.?” Raven asked in a small voice.
“Not to us,” the man’s voice had hardened before his
expression relaxed again. His grey eyes had flashed but were back to normal as
he examined her hair. “You’re her daughter, aren’t you?”
“Both—” Anise began but Raven was already moving backward
toward the house shouting,
“DAD!”
A woman with long black hair was the first out of the
house and at Raven’s side before their father finally came outside, gripping a
serrated hunting knife. Raven felt her mother’s gentle hand on her back, edging
her softly toward the house.
“Take your sister inside, darling,” she instructed
calmly, her eyes on the men.
Raven nodded and continued to the house, gripping her
sister’s hand.
“Don’t turn back,” her father muttered to her as he
passed to stand beside his wife.
Raven kept her eyes forward but could feel Anise struggling
to turn. Inwardly, she struggled not to turn around too. She wondered about the
men and why they were there. How could eyes do that? Did she imagine it? What
did he mean mom wasn’t a Mrs.? She’s married!
That’s how that works, right?
Raven took quicker steps and stopped only when she felt
her hold on Anise slip a little. She turned back to see that Anise had fallen
to her knees. Quickly helping her back up, Raven continued pulling her along. She
made it into the house before she heard her father harshly speak to the men.
She pushed Anise back so she could shut the door, blocking out any further
sounds.
Should I lock the door? She wondered, staring at
it.
“Ow,” Anise whimpered behind her with a sob. “Eww… red…”
Raven spun around and saw the red pouring out of Anise’s
knee.
With a gasp, she grabbed her sister and took her to the
nearest bathroom by the stairs. She sat her on the unopened toilet lid and dove
under the sink for the first aid. She began trying to dress the wound but the blood
wouldn’t stop.
Raven pressed onto the wound with a fresh gauze as she
undid her small tennis shoe. She tore off the sock that had soaked up a lot of
the blood. She heard Anise whimper and froze.
“Ow!” she whined and reached down to where she was
pressing.
“Sorry, too hard?” Raven asked and looked at her hand
with a gasp. The gauze was soaked through already.
Raven looked back up into Anise’s face to see her eyes a
little droopy and her skin a little paler. She didn’t know what to do. Tears
welled up and made the blood shimmer like rubies.
“Mom! Dad!” she screamed when she heard the door to the
yard close.
Their footsteps came rushing and she looked up into their
blurry faces.
“Anise? Honey?” their mom rushed in and crouched in front
of her while Raven moved out of the way. “We have to go to the hospital. She’s
lost a lot of blood already,” she said after a second.
Raven stepped out of the bathroom as her father wrapped a
long bandage tightly around Anise’s thigh just above her knee.
Then the three of them were rushing out of the house to
the car and speeding to the hospital.
After the doctors took Anise and they were sitting around
the waiting room, Raven watched her father walk up to her.
“How did she get hurt?” her father demanded; his equally
green eyes trained on her.
“We were walking to the house and she fell,” Raven
answered softly.
“We’ve told you to be careful with her,” he continued
with a huff. “You can’t be so rough. She’s only two.”
“I didn’t mean to…” Raven felt a tear escape and reached
up to brush it when she saw the blood on her palms.
“We have to let the doctors do what they can,” her mother
sighed, walking to them from speaking to the nurses.
He turned to her now. “I told you something like this would
happen.”
She faced him and met his frown. “Yes, we knew the
possibility and I regret nothing. You’ve lived a long life and so will they.
Raven’s almost six and healthy,” she reached up and cupped his cheek. “I love
you… and your imperfections.”
With a deep breath, her father’s expression relaxed and
he turned his head to kiss her mother’s palm. Then he sat down next to Raven
with a sigh.
“C’mon, honey,” her mother reached for her. “Let’s give
your father some space and we’ll wash your hands.”
Raven followed her mother.
“Raven?”
Raven forced her consciousness back and eyed the dimmed room
until she noticed the behemoth half-shadow standing beside her.
“How are you feeling today?” he asked.
“It’s morning?” Raven asked, her voice stronger than before.
“Around eleven,” he nodded. “Can you move?”
Raven tested this by moving her arm out to the side, bumping
into the phones that hadn’t been moved. She brought her arm back in and raised
it to look at her palm as she fisted her hand. “I’m better than before.”
Isaac smirked. “You’re not throwing punches yet but it’s a
start.”
Raven eyed him as she schooled her expression a little,
remembering her promise to answer his questions. She wiggled her legs a bit
before bringing her elbows back to lift herself a bit. She scooted herself back
to sit against the pillow behind her and relaxed with a sigh. “Thanks for
keeping an eye on me while I was… out.”
He nodded before he shifted slightly. “You think you can
stomach some food?”
Raven thought of food and felt her body’s reactions to the
idea; her belly rumbling. “I think I can manage.”
“I’ll bring you something,” Isaac promised and paused by the
door. “And I’ve been thinking over what you said. You’re right. I’ll trust you
to go out and do what you need to. In turn, I hope you’ll trust me enough to be
honest with your answers later.”
Raven met his eyes when he turned back to her. She still
couldn’t believe someone would have golden eyes; even vampires. “This is only a
temporary arrangement. If this treatment works, I’m leaving and would prefer to
have some things kept secret. I promise to answer what I can, honestly.”
He didn’t reply as he left the room.
What questions is he going to ask me? What the hell could
he want to know? I’m not here to make friends, she wondered.
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