It's been a month since my last update and I apologize for that but school isn't exactly very easy to deal with so it's a miracle I managed to write even this. The chapter is a bit short, but I hope you'll enjoy it.
White floor, white walls, white doors. White everything. Where was she? What was she doing there? A confused face is staring insistently at her. She blinks and realizes the confused face is only her reflection in the window.
Policlinico Universitario Gemelli. A hospital in Rome.
Helen locks her gaze on the door.
"Wait here." Nikola had told her and according to her watch she had been waiting there for almost a half an hour.
Why did she even listen to him?
Whether she liked to admit it or not, Nikola was her only option. The Cabal was after them and she couldn't deal with them alone. Not yet. She had to get used to her transformation. To understand and control this new side of her. And what better "teacher" she might have than a vampire. It's true, a snarky, selfish and arrogant one but still… a vampire that had something she needed. Experience.
With every passing second she was gaining control over her vampire self. Before they got out of the underground tunnel, Nikola taught her how to control her transformation. After three unsuccessful attempts Helen finally managed to return to her human form. Now she was struggling to maintain it.
A door in her left opens. Helen raises her gaze and sees Nikola holding the door for somebody. She studies carefully the woman entering the room, a tall curled blonde with deep blue eyes. Her white lab coat indicates she is probably working in the hospital. Nikola paces slowly behind her also wearing a lab coat. For a couple of moments she is back in the Oxford laboratory working with Nikola on a science project. But she doesn't allow her mind wander over past memories. A blink brings her back in present days.
The blonde woman greets her with a wide smile.
"Helen, this is Vittoria. Vittoria, meet Helen." Nikola speaks while approaches them.
The two women shake hands almost whispering a formal "nice to meet you".
"From what Nikola told me, I understand you are in a hurry" Vittoria started, "so Helen could you come with me?" She said pointing to a door in her right.
Helen's questioning eyes meet Nikola's approving look so she follows Vittoria. A door, a hall. Then another door, another hall. Helen is trying to keep up with Vittoria who is leading her through this hospital labyrinth.
They stop in front of a white door.
"Spogliatoio."
"Dressing room."
"This is our stop." Vittoria says and opens the door entering the room.
"Come. We need to find a lab coat on your size." She says to Helen.
Helen follows her inside and watches her as she opens several drawers.
"Nikola really took me by surprise this time. But then again, with him you never know what to expect." Vittoria speaks as she's still looking for a lab coat.
A whistful smile appears at the corner of Helen's mouth.
"Yes… that's Nikola." She replies.
But who was this woman to know him so well? Who was this woman Nikola trusts?
"How did you two meet?" Helen asks unable to hide a mixture of curiosity and something else in her voice. Something else that was bothering her even she didn't want to admit.
"Right here on this hospital's hallways. He was pacing graciously with his right hand on the hip, dressed with a lab coat. He was charming. He stopped me and told me Doctor Messini needed some transfusions blood so I took a bag of blood and handed to him. He grinned and thanked me in a mesmerizing voice then turned around and paced with the same grace to the exit. It only took me about three seconds to realize there was no Doctor Messini in the whole of hospital but I didn't do anything to stop him. Since then, he keeps coming here every two weeks and I always give him a bag of blood. I never asked him what he needs it for. I don't even want to know. Something inside told me I can trust him."
"I think I found something!" Vittoria exclaims before Helen can reply.
"Here, try this." She says while she hands over the lab coat to Helen.
"How about you?" Vittoria asks while Helen puts the lab coat on. "How did you meet Nikola?"
"We're old friends. We've studied to university together but we haven't seen each other in a while." Helen answers in a low voice.
"Friends?" Vittoria asks lifting an eyebrow. "I've seen the way you look at him. And the way he looks at you."
"Vitorria – "
"Helen! Nikola is a very special man."
"What makes you say that?" Helen asks trying to seem surprised.
"How many men in our days hold the door for a woman? How many of them kiss a woman's hand as a greeting? He's like… he doesn't belong to this time. And I can tell there's something hidden behind his mysterious blue eyes. If I were you I wouldn't let him get away."
Helen lowers her gaze unable to reply. The woman was right. Nikola is a special man. But she doesn't love him. Does she?
And anyway, he doesn't love her. Or does he?
"I think this is it." Vitorria says watching Helen dressed with the lab coat. "We should get back."
Helen nods and they both walk in silence on the same hallways they came. Nikola was waiting for them, pacing impatiently through the room.
"Here you are!" He exclaims as the two women enter the room.
"Oh my, Helen, this lab coat suits you so well." He says in a flirting tone.
"I thought we were in a hurry." Helen replies trying to ignore his comment.
"We are. But not even that can stop you from looking hot."
With a blush threatening to invade her cheeks, Helen changes a look with Vittoria.
"You have to go." Vittoria speaks. "They're waiting for you."
In a moment he and Helen are pacing behind Vittoria who is leading them through the hospital. When they reach the exit door their eyes meet the hospital's helicopter ready to lift. Vittoria tells them to get in while she speaks to the pilot.
"Fiumicino. Rapido!"
She steps away from the helicopter and watches as it rises in the air. She knows the chapter of her life called "Nikola" has just closed for she would never see him again. But she doesn't have any regrets. She's only hoping he found at last somebody to fill the emptiness he has been hiding before his lonely eyes.