Hospital Visit
"…First believed to be committed by a number of anti-socialist vampires, new intelligence suggests that a radical extremist human group are behind the attack on the author, who is still recovering from her injuries in hospital."
The newscaster's voice went straight through me. It was one of those noises that squeaked and irritated my ear drums, not least for the stupid words she was saying. When I'd been brought in, they'd speculated that vampires had attacked me, to send a message not to masquerade as one of them. What the detectives and hospital staff were just discovering, that it was actually my own race that put me in my current predicament, would only make it more difficult to convince them I was alright to be released from their care.
Sitting upright in the ugly motorised bed, I flicked absently through the channels, but ended up returning to the pretty brunette discussing my plight on the ten o clock news.
"The BVL has commented on the attack, condemning the actions of the Extremist group as brutal and unnecessary." She cut to a pre-recorded interview with the British Vampire Leagues' equivalent to Nan Flanagan, Nicolas Hunter. Nicolas was a classically beautiful man, who I'm quite sure could've been a male model if he so chose. Though I barely noticed his accent, his voice was smooth and welcoming, inviting you to trust him. He had a way about him, a charm which made him so perfect for the role.
"Whilst Ms Winters may have used the façade of being a vampire to help promote her books, it is in no way an excuse for anyone, vampire or human alike, to attack her in such a brutal way. We at the BVL are working with our colleagues in the States, to help bring the perpetrators to justice over this matter. The British public must make a stand against these hate crimes."
The newscaster fluttered her eyelashes on the tape, and you could almost hear her uncrossing her legs for the aptly named Mr Hunter, "So are you saying Nicolas, that the vampires of Britain will not accept a sympathiser being treated in this way?"
"Angela, we both know no government should accept this kind of treatment of its public, whatever their persuasion." He flashed her a smile that could get him into her most intimate of places.
She blushed as the camera cut to her and she fiddled with her papers on her knee, searching for an appropriate follow-up question, "Are we to expect a retaliation from the vampires then?"
"Again, I think everyone is aware that we are much cleverer than that," he smiled directly into the lens as the camera cut quickly back to him. The comment made me wonder if everyone had read between the lines as I had done, Nicolas simply meant that there would be a retaliation, just not one that the news would hear about.
Angela persisted, "So where does the BVL stand on the Extremist group? Is this group linked at all to Steve Newlin's Fellowship?"
"The BVL is investigating the matter and what I can tell you at this stage is that we have discovered the radical group appears to be targeting high profile British vampire sympathisers. I can confirm we do believe the Fellowship of the Sun to be behind these ghastly attacks."
"Attacks? There have been more?" Angela perked up on hearing his words, playing right into Nicolas' hands. Maybe I'd been around vampires too much and was beginning to pick up on the way they manipulated us mere humans, or maybe I was just becoming weary of all this attention but I could see how Nicolas was diverting the newscaster and therefore the public, into believing every word he said was true.
Nicolas pressed a transceiver in his ear and frowned, on cue, "Angela, I cannot confirm nor deny anything at this stage. I am afraid I must deal with an urgent matter. I look forward to speaking with you again. Soon."
The way he added the word made the newscaster swoon for him, and a million of her viewers too. I snatched the remote and turned it off as she cut to the Sport report.
Glancing at the clock, I gave it a couple of minutes before I flicked off the nightlight and pretended to be asleep. A further few minutes later, the charge nurse made her rounds, coming into my private room, checking my chart and that I was still in bed and going on her merry way. I waited a few moments more to be extra sure she had made her way up the corridor, then slipped quietly out of bed and into a pair of waiting Crocs underneath. I grabbed my robe from the chair and limped over to the window, slipping it on as I went.
Even after three weeks recuperating, my leg still ached and my side still hurt, despite the painkillers I was on. But I was lucky, I could still walk, even if it was a struggle. The silver bullet which had gone through the flesh of my thigh had thankfully not done too much damage and they had been able to remove it without much trouble. The arrow that had penetrated my side had, in the Doctors' words, 'Unfortunately just caught your lung, causing it to collapse partially'. For the most part what he'd told me had gone in one ear and straight out the other. What I did know was that I was on my way to a full recovery, and 'was a very lucky girl'.
I can honestly say that I didn't feel it, and as I struggled to quietly hitch up the window so I could sneak outside, I felt the tug on my stitches and eased my efforts. Eventually I managed to open the window enough so I could perch on the edge and swing my legs through and slide down outside into the bushes below. I secured my secret pack of cigarettes, which I'd managed to convince an errant student doctor to procure for me, and a lighter from the hiding place I'd made, in a brown paper bag under a rock beside a bush near the window, and hobbled along the paths to the seating area outside.
I dropped myself heavily onto one of the wooden benches, sitting directly beneath a street lamp in the grounds. They had made quite a good job of planting this area so it would not seem so hospital-like, and was a breath of fresh air compared to the sterile, white hallways and barren rooms.
No sooner had I lit a cigarette did the air beside me move gently causing a breeze. I glanced upward to find him floating neatly down alongside me to take a seat. "That is not good for you," said Eric.
I rolled my eyes at him and took a deep drag, "Neither are you, but I don't much fancy quitting that either." I winked at him as I inhaled, but immediately wished I hadn't as the large intake of breath and smoke made me cough as it reached my injured lung.
Eric crossed one leg over the other, leaning back on the bench and shook his head, "I wish you would take my blood."
"Do you not think people are asking enough questions?" I replied sardonically, "I can see the headlines now, 'Brutally attacked author makes miraculous complete recovery'."
Eric gave me a small smile, "Perhaps you make a valid point."
"Hmm," I agreed, aiming to change the ever sore subject of accepting his offer, "You get your business sorted out?"
Eric had been MIA for a while, but I'd received word from Bill a week into my hospital stay, that Eric would be in touch with me in due course. The pair of them had had to return to their duties a couple of days after the incident at the warehouse, and I'd been left under Police guard on the ward until only a few days ago. Not that they would have stood much of a chance against Lauren and her vampire posse, but against the Extremists, the odds were a little better.
The warehouse incident had been played down considerably in the news, the press solely focusing on the attack on me as their main story. Although the hype had begun to die down now, I feared that this fresh information on the news tonight would relight interest and I would be unable to return to Shreveport.
"I did, for now" he replied cryptically. He'd still not told me what he was doing of late but he'd been dropping by every now and then, checking in with me sporting windswept hair and a roguish grin. I'd still not told him about my liaison with Bill, and I was pretty sure he didn't have an idea what I'd done, pretty sure.
"Did your parents visit you?" Eric asked.
I smiled, and took another, shallower drag, "Yeah, they did. They're ok, same old," I paused, not wanting to linger on the pained parental visit, which had been full of unasked questions and a massive elephant present throughout their entire stay, "Guess who visited today?" I said redirecting the subject matter again.
Eric looked at me, a small smirk began to creep across his lips, "Who?"
"Margaret Levine."
"Your editor?"
"Yep, she was asking after the handsome blonde gentleman that was with me when we first met," I replied, "I told her I didn't know who she was talking about."
Eric's hand moved and rested on my knee, "Sounds like you may have hit your head harder than you thought," he paused, contemplating a smirk, "I'd get that looked at." I laughed and nudged him with my shoulder.
"How's Bill doing?" I said, "He's not called in a week."
Eric rolled his eyes, and leant forward, elbows rested on his knees, "I'm sure he's doing just fine."
"He said something about the Sheriff in Bon Temps asking him about Sookie going missing?" I ignored Eric's dismissal, but the mention of the prized waitress' name was enough to render him silent. I kicked my heels on the floor and made attempts to finish my rapidly burning out cigarette whilst the awkward silence passed.
I lazily flicked the stub to the ground and took a laboured breath, my lung pressing against my ribs making me wince with the pain, "The doctor says I'm good to go this weekend." I still ached all over but they'd said I didn't need to stay in the hospital anymore and just needed to rest and recuperate.
"Well, that is good news," Eric said flatly, clearly thinking about something else.
I shrugged, "Yeah, another month in this place is not what I need right now."
"Hmm," Eric agreed absently.
"He also said my blood work had come back at last," Eric cocked his head, interest piqued, "…and I'm not a carrier of Hep D."
Eric smiled again, genuinely and I felt a rush of warmth at the sight of it, "Now, that is good news."
"Yeah, that's what I thought too. Though quite why they tested me I don't know, they said they do it as a matter of course with Vampire attacks."
"You and I both know you weren't attacked by Vampires."
"What was I meant to tell them Eric? That I'd accidently fallen on a friends' fangs? Repeatedly?" I answered, "To be honest I'm surprised they even noticed the bite marks after the way you yanked my arm from Bill, you made a right mess."
"We don't want him getting greedy," Eric grinned, and I could do nothing but roll my eyes at his impertinence, "Especially not now I'm back to normal," he added with a wink and I couldn't suppress the smile that spread across my face. His arrogance meant that he was clear of the virus which had kept him from his full strength. Although a mere month ago, he had drained a human. The dramatic memory of which was firmly etched into my brain, in all its gory detail, and I figured that probably had something to do with this quicker recovery.
"Okay then. I'd best get back in bed before the Matron notices I'm gone," I said as I made a dodgy attempt to put my weight on my leg, then decided it'd be better to switch to the other one.
"Here, I got you," Eric whisked me up in his arms before I had chance to protest, and before I knew it I was perching on the windowsill to my room, wondering if I should invite Eric in or not.
The words were on the tip of my tongue when he spoke, "I won't come in," he said, "The light in these places washes me out."
I stared at him for a minute, wondering what on earth I'd done to deserve this chivalrous treatment when the unpleasant truth was that I'd done just the opposite. The street lamps caught on his brow, highlighting him from behind angelically, I reached out and touched his cheek instinctively, intimately. His hand came to rest against mine and his eyes caught my gaze. Remorse overcame me in an instant, rushing like a stream breaking its bank. I should tell Eric the truth, in the end he would find out anyway, I should just be honest with him now. I couldn't.
I closed my eyes tightly and sighed, "Remember when it was easier?" I said in barely a whisper, I knew Eric would hear me. He stepped closer, wrapping my legs around him, stroking my thigh gently over my bandage.
"I remember when you would close your eyes so I wouldn't glamour you," he murmured in return. His words brought a smile to my face recalling the memory, I chuckled.
"Open your eyes," he commanded softly. At these words though, my lids opened briskly, I breathed in sharply sending a jolt of pain through my ribs causing me to loose balance on the sill. I reared backward, but Eric caught my weight.
"Evie?" I looked up into his face as we hovered mere inches from the floor, "What is it?"
What could I tell him? That the words he'd spoken had inadvertently reminded me of the very thing I was tying to forget? I shook my head ruefully.
Eric's lips cocked in a sideways smile. Knowing that I couldn't talk to him, wouldn't, he didn't push me for an answer, instead he let us float gently to the cold sterile floor of the hospital room a foot from the bed. He rolled to my side so as not to put his weight on me and rested his head on his hand.
"Ms Flanagan has asked to speak with you," he said quietly.
A sensation of dread flooded my being, "Oh no, I don't think so."
"Evelyn, she is the AVL representative."
"I know who she is Eric, I just don't wanna talk to any more reporters."
He fell quiet, as if he were re-planning something, "Very well." Moments later he sat upright, "Someone is coming." Quicker than I could think, Eric had picked me from the floor and put me into bed.
The door handle creaked and a crack of light crept through the gap. The charge nurse's head poked through, "Everything okay in here Ms Winters?"
I faked being half asleep, "Hey…yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? I thought I heard voices."
I pushed myself to sit upright in the bed, "Nope."
The older woman frowned, unconvinced, "Well, alright then, you get your rest now."
Eric stood from a crouch beside the bed as soon as the door catch shut to, he perched on the edge of the mattress.
"She's right, you should rest," his fingers tucked a wayward lock of hair behind my ear.
"I've had enough bed rest to last me a lifetime," I replied.
"Well, when you get out of here, I can think of some other things to do in bed," he leaned in and planted a kiss squarely on my lips, catching me momentarily off guard.
He pulled away, leaving me wanting, with a wink and slight nod of his head and then he was gone. I slipped down under the covers, my tummy doing a little flip as I closed my eyes. I drifted off with a smile on my face.
And out of bed, I thought.