Blood Haze (9 page)

So
in the end, he’d decided to go against his family’s wishes once more and he’d told
her what he was... what they were. She’d not been able to endure it. Had called
him a monster once she’d really understood what he was… what he did. He’d come
home - to the house once previously built with love- to find her dead. She’d
crawled into their huge tub and slit her wrist, taking both her, and the baby,
away from him as she allowed her life’s blood to drain away. He’d realized the
poetic justice in what she’d done. His beautiful girl had been unable to face
living with a monster. So, she’d taken away everything she’d thought he’d
wanted – their child and her blood.

But
she’d been wrong, he’d only wanted her. And he’d sworn on that agonizing day,
when he’d been filled with such rage and heartache that he’d never again become
involved with another human. The cost was just too great. Ever since then, he
used humans for his own pleasures, then gladly walked away… until Arabella. But
he could still get out unscathed, and that was exactly what he intended to do.
Which was why, he was currently sitting in a seedy bar, instead of driving back
to the hospital. This was better for the both of them.

He
lifted gin-soaked eyes to a woman seated at the bar. While she might not be
able to satisfy all his desires, there was one she would be perfect for. And
even if the scent of her blood didn’t compare to what rushed through Arabella’s
veins, at least there’d be no complications involved.

Chapter 4

Tears
stung her eyes the second she awoke and the reality of her loss hit her once
more. Arabella furiously scrubbed them away. She didn’t have time for such as
that. She needed to be strong. Drew needed her to be strong and she would not
let him down. Even if they technically weren’t together, they’d been friends
for a long time. She would not fail him. Her heart ached when she thought of
her baby brother lying in that cold, cold morgue. As insane as it was, she
hoped he wasn’t left alone in that scary place.

Not
knowing what to do with herself until visiting hours started at nine o’clock,
she slid on her running shoes and headed out. While she saw all the same people
and they all acted as they always did, with waves and smiles, she got no comfort
from it. Selfishly, she wished Lynx was with her. He gave her comfort and made
her feel safe. It seemed he’d known exactly what she needed and how to get it
for her, even when it’d seemed impossible.

No
!
She didn’t need Lynx Rogan. She needed to stay away from him. She needed to
concentrate on Drew and helping him get through this. She owed him so much. Her
chest burned with loss… and at that moment, she couldn’t swear whether it was
the loss of Ian… or Lynx.

Heading
toward home, she finished her run, then showered. She dressed, and began
cancelling what jobs she could. She couldn’t afford to cancel them all, which
is what she wanted to do. But she’d need the money and couldn’t afford to
alienate her clientele. When it got close to nine o’clock, she headed toward
the garage to get her car, when she remembered it was still sitting in the
Night Owl’s parking lot. She groaned. She’d just have to use the catering van.
She went back to the kitchen and retrieved the appropriate keys. When she
opened the garage door, she stopped in her tracks. Sitting in the garage was
her car. Her heart melted a little at Lynx’s care of her, before she pushed it
away. She’d have to find out what she owed him for the service.

She
was happy to see Nurse Lottie back on duty. She wasn’t sure if anyone else
would have allowed her to visit Drew.

“How
are you today?” Lottie asked her.

“I’m
okay. How’s Drew?”

“He
seems to be holding his own. He’s been in and out since around midnight,” she
replied.

“That’s
sounds like good news. Can I see him?”

“Of
course. Just try not to excite him too much, okay?” Lottie said.

“I
won’t. I promise,” she promised.

Arabella
eased the door open and slipped inside the dimly-lit room. Stepping up close to
his bed, she heaved a heavy sigh at the damage to his face. Images of Ian’s
face, with all its zigzag stitches and staples flashed in her mind’s eye and
she shuddered, knowing Drew had been lucky. Guilt on her brother’s behalf
flared within her. His eyes were closed, and as before, she once again laid her
hand over his.

“Hey,
Drew. It’s me,” she said softly.

As
if they weighed a ton, she saw his eyelids flutter open to stare blankly at her
at first, then fill with pain. He struggled to speak but the trac-tube stopped
him. His eyes became glassy with emotion.

“Hey,
baby,” she murmured. “Don’t try to talk. I’m here. Are you in any pain?”

His
hand shifted beneath hers. She clutched it lightly within her own. His eyes
searched her face and she knew he was looking for answers. She swallowed hard,
not ready to talk about Ian. She brushed her hand lightly over his face. “Try
to sleep. I love you, Drew.”

He
moaned at her words and began to thrash about. The machines surrounding him
began to beep loudly. She patted his face. “Calm down, please calm down. Everything
will be okay. Please, Drew, calm down. Please, baby,” she murmured as soothingly
as she could, as the blaring machines caused her heart to pound.

He
threw his head side to side and tried to talk around the tube shoved down his
throat. Nurse Lottie, along with the doctor on call, came rushing into the
room. “You’ll need to leave now!” he demanded.

Arabella
began to back away, but Drew clung to her hand. Tears filled her eyes. “I have
to go. I’ll be back. Please calm down, Drew. I’ll be back,” she sobbed. His
obvious distress broke her heart.

She
broke the weak hold he had on her hand and slowly backed out of the room as his
wild eyes followed her… begged her… beseeched her not to go. She sat down
outside his room and cried. She’d never seen him this helpless before. She
didn’t know how he was going to endure knowing about Ian’s and Maggie’s deaths.
God, what if he’d been over the alcohol limit? Would they put him in jail? No!
She couldn’t live with that. She couldn’t lose him as well. But hadn’t she already?

It
seemed to take forever before Lottie and the doctor on call came out of the
room. She jumped to her feet. “How is he?” she asked frantically.

The
doctor studied her coolly. “Do we have a medical release of information form on
file which states we can release that information to you?” he asked.

Slowly,
she shook her head.

“Then
I’m afraid I can’t release any information to you. Are you an immediate family
member?”

Again,
she slowly shook her head.

“Lottie,
can you tell me why she’s been allowed into the room?” he demanded hotly to the
nurse.

Lottie
spurted and scrambled to answer his question.

“I’m
all he has,” Arabella said in a rush.

The
doctor shook his head. “I’m sorry, but we have rules in place for a reason.
Until he is assigned to a regular room, you will not be allowed to visit. What
you did today could have hurt his progress severely.”

“But,
I…” she began.

“No
buts. I won’t have him upset. Do you understand?”

She
swallowed hard in her misery. “Yes,” she finally whispered.

Feeling
lost, and not knowing what else to do, Arabella made her way back down to the
morgue. She found the same man as had been there the day before. She quietly
pushed the swinging doors open. The same overpowering scent of death assailed
her. She followed the alcove around until she reached the main area. The man at
the desk turned, his glasses flashing as the light bounced off them.

“Yes?”
he asked.

“Langston,
I’m Arabella Marks. I was here yesterday. Do you remember?”

He
pushed his glasses back up from where they’d slid down his nose. “Yes, I
remember. What can I do for you?”

“I…
I just…” with a shuddering sigh, she fanned her palms out in front of her.

“Would
you like to sit in here for a little while?” he asked softly.

She
exhaled. “Would you mind?”

His
eyes, made larger by the severe magnification of his glasses, blinked slowly.
“No,” he finally responded.

She
moved back to the same metal chair she’d sat in the day before. Except now,
instead of being placed in front of the window, it was set against the wall.
The physical and mental sides of herself, were warring against each other.
While her mind was numb, her body was on fire. She felt like a tricycle with
one of its wheels missing, where every time she moved, she just went in
continual circles. Which was ironic, as that was exactly what they were – she,
Ian, and Drew. Except for right now, her tricycle was missing two of its
wheels.

She
rubbed her palms against her thighs as she struggled to pull herself together.
Glancing around the room, she wondered why anyone would want to work in such a
place, day after day. It was so depressing.

“I
guess you find it very strange… me, being here,” she said quietly.

He’d
turned back to his desk, typing away at a laptop. With his back still to her,
he replied, “Not really. Your loved one is here. Where else would you be?”

She
stared at the rows of stainless steel drawers, all neatly labeled. “I just
wasn’t ready,” she said in a small voice.

He
stretched and folded his arm behind his neck. “People never are.”

Her
phone vibrated against her hip. Unclipping it, she saw Karmyl’s number. “Do you
mind?” she asked her brother’s keeper.

“Nope.”

“Hi,
Karmyl. I’m sorry I haven’t called,” she said as quietly as she could.

“Please
don’t apologize. I’ve just been so worried. I’m so sorry about Ian.”

Tears
sprang to Arabella’s eyes at the words, but she blinked them back. “Thank you.”

“Where
are you?” Karmyl asked.

“At
the hospital.”

“Where
are you, specifically?” she reiterated.

She
hesitated, as she didn’t think anyone else would understand her need to be
here. With a shrug, she said, “In the morgue.”

“Oh,
my God. Seriously? I’m in the lobby. Please come to me. I don’t want to come to
you.”

Oddly,
the longer she’d sat in the room, the less morbid it’d become. With a sigh, she
knew she’d have to leave her small haven and deal with real life again. “Okay,
I’ll meet you there. Give me five minutes,” she said.

Clicking
her phone off, she rose from her chair. “Thank you… for watching over us,” she
said solemnly to the man behind the desk.

He
turned back toward her and his eyebrows scrunched together at her words.
“You’re welcome.”

He
pulled his glasses off as she approached him to shake his hand for allowing her
to sit with her brother. As his bare eyes met hers, she felt the same calm she’d
felt with Lynx. She smiled a beaming smile and slowly his lips curled up.

“I
can’t thank you enough. I actually feel better,” she said when she reached him.

“I
know,” he said as he reached out to place his hand in her outstretched one.

At
the contact, a sudden glimpse of things rushing past her startled her and she
tried to pull back, but he held her hand a little tighter. She saw him leaning
over someone lying in a hospital bed and he seemed to be kissing their neck.
She jerked back both her hand and her mind. She heard him gasp at the same time
she felt the blood begin to tickle from her nose. Fear flooded her for some
reason. It was weird and scary!

Stumbling
backwards, she lifted a hand up and held it over the blood oozing from her
nose. When he stepped toward her, she turned and fled from the room.

~X~

Karmyl
Rogan sat with refined grace in the hard, plastic chairs in the lobby. Her red
hair was swept in an elegant style and Arabella knew her shoes had probably
cost more than her car. Karmyl came from money and it showed. Seeing Karmyl
brought her brother to mind. He, also, had that same refined quality about him.
Not that any woman would be drawn to him based solely for monetary gain. Perversely,
she was disappointed he wasn’t with his sister.

Karmyl
rolled to her feet smoothly. When Arabella reached her, she wrapped her cool
arms around her and drew her against her. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m
okay, except for this blasted bloody nose – stress, I guess. I’m not allowed to
see Drew anymore, and that upsets me more than anything else right now. He got
really upset when he saw me earlier. I think he knows about Ian… maybe Maggie.
I’m not sure.”

“Why
on earth were you in the morgue?”

She
shrugged her shoulders. “It’s where Ian is.”

“What
can I do?” Karmyl asked.

“There’s
nothing.”

“I’m
here, whatever you need,” she said with emotion.