Shadowed Instincts

by Wendi Wilson

  Melanie threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. Thank you, Thank you,” she said, before letting go and pulling the Jeep door open and climbing inside. “This is so awesome!” she squealed.

  Darren shut the door behind her and leaned on the window ledge. “I know you don’t have your driver’s license yet. You can practice driving around the compound, but please don’t leave the grounds unless someone with a license is driving you, okay?”

  “Okay. I promise. Thank you,” she said, placing her hand on his arm.

  “You’re very welcome.”

  “I gotta show Jeremy and Tara,” Melanie said, jumping to the ground and reverently closing the car door behind her.

  She leapt up the steps, but came to a screeching halt at the top when she spotted Declan leaning against the open front door. His eyes travelled down her body slowly, then back up as she fidgeted in her tank top and boxers.

  “Nice,” he said slowly, then noticed her parents behind her. “Uh, nice Jeep,” he quickly amended, straightening and making a show of checking out the car. “Congrats.”

  “Thanks,” Melanie said sourly, before pushing past him and stomping up the stairs. Why does he keep catching me in my P.J.’s? she thought bitterly as she came to the top of the stairs.

  She swung by her room to throw some clothes on. Tara was still asleep, so she dressed quietly and tiptoed to the door, deciding not to wake her. She would show Tara the car later. She closed the door behind her with a soft click.

  Walking down the hall to Jeremy’s door, she tapped lightly and called out, “Jeremy? You awake?”

  She waited a moment before trying the doorknob. It was unlocked, so she cracked the door open and called out to him again. It was dark inside the room. His windows had black-out shades and they were drawn tight. She could just make out a lump under the covers in the light shining through the doorway.

  “Jeremy?” she called again, this time louder.

  When he didn’t respond, she walked into the room slowly and approached the bed. She gasped at the stench in the room. The scent of vomit was thick in the air and her enhanced sense of smell made it exponentially worse. She gagged before swallowing hard and getting the reflex under control.

  He was lying on his stomach, one hand stretched out across the bed, with the covers bunched around his waist. There was a trash can on the floor next to him, the source of the offending odor. She shoved it away with her toe and leaned over Jeremy to touch his shoulder.

  She snatched her hand away quickly as soon as her fingertips touched his skin. It was cold and clammy, damp with sweat. He moaned and Melanie ran to the window and threw open the shades. The room filled with early morning light and Jeremy moaned again, this time louder.

  “Jeremy, what’s wrong? Wake up!” Melanie cried as she ran back to his bedside.

  “Mel?” Jeremy whispered weakly. “So cold. Feel sick.” He slowly rolled over onto his back.

  Melanie placed her hand gently on his forehead and fought the urge to snatch it away again. He felt like a corpse. His face was pale and his features were scrunched up into a grimace.

  “I’ll go get Dad,” Melanie said urgently. “He’ll know what to do.”

  “Mel….water,” he choked out, grasping weakly for her hand.

  Melanie found a half empty sports drink bottle on his nightstand and opened it. She held it to his lips and gently poured a sip into his mouth. Jeremy immediately starting coughing, spewing the liquid across his chest.

  “Jeremy,” she said miserably, setting the bottle back down, “I’ll be right back. I promise. Just hold on.”

  She kissed his forehead and ran for the door. She rushed to the stairs and, taking them two at a time, dashed to bottom while screaming for her parents. They walked through the front door and rushed forward when they heard Melanie’s cries.

  “What is it? What’s wrong?” Elaine asked.

  Melanie was breathing too hard to answer. She could feel herself on the verge of hyperventilating. She put her hands on her knees and lowered her head, trying to slow her breaths.

  “Dad…Mom…Jere…my…”

  Darren rubbed her back. “Is something wrong with Jeremy?” he asked calmly.

  Melanie nodded her head vigorously. Darren nodded at Elaine to stay with Melanie and hurried up the stairs. When he reached the second floor, Tara walked out of Melanie’s room, rubbing her eyes.

  “Is everything okay, Mr. Wilkes? I thought I heard yelling.”

  “Melanie’s downstairs. I think she might need you,” he said before pushing Jeremy’s partially ajar door open and walking inside.

  Tara rushed to the stairs and saw Melanie walking up the steps with her mom. Stopping, she asked, “What is it? What wrong, Mel?”

  “It’s…Jeremy. He’s,” she paused to sniff loudly. “He’s really sick.”

  “Sick, how?”

  “I don’t know, Tara, but it’s bad. I thought he was dead.”

  “Oh my God, is he going to be okay?”

  Melanie shrugged weakly. Tara pulled her in for a hug and looked at Elaine over Melanie’s shoulder. Elaine shook her head at the question in Tara’s eyes, mouthing the words “I don’t know.”

  “Let’s go wait in your room,” Tara said quietly to Melanie.

  “I need to go back in there. I don’t want Jeremy to be alone.”

  “Mel,” Tara said firmly, “your dad is in there and you need to give him space. He’ll come get you as soon as he knows anything.”

  Melanie didn’t respond, but let Tara lead her back to her bedroom. All she could do was wait.

  Chapter 23

  “Poison? What do you mean, poison?”

  Melanie was pacing back and forth at the foot of Jeremy’s bed. Her jerky movements betrayed her agitation. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it wasn’t this.

  “Melanie, please calm down and stop pacing,” Elaine said while sponging Jeremy’s chest with a cool water.

  “Like I was saying,” Darren said with an exasperated look at Melanie, “it looks like some kind of poisoning. He could have ingested something bad. We’ll find out what he ate when he wakes back up. He could have taken some medication. It could even be alcohol poisoning.”

  “Jeremy wouldn’t…”

  He held up a hand to cut Melanie off. “I know he wouldn’t, sweetheart. Besides, I don’t smell alcohol in here.” He paused for a moment and gave her a sympathetic look. “Just to be safe, I need you to run downstairs to the kitchen. In the pantry, there is a shelf with medications on it. Get me the activated charcoal.”

  “Why do-”

  “Melanie, please,” he cut her off. “Get what I asked for. Oh, and some water. We need to rehydrate him as quickly as possible.”

  “There’s a sports drink on the…” She trailed off as she glanced at the nightstand. The bottle was gone. “Huh, that’s weird. There was a drink there. Did he knock it onto the floor?”

  Darren leaned over and looked under the bed. “There is nothing here.” Straightening back up, he said, “Melanie, hurry.”

  Melanie flew down the stairs and into the kitchen. She found the shelf of medicines and searched for the activated charcoal. She also spotted a half-empty bottle of aspirin and grabbed that, too. She assumed Jeremy would have a headache when he woke up. Grabbing two bottles of water from the refrigerator, she rushed back up the stairs.

  When she walked into the room, Jeremy was awake and leaning against a tower of pillows. He still looked terrible and he was moaning in pain while clutching his stomach. Melanie rushed to her dad and handed him the supplies.

  “What’s this?” he asked when she handed him the bottle of pain relievers.

  “Um, aspirin? I thought he might need it for pain.”

  “Where did you get this, Melanie?”

  “In the pantry,” she said, trying not to stutter. He was making her nervous and she could feel his alpha power starting to emerge. It felt like a warm buzzing in her st
omach that slowly spread up into her chest. “What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?”

  Darren relaxed his features and softened his voice. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m not mad at you.”

  He didn’t say another word to her while he coaxed Jeremy to swallow the activated charcoal. Jeremy gagged and heaved, but managed to keep it down. When he seemed to relax back into the pillows and drift back to sleep, Darren pulled Melanie out the door and into the hallway.

  “What’s going on, Dad?”

  “I think I know what’s wrong with Jeremy.”

  “What?” she asked anxiously.

  “Aspirin poisoning.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “That bottle you brought to me. I opened it yesterday and took two. It’s over half empty now, which means someone used at least fifty pills. His symptoms are also consistent with an aspirin overdose.”

  “Overdose? We need to take him to the hospital!” She tried to drag him back into the room, but he wouldn’t budge. “Why aren’t you moving?”

  “Melanie, think about it. He’s delirious right now. What if he shifted in front of the hospital staff?” He shuddered at the thought. “No, we can’t take that chance. He will be fine. I know what to do. Go into my bedroom and look in the nightstand drawer. Inside, there is a box of Alka-Seltzer. Bring it to me.”

  “Alka…What? Do you have heartburn or something? What the hell do you need Alka-Seltzer for?” She was bordering on hysteria, waving her arms around.

  “Melanie.”

  She froze as she felt the power imbued in his voice. Her arms dropped and she stood still. The look on her face told him she was not happy with his use of it. Not happy at all.

  “I know,” he said, “and I’m sorry. I need you to calm down and listen. Alka-Seltzer is sodium bicarbonate, like baking soda. Sodium bicarbonate is an antidote for an aspirin overdose. It helps remove it from the body. Now,” he said and she felt the power release her, “please go get it for me. And hurry.”

  Melanie turned and rushed to do what he asked. She hated that Darren had exerted his control over her, but decided to let it drop. He was helping Jeremy and that was all that mattered. She found the medicine and ran back to Jeremy’s room. Darren stood by the bed with a glass of water. Melanie ripped open the box and pulled out a foil pack. Tearing it open, she dropped two tabs into the water and it immediately started to fizz.

  As Darren put the glass to Jeremy’s lips, Melanie shouted, “Wait!”

  He looked at her questioningly. “What?”

  “Doesn’t Alka-Seltzer have aspirin in it? Won’t that make him worse?”

  “I buy the aspirin-free kind,” he said.

  Melanie looked down at the box she had dropped to the floor and read the label. After confirming that it was indeed aspirin-free, she nodded and Darren called Jeremy’s name to pull him from his light slumber. Placing the glass to his lips, Darren slowly poured the fizzy liquid into Jeremy’s mouth. He coughed, but managed to get the whole glass down.

  “We’ll have to give him some more in an hour. For now, let’s let him sleep.”

  “I’m not leaving,” said Mel obstinately.

  “Okay,” Darren replied, “but make sure you’re quiet and let him rest. When I come back, we’ll have to give him more of the sodium bicarbonate, as well as a laxative to push the activated charcoal and poison from his system.”

  He turned to leave, but Melanie stopped him. “Dad? Who did this to him?” She sounded like a frightened child.

  Turning back, he said, “I don’t know, but I promise you, I will find out.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” Melanie said quietly, giving him a small smile.

  “You don’t have to thank me, darlin’. I’ll be here for you, always, no matter what.”

  He turned and quietly left the room. Melanie pulled a chair to Jeremy’s bedside and held his hand while he dozed fitfully. Every so often, his face would contort with pain and he would moan in his sleep.

  “Don’t worry, Jeremy,” she whispered, a tear rolling down her face. “You are going to be right as rain and whoever did this to you is going to pay. I promise you that.”

  Chapter 24

  “What do you mean, he was poisoned?”

  Tara stood in Melanie’s bedroom, staring at her best friend with her mouth hanging open. Melanie took the towel off her head and ran a wide toothed comb through her hair. After Jeremy’s second dose of Alka-Seltzer, he’d fallen peacefully asleep and Melanie had slipped out to take a shower.

  “He was in pain and throwing up, so my dad sent me to get some medicine and I grabbed the aspirin. When Dad saw it, he knew. Half the bottle was empty and he said it was full yesterday. Somehow, someone managed to give him at least fifty pills.”

  “Oh my God, Mel,” Tara said, pulling Melanie in for a tight hug. “Is he going to be okay?”

  “I think so. Dad has been taking care of him and he seems to know what he’s doing.”

  Tara released her and held her at arm’s length. “God, why didn’t someone call an ambulance?”

  Melanie flinched at her words. She couldn’t tell the truth; that Jeremy could possibly expose them by involuntarily shifting. Though she was getting better at hiding her feelings, she knew she couldn’t lie to Tara, not successfully anyway. She decided half-truths were the way to go in this situation.

  “Dad said it wasn’t necessary,” Melanie hedged. “Besides, the closest hospital is forty miles away and it would take forever for an ambulance to get here. We needed to act fast, and Dad knew what to do.”

  “Okay, well, I’m glad he’s doing better.”

  “Thanks. Me, too.” Deciding to change the subject before Tara could delve any further, Melanie asked, “Hey, have you been out front today?”

  “No. Why?”

  “Well…”

  “Well, what?”

  Melanie smiled. “My birthday present is parked in the driveway!”

  “What?!?” Tara squealed.

  “Yep,” Melanie said, grinning. “A brand new black and purple Jeep Wrangler!”

  “No fricking way!”

  “It’s so sweet, Tara. I was going to wake up Jeremy to show him when…”

  “Mel, you said it yourself, he’s going to be fine. Now get yourself dressed so you can show me your new ride.”

  “Yes, sir,” Melanie said, mock saluting. “Right away, sir.”

  *~*~*

  After a quick lunch with Tara and Chris, Melanie went upstairs to check on Jeremy. As she neared his door, it opened and Declan backed out, quietly closing the door behind him. Melanie’s face furrowed as she frowned.

  “What were you doing in Jeremy’s room?”

  Declan jumped at the sound of her voice and spun around to face her. “Jeez, Mel, you scared the hell out of me.”

  “Answer the question, Declan. What are you doing, sneaking out of Jeremy’s room?”

  Declan jerked his head back in surprise. “Why are you angry? I just wanted to check on him, but he was sleeping. I didn’t want to wake him up, so I was trying not to make any noise.” After a brief pause, during which Melanie said nothing, he continued, “What did you think I was doing in there?”

  “I don’t know. I’m sorry, I guess I’m just anxious.”

  He shrugged off her apology. “Do you know what happened? Was it food poisoning, or something?”

  Obviously, Dad hasn’t told anyone about the aspirin. I’ll have to tell Tara to keep her mouth shut, Melanie thought. Aloud, she said, “Maybe. We’re not really sure, but that’s what it’s looking like.”

  “Well,” Declan said, edging around her and backing toward the stairs, “I hope he’s okay. I’d hate for anything…bad…to happen to him.”

  Melanie watched his back as he descended the stairs, not waiting for a reply. Something ugly and vicious reared up inside her. She had a bad feeling about Declan. Jeremy had never trusted him. Maybe she should have followed his instincts, rather than depending on her ow
n, which were sketchy, at best.

  “I’ll be keeping my eye on you,” she whispered when she was sure he was out of earshot. “You have my word on that.”

  She shook off the negative feelings and opened Jeremy’s door. Taking a step inside, the hinge squeaked as the door moved inward. He must have heard the sound, because he lifted his head and smiled at her weakly.

  “Hey,” he croaked.

  “Hey,” she said back, walking in and gently closing the door behind her.

  She walked over to the bed and placed her hand on his brow. It felt warm and dry. She let out a sigh of relief that he no longer felt cold and clammy, like a corpse. Leaning over, she kissed his forehead tenderly.

  “You gave us quite a scare, mister,” she said, pulling her chair forward and sitting down. She took his hand in hers and asked, “How are you feeling?”

  “Like I got hit by a train. What happened to me? I mean, I remember feeling awful and puking all night, but everything else is pretty much a blur. Was your dad here?”

  “Yeah,” Melanie replied lamely. She wasn’t sure how much she should tell him.

  “I thought so. I vaguely remember him making me take something. What was it?”

  “Alka-Seltzer.” She looked down at their joined hands and refused to meet his eyes.

  “Mel,” he said softly. “Tell me everything. Please.”

  At his pleading tone, Melanie broke down into sobs. “I came,” she paused to sniff loudly, “to wake you up.” She took a deep breath and tried to get herself under control. “You were…you were s-so sick. I thought you were d-d-dead.”

  He squeezed her hand in comfort. “Melanie, look at me. I’m fine. What happened next?”

  “I r-ran and got my mom and d-dad. He figured it out.”

  “Figured out what?”

  Melanie took a deep breath and blurted it out on whine. “That s-someone p-p-poisoned you!”

  Jeremy’s eyes widened in surprise. He kept his emotions under control and tried to calm Melanie down. He reached for a box of tissues on the nightstand and handed them to her. He waited quietly for her pull herself together.