CH 10 – Still at the Hospital

Leah POV

He was finally asleep. He had so many questions. I was happy he wanted to talk about it, but he's so detail oriented that it was just getting ridiculous. But at least for now I got to be next to him. I obviously couldn't just blab my secret to the world, no closed doors in hospitals, so I had to either get into a wheelchair (my spine was still sore) or climb into his bed. Surprisingly his curiosity got the best of him and I was now in his bed.

He sighed in his sleep. I loved this man. Being this close made me ecstatic. I could grow old looking at that face. It was like staring at the stars. I brushed his hair out of his face, every touch electric. Curiosity got the best of me too and I traced my finger ever so gently along his neck, near where the bloodsucker had injected him. His skin was definitely colder there. That angered me. Valerie was gone but she still left her mark on him. She had hurt him, and he'd have to carry this scar around for the rest of his life. A reminder to him that I wasn't able to protect him, and a reminder to me that I was a failure. I had failed at protecting him. Ironically I had let my imprint down about as much as Sam had let Emily down. When he scarred her, when he couldn't control himself. I've seen his mind; I know how deeply that hurt him. It's not my place to say, but at this point I honestly think it effects Sam more than Emily. She's moved on. She doesn't hide behind it or let it define her. She has forgiven him. He hasn't forgiven himself. With that in mind I brush the cold skin again. I shiver with anger. I know how Sam feels. I'll never forgive myself. Valerie is dead and I still want to kill her. I should have let her re-assemble herself so I could rip her apart again. It would be an infinite torture. Vampires were dead but they still feel pain. I realized I was enjoying my dark thoughts too much. I snuggled in next to him and drifted off.

Kaiba POV

I startled awake, as I always do. Except this time, Leah jumped up with me, at superhuman speed.

"What's wrong?!" She growled. Yeah she growls. She's a wolf. I almost forgot.

I just laid back down and put my arm over my face.

"Are you okay?!" She went from growling to worry in a split second "Does it hurt? Should I get the Doctor?"

"I just woke up" I mumbled, trying not to lose my temper with the girl who had saved my life

"Was it a nightmare?" She asked

"Uggh" I was losing my patience. Should I really have to explain I wake up with a jump?

"Don't scare me like that" She said, cuddling up to me. I was about to say something like "Don't you have your own bed?" but she was so warm and it's like she fit next to me perfectly. Like we were two puzzle pieces. I kinda liked it. It felt nice. I usually pushed this kind of feeling out because it was useless and no one really cares as much as they say they do. But Leah was different. Or she might be. No one's ever fought a Vampire for me before. I smiled at that last thought. I lifted my arm off my face and, since there was no where else to put it, I wrapped it around Leah's shoulders. I glanced over at her, she was staring at me. Her stare wasn't mean, obnoxious, or judgmental it was profound. She looked at me the way you look at a campfire or the ocean. Like the object of your gaze demands attention.

"So are we okay?" She asks. She sounds guarded. I wonder how long she's been waiting to ask me.

"If I wasn't okay with you, I wouldn't have let you stay in my bed" I answered

"Do you still have questions?"

"I have a million questions…" I answered. It was true. Like how was this real? How have I not known? How is it possible? Was it wrong to date her? Is she another species? Does she eat people? What happens during a full moon? "But not now" I didn't want to get into it again.

"Okay" She said and laid her head on my chest. We stayed like that for what seemed like hours, in a good way. I didn't mind that she was there. I didn't want her to leave, that's for sure. How do you be with someone who is only a part-time person? I wrestled with my brain.

All of a sudden her head snapped up and she let out a deep growl.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Was it Valerie? Are there more?

"Cullens…" She spoke like the word like it was poison.

"What's a Cullen?" I asked, as several blurs filled the room.