I look at Ian, “Did you agree to pay her?”
Ian looks embarrassed. “She told me things about your brother, and we made a deal so she would leave you alone.”
“It know, it is pathetic,” she says.
“I’m not for sale, Cassie!” I snap. “I never was! I don’t care who you threaten. He will not pay you and you can damn well have your slutty clothes back! I will bring them to school Monday.”
Cassie hands the knife that she is holding to Cody, but still keeps a tight grip on Chloe’s arm.
“Cody, show her the consequences of not doing what I tell her to.”
Cody moves toward us. Out of instinct, I put myself in between him and Ian, but Ian pushes me out of the way.
Cody advances on him with the knife and cuts his arm.
The sight of his blood awakens something in me, but it isn’t thirst. It just makes me angry. So angry, that I launch toward Cody, punching his nose. That catches everyone by surprise. The knife goes flying and Cody loses his balance. Before he gets himself together, Ian is already on him, punching him over and over again. I try to stop him, but it’s like I’m not even here. Surprisingly, I don’t get hurt while trying to stop him.
In trying to stop the fight, I miss what is happening around me. It isn’t until Cassie is right next to me and Ian stops punching Cody, that I notice the blood coming through Ian’s shirt, and he collapses to the ground with the knife lodged into his right side.
Cody is all bloody and bruised. “What the hell did you do?” he yells at Cassie.
“I did what you wouldn’t. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”
They run away, dragging Chloe with them, and I am on the floor, next to Ian.
I pull his head onto my lap, carefully moving him.
Panicking and crying, I grab my cell phone and call Nicholas. He answers after the first ring.
I never, ever call him so he knew there was something wrong right away.
“Sarah, what is wrong?” he asks.
Sobbing I say, “I need your help. I’m at the park close to the school.”
He doesn’t say anything at first. Then asks exactly where he can find me.
I give him directions as fast as I can.
“What is this about?” he asks.
“I just need your help okay? Please hurry.”
I was afraid if I had mentioned Ian, he wouldn’t show up.
“Noelle?” says Ian.
“Shhh. Don’t talk.”
Ian is losing a lot of blood and I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing or not, but I move his head off my lap and pull the knife from him. I then use my jacket to put pressure against his wound, attempting to keep him from losing even more blood.
“Noelle,” he says in a weak tone.
“Please, don’t.” I say. “You will be okay.”
“It sure doesn’t feel like it,” he says.
“No, you will. My brother is on his way. He can help.”
Ian gives me a sad smile. He slowly moves his hand and drops it on top of my hands, which are now covered in blood.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you about the money. I just wanted Cassie to leave you alone.”
“I believe you.” I say sobbing harder when I notice the bleeding isn’t stopping. I finally move my hands away and just stare at his injury… helpless.
Years ago I could have just turned him… well, that is a lie, I would have probably killed him in the process. I could never stop.
Frantically, I look at my watch wondering where Nicholas is. We don’t live that far.
“Noelle,” says Ian. I look at him with water in my eyes. “I love you,” he pauses. “I know it’s crazy, but I do. You have to promise me that no matter what, you will get away from Cassie.”
I can’t form a response before his eyes close and he is no longer responding.
I hug him and cry.
Nicholas and Lexi come rushing toward us. Lexi manages to get me away from Ian’s limp body while Nicholas moves closer to Ian.
“What the hell happened?” asks Nicholas.
“That doesn’t matter. I will tell you later, just please save him.”
Nicholas looks at Ian and shakes his head. He gets his phone and dials a number.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Calling for an ambulance.”
“No, Nicholas, please! You have to save him. Turn him. It is too late for human medicine.”
He ignores me as he tells the person on the phone where we are.
I try to get away from Lexi, but can barely move.
When Nicholas hangs up the phone, he looks at me and then at Lexi. “Let’s get her out of here,” he says.
“No! We can’t leave him here. I’m not leaving him!” I scream.
“Take her to the car!” Orders Nicholas.
Lexi uses her vampire strength to throw me over her shoulder and take me to the car as I squirm around and yell at her.
Nicholas follows right behind.
Lexi gets me in the back seat and gets in to keep me from running out of the car. Nicholas gets in the front seat.
Nicholas faces me and he sounds cold. I hate him for this. I hate him for not saving Ian.
“You have two choices,” he says. “We can go home now, or you can stop throwing a fit and we will watch as the ambulance comes and goes to make sure he at least made it this far.”
“There was too much blood! You saw it! He is not going to make it!” I cry.
Lexi puts her arms around me, but I snap at her.
“He still has a chance, Sarah,” says Nicholas.
“You could have turned him!”
“You think you like him, don’t you? Well, if I had done that, he would have hated you for it.”
I see he glances at Lexi as he says that and there is an unspoken conversation between them. I know he thinks she was the only person ever worth turning. Something about his tone and the way they look at each other makes me cry even more. I know Nicholas isn’t lying. I know what it is like being a vampire and there is a possibility that Ian would hate me. But I still hate Nicholas for it. If Ian dies, he will be gone forever and I can’t bear the thought of it.
Lexi tells him that is enough, just in time to see the ambulance pull in. Minutes later, they are carrying Ian out on a stretcher, and I, once again, try to get out and go see him, but Lexi stops me.
“Look,” she says. “He is not even all covered up. He is still alive. They will help him.”
I glance at Nicholas and the tough act is gone. He looks truly concerned. Then I look at Lexi. “But he is all alone. I have to be with him.”
Lexi’s tone softens even more. “I know you do,” she says. “We’ll call and check on him, okay? Even if you go with him, I doubt they will let you stay near him for long. Not to mention that you will have to answer questions from the cops.”
I watch as the ambulance drives off.
“Fine. Let’s just go home okay?”
I know that once we are there I will be able to sneak out.
I’m sure they suspect that is my plan as well.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
As soon as we get home, I walk toward the stairs.
Nicholas is in front of me within seconds. “Not yet, Sarah. What happened?”
I go back and sit on the couch. I decide to tell him the truth. If Ian made it, the cops will ask him what happened; and if he doesn't, Nicholas and Harvey need to know what is happening because I will get revenge. I know Nicholas, at least, will go after the ones who were behind this.
“He was protecting me,” I say “And protecting you”. I tell Nicholas and Lexi everything about Cassie’s bullying and the dating services she runs at the school. I tell them about her threats and about Ian paying her off to leave me alone. He is in shock when I tell him about the part where he is involved, and from that moment on, he avoids even looking at Lexi.
Nicholas’ fists are clenched and he takes his anger out on Ha
rvey, who is lucky not to be here. “I told him this was a terrible idea! And you!” he says, looking at me. “Why didn’t you tell us any of this from the beginning?”
“I—I didn’t want to leave school, and then,” I look away. “I thought if you knew, we would have to leave town. I didn’t want to be away from Ian.”
“Well, look where that got him!”
Tears flood my eyes.
“NICHOLAS! That is enough!” says Lexi.
Nicholas shakes his head. “Harvey is too easy on you. He lets you do whatever you want and it shouldn’t be like this. You weren’t ready! You were naive hundreds of years ago and you are just as naïve now!”
I can’t stand to look at Nicholas. The last thing I need is Nicholas blaming me for what happened. I should’ve seen there was something off about Cassie from the beginning. I should’ve stayed away from her.
Nicholas essentially saying this happened because I’m naïve, hurts, and I want to hurt him as much as he is hurting me.
“When exactly should I have told you about what was happening?” I ask him. “In between you moping around for someone you willingly let go or you glamouring other women into thinking they were her?” I nod toward Lexi.
Nicholas looks shocked at first then just pissed off. “You don’t know what you are talking about!”
“Well, neither do you. I love Ian! Did you ever really love Lexi? Because if you did, I don’t understand how you would let her be with someone else.”
“You are an ungrateful spoiled brat! Part of the reason I let her go was to keep you safe!”
I laugh. “She would have stayed with you even with us having to run, okay?”
Nicholas shakes his head.
“That is enough!” says Lexi. “Whatever is happening to the boy should be on the news. Just turn the TV on and shut up… both of you!” For a moment, I forgot that Lexi was right here and part of me feels bad for putting her in the middle of it all.
Sure enough, there is breaking news about a local student being stabbed. They are trying to find out what happened, but there are no leads and Ian is in surgery.
Nicholas goes to his room and leaves me under Lexi’s care under orders that I’m not to leave her sight. Hours later, Ian is on the news again. They report that he told his parents he was mugged by two people and they were wearing all black so he couldn’t describe anyone. That was the last thing he said before he went back for emergency surgery.
I’m relieved that he is alive, but the thought of emergency surgery scares me. Not to mention that I hate the thought of him alone in the hospital.
“Can I go see him?” I beg Lexi.
She looks as if she is going to say yes, but then Nicholas comes out of the room.
“No, you certainly cannot see him. Give me your phone.”
I hand Nicholas my phone and he throws it against the wall, breaking it and putting a hole in the wall.
“We are moving!” he says.
“What? I’m sorry, okay?”
“This is not the only reason. This whole thing is a bloody mess. We are moving. We leave now!”
Lexi stands up. “Come on, Nick. Let’s just wait to make sure the boy gets out of surgery okay.”
“We leave NOW,” Nicholas says again.
I stand up and look Nicholas in his eyes. “I wish you had never found me!”
“Don’t say things you don’t mean, Sarah. If it weren’t for me finding and saving you, you wouldn’t have even met the boy. Besides, you are only fourteen. You will just meet someone else one day. If we ever allow you to date, that is.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Who are you to tell me who I love or don’t love?”
Lexi moves toward me. “We all need to calm down. Sarah, maybe Nick is right. Just go away for a little while until things calm down.”
“But—”
“Sarah, please don’t complicate things more than they already are okay? I’m surprised no one has found us yet,” says Nicholas.
The doorbell ringing startles all of us.
Lexi opens the door to find a police officer standing there.
“Yes?” she asks.
“Is this where Noelle Taylor lives?” asks the cop.
Lexi nods. “What is this about?” she asks.
“I’m officer Dawson. I’m here on behalf of the Sullivan family.”
I rush to the door, already crying. “This is about Ian, isn’t it? Is he—” I can’t even finish the sentence.
“Ian is out of the surgery and recovering,” he says with a smile. “I’m a friend of the family. Ian is on a lot of pain medication but even with that, all he does is ask for you. His parents asked me to come and see if I could take you to see him.”
I nod.
Nicholas comes from behind us. “Officer Watson, isn’t it?”
“Dawson,” says the cop.
“Why don’t you come in?”
Officer Dawson takes a step inside and Nicholas starts to glamour him.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask.
Nicholas ignores me. “Officer Dawson, please go back to the family and say that there was no one at this address when you arrived.”
Officer Dawson nods.
“Nicholas,” says Lexi. “Maybe we should let Sarah see the boy. Let her say goodbye and then we will leave.”
“No way.”
“I will go with her,” says Lexi.
Nicholas sighs. “Damn it. No, I will go.”
I feel like I can breathe again.
Nicholas looks at the cop and reverses what he had done.
As soon as the cop snaps out of it, we agree that Nicholas will take me to the hospital, following Officer Dawson.
Nicholas takes a few minutes to get ready. He has to feed first. Hospitals tend to make him hungry.
Lexi ends up going with us… to keep things calm, I’m sure.
When we get to the hospital, Officer Dawson introduces Lexi and Nicholas to Ian’s mom, dad, and sister. His mom rushes to hug me and I hug her back, both of us crying.
“He has been asking for you,” she says. “You can go in.”
He is still in ICU and a nurse is called to escort me. Nicholas starts to follow me, but he is stopped. Ian is just allowed one visitor at a time. He is about to use glamour when Lexi puts a hand over his shoulder and shakes her head.
She leans closer to Nicholas but I can still hear her. “Let her do this. She has no way out.”
Nicholas seems to be in a trance-like-state as she touches and talks to him and he ends up agreeing, mostly because he has a difficult time saying no to her.
***
I walk in the room where Ian lies on the bed, sleeping. I hate seeing him hurt, especially being that I was the reason. I walk toward him and brush my fingers against his cheek. He smiles and opens his eyes.
“You are here,” he says.
I start to sob.
“And you are worried about me.”
“Of course I’m worried about you! You shouldn’t have done that!”
He smiles again. “I see you—protecting everyone around you… your brothers… even Chloe. It was time someone protected you for a change.”
“You could have died.”
“It was a risk worth taking.”
I look away from him. “I told my brother everything. He’s trying to take me away from here.”
Ian’s eyes get watery.
“What is it? Are you in pain?” I ask.
He shakes his head.
“As much as I hate to say this, I think you should listen to your brother.”
I give him a confused look.
“You need to get away from Cassie and Cody, especially now. I can’t protect you like this and Cassie will definitely not leave you alone now that all of this happened.”
“We could tell the cops the truth. About everything.”
He gives me a saddened look. “There are more people involved in this than we know. That will never work.”
<
br /> “But Ian—”
“Listen to me, Sarah.” It gives me the chills that for the first time, he calls me by my first name. “I don’t want to be away from you, but I want you safe. I will drive to see you if I have to. People in this town are insane. You need to stay away.”
“Just because I will be safe, it doesn’t mean that you will.”
“I can take care of myself.”
I look down at his injury.
“I will steer away from them. I will be okay.”
“Ian, if my brother wants to hide me, you will not be able to find me.” I sigh and give away another piece of truth. “There are people who have been looking for us for years. If we are hiding, you won’t find us.”
He gives me a puzzled look. “So the witness protection rumor, is that true?”
I shake my head. “No, but it’s complicated.”
He sighs. “We will keep in touch, right? Will you find a way?” he asks.
I shake my head. “He already took my phone.”
Ian reaches toward the tray by his bed and hands me his phone.
“Here,” he says. “I pay the bill anyway. I will just get a pre-paid phone or something and tell my parents I changed the number.”
“Ian, I can’t—”
“We’ll make it work.”
“Things are not that simple in my world.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
NICHOLAS
Lexi and I sit in the waiting room waiting for Sarah to finish talking to the boy. We sit across from one another. I stare at her and she stares at anything but me. When she does look at me, it’s to say the words that I don’t want to hear.
“I should leave.”
“What do you mean?”
“You will be meeting Harvey in a few hours. There is no reason for me to stay. Honestly, there never was.”
“Don’t lie to yourself, Love.”
She gives me a puzzled look.
I stand up and walk toward her. I sit next to her so no one can hear our conversation. When I get close enough to be able to whisper what I want to say in her ear, I notice the vein in her neck twitch… just enough to make me crave her even more.
“I can feel you,” I whisper. “Maybe you can’t feel me because you’ve only been like you are for decades, but I’ve centuries of training… I can feel you through the blood imprint.”
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