Chapter Thirty Five - Drug Your Love

The first time I woke, it was because a bout of thunder was rocking my house, and it was merely four in the morning. I got up then and sat around for a little while, too bored with my own self to keep it up for long. I had to get back to sleep, so I ate an Ambien and laid back down, glad that I would have eight more hours to post-pone life.

I woke again, suddenly, at noon, feeling more clear headed and energetic than I had for a few days. The rain from last night had passed and the sun was dazzling brilliantly in the hazy sky.

I checked my phone on the way outside, assuming I would find a billion more missed calls from Seth, but there was just the one from last night. I wonder how long he'd stayed in the woods close to my house waiting on me to call for him to come home.

I stretched out while I smoked a cigarette on my back porch, relishing in the cold wood beneath my feet and the hot sun beating down on my limbs. I had my cell in my hands, and it started ringing Seth's ring tone again... so he was probably close enough to see me right now.

Wierd!

I still wasn't ready. I hit the ignore button, waited for the call to end and sent him a text telling him that I was sorry, but he could wait a few more hours.

I went back in and decided that I wasn't going to allow yesterday's drama to ruin today for me; I was going to find something - by myself - to do for fun. And since the point of this was to make me happy, I was going to spend as long as I wanted to bathe and pamper myself.

So that's what I did: I showered, shaved, waxed, exfoliated, moisturized, styled, and coifed every piece of myself. My hair and skin were shiny and soft and beautiful, my fingers and toes were ended in a shimmery watermelon pink, my teeth were bright white and my makeup looked like it came straight out of a movie.

I even took one of my throw-away tee's and turned it into a fucking masterpiece.

I wasn't a spa girl, but this type of special treatment was a weakness for me, even if I was giving it to myself.

When I was finally satisfied with the way all of me looked, I took the discs I'd made earlier and headed out, curious as to if I would be followed or not. I assumed that I was.

I drove for fifteen minutes or so, stopping in front of an old, shabby looking house that I'd only been to once before. I cut the engine and made my way onto the porch, ready to knock until the door opened first.

"Liz!"

Josh seemed pretty surprised to see me, and it made me feel more nervous for being here.

"Do you want to come in?" he asked, moving aside.

"Um, no thanks. I just wanted to drop these off for you." I held out my hand and the stack of CD's towards him.

"Wow," he breathed as he took them. He started going through the titles, reading each one. "Overkill?"

"Eighties' thrash band. You might like 'em."

Josh smirked as he kept reading through. "Townes Van Zandt?"

"Old-school folk. He's one of my favorite writers."

He pulled that one from the middle and placed it at the top of the pile. "I'll listen to that one first, then," he mumbled.

He read off a few more names that he didn't recognize, and I described each one to him. He looked honestly, genuinely pleased that I'd gone through the trouble of making all of them for him.

"This is really awesome," he said to me again. "Are you sure that you don't want to come in?"

"I don't think Seth would like that," I said.

"He's not out there, is he?" Josh pointed down the little hill towards my car.

"No, but I'd bet he's out there," I said, motioning to the woods that were across the dirt road behind me. "Not that it would matter if he weren't, it's still disrespectful. But, I'd bet he's listening to us right now."

Josh sniffed at the air, then shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno," he said. "My senses aren't as strong in this form. Hey!" he said suddenly, excited. "Isn't it so cool that you know all the secrets around here? I know I've been dying for someone outside of us to get in on it."

I considered for a moment. "Yeah, I'm glad I get to know all the cool stuff, all the special things about you guys. Honestly, I don't see how you guys can keep it secret at all. Anyone can look at you and tell you are more than human."

He waved a hand dismissively. "People only see what they want to see, no more and no less. The farthest they get with us is, 'Wow, they're really tall!'. Vampires walk amongst humans and get treated like they just stepped off a runway, not like someone that would love to rip your throat out."

I snorted. "Looks can be deceiving," I reminded him.

"Yeah, you'd know, huh? Miss sweet and innocent," he chuckled.

"I am sweet," I told him. "And innocence is a matter of opinion."

(Seth's PoV)

I watched Josh openly ogle my girlfriend, laughing and joking with her as she laughed and joked with him. It was driving me fucking insane - and this was right on top of not knowing where I stood now with her.

I was on the verge of ripping my hair out.

I don't know what she had done differently today, but she looked incredibly hot. And I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Where did you get that shirt?" Josh asked, quirking an eyebrow in mock curiosity.

"I got it a few years back at the Salvation Army." Liz turned around to show him the back of the shirt, which had been cut and tied together in five different sections, the highest being around her neck. The shirt was almost backless and tied to fit her body exactly, so she wasn't wearing anything underneath it.

"It was too big, so I had to reconstruct."

"That is bad ass," Josh said, looking like he wanted to reach out and untie all the strings holding her top on. "I'da never pegged you for a Beatles fan."

"I love all the classics," Liz replied. Her eyes cast reflexively back to her car. "I have to go," she said without delay.

"Seth waiting?"

I growled and I saw the corner of his lip twitch upwards.

"I, uh, have to call him," Liz answered, a bit anxious.

Josh smiled at her. "I really wish you'd stay a while longer."

"Sorry," Liz said without a hint of actual apology to her voice. "I'll see you around," she finished with a shrug before turning away from him.

"Later!" They called to eachother as she went back to her car. Josh cocked his head to the side to get the best possible view of her wide hips and full ass swinging as she moved farther away from him.

At least she got away from that scumbag. He'd had a fucking field day with that little memory of Liz in her undies that had popped into my head the other day. He replayed it in his head, building fantasies and scenarios and he didn't bother to hide it a single bit.

I watched Liz drive down the road, then turned and started running back towards her house through the cover of the forest. I tried not to rush myself, because once I made it there it was just another series of waiting games.

As soon as I reached the bag of things I had stashed in the hollow trunk of a giant pine behind of Liz's house, my phone started to go off. I phased back to a form with hands and smiled widely when I dug the cell out of my backpack.

"Baby," I breathed into the receiver.

"Hey," she greeted me coolly. "Are you busy?"

"No."

"Want to come over?" She asked as if she actually thought I might say no.

"Give me two minutes."

"Okay..." She hesitated for a second or two. "I love you."

"Love you too, Elizabeth."

"Bye." She hung up the phone, and I started putting my clothes on as slow as humanly possible. I know she knew I hung around here when I wasn't inside with her, but I don't think she realized quite how much. I didn't want to give myself away by preceeding my two minute mark.

I twiddled my thumbs, anxious and irritated. Each second was passing by excruciatingly slow. When my time was finally up, I shot up to the back door like a bullet.

I twisted the knob and walked in, clicking the lock after shutting the door. I could smell Liz everywhere, her scent clean and vibrant. I could hear her calm, healthy heartbeat, and I could just barely make out the soft in and out of her breath.

I followed all my senses into her bedroom, where she was sitting on the edge of the bed. I froze just inside of the room, and she stared at me.

I was waiting for her to launch her attack... but she remained silent.

I slowly crossed the room and sat down beside of her. She stared at me, a brilliant mix of things swirling behind her bright eyes.

I waited so long that I began to sweat from the nerves when she launched herself at me.

She knocked me to the mattress, her mouth connecting with mine violently. She held herself back just a bit, because I was no longer breathing.

"Liz!" I gasped. She leaned away, waiting patiently as I caught my breath. "I thought you were - " I finally started to say when her lips cut me off.

The sweet smell of cherry pie was everywhere, floating around me and into me; I could taste her on the tip of my tongue. She moaned softly, ran her fingers through my hair and parted her lips just enough for me to have access to what was inside.

I was losing it; I was so caught up that I almost forgot what was going on.

I tried as hard as I could to remove my hands from where they were currently possitioned on her ass, then finally I was able to pull my face back a half inch from hers.

"Baby, what's going on?" I murmured, willing myself to just let the words out. It was hard... in more ways than one.

"Nothing." She shrugged her shoulders and leaned forward to kiss me again.

I turned my face a little to the side so that she caught the edge of my lips.

"But you were really mad at me, and you waited until - "

She sighed so loud that I shut my mouth. "Seth, you're not perfect. Okay? I get it. I'm not either. So fuck it."

My will shattered into a moan of want and disapproval, my hands flying back to whatever piece of her I could touch the easiest. My earlier argument dissolved into the heat of our lips melding, hands feeling, and limbs getting tangled around one another's.

Some voice in the back of my head was questioning this turn of events, then questioning why I had been so prepared for a fight. She couldn't be very mad at me if this was her planned activity for the day.

She bit my lip and I growled, a low warning sound in the back of my throat that was instinctual.

Funny thing, instinct - we got it from both sides, the instinct of a man and the instinct of an animal at the same time. Protection was a big factor; that, and the need to fight and defend. But, when it came to a time like this, the most prevelant and most animal instinct took over, and the wolf was just as much in control of me as I was.

As a man, I had never wanted anything more than to be physical with this girl... As a wolf, since Liz was my imprint, I needed to have it. My body was warring with my mind to get in her, both wanting the same, just at different times. If I went on nothing but the instinct, we would never be able to have sex for more than a couple of minutes.

Before I even realized I had moved, Liz was on her back underneath me, ripping at my hair with her hands and begging for more with her mouth. I held most of my weight off of her small body, though her arms became vices to hold me to her.

Liz changed her mind, pushing me farther back from her. A series of things went through me: hurt, rejection, anger... Then she untied her shirt and threw it across the room.

"Fuck me," I heard myself whispering, my eyes focused on nothing but the perfect pair of perky tits that were still swaying slightly from her movement a second before. I heard a small giggle come from her throat as I stared, then I watched her hands moving painfully slowly towards her chest to start squeezing her breasts and pinch at her nipples.

She stopped long enough to tug her jeans off, then she stretched out like a human buffet for the eyes and resumed her playing with herself. She started back at her tits, then one hand slowly crept down until her middle finger was circling over her clit.

I was fucking mesmerized; I absolutely could not look away from what was happening in front of me. Not like watching a train-wreck... More like watching a young, beautiful blonde fingering herself.

Because... My god, there was nothing horrible included in the picture in front of me.

My body moved on it's own, leaning down to suck one of her nipples into my mouth. She moaned and arched her back into me, and my reaction was to just try and pleasure her more. My hands went to her bare skin, touching and gripping and causing my blood pressure to rocket.

"Seth? Pants," Liz reminded me playfully. Something about the sweetness in her voice - mixed with the image of her stark naked with her own hands all over herself - had the wolf in me becoming restless in anticipation of feeling inside of her.

The part of me that had wanted to take it's time was overshadowed by the wolf, who had become angry and dominant inside of my soul. The wolf was not going to allow me to drag things out, or to back out if that's what I wanted... or even what Liz wanted. It was hard to tell what would happen if she ever got me to this point and then tried to change the course.

I could end up hurting her.

The wolf silenced my worries with a growl that erupted through my own mouth, startling Liz. She looked fucking amazing with her mouth opened in surprise like that.

I tore my pants off and tossed them away, forgetting their existence. Liz wanted to play - she sat up, ready to move towards me when I forced her back down to the bed.

I could not wait any longer.

I tossed her legs open, positioning them on the outsides of my own. I cast a final glance at the smooth skin and measured curves that made this the most gorgeous of all bodies, then I thrust myself as deep as I could, filling her to the brink.

Liz's head tossed back, a moan elongated from her lips. Her fingernails pierced easily into the soft flesh of my back, hurting and exciting me wonderfully.

I would have given her a minute to adjust to me, but this was not me. I had no choices; I could only act how it wanted me to.

I was pumping in and out of her, almost glad to not have the option of stopping, wrapped up in how good she felt against me, how tight it felt inside of her. Each motion was explosively grand, bringing me closer and closer to the best part.

My name rolled off her tongue, the word dripping with desire as thick as sacharrin. I touched her face gently, willing her to see that this moment, to me, was still about love more than sex.

It just really seemed like it was more about the sex.

She didn't seem to mind.

"Uhh, Seth, fuck me," she breathed, her expression reading as nothing but lust. My body reacted, giving into her demand with an edge to my motions that felt close to violence.

I recognized that I had to be hurting her, no matter how much she looked like she was enjoying herself. I took deep breaths through my mouth, trying my damndest to pace myself before I broke her like a porcelain doll.

She was so small, so fragile.

My ears caught the distinct sound of her phone ringing, but the distraction actually helped to tone me down slightly. I slowed by a fraction of a second, and that would just have to do.

Breathy gasps and sighs poured from my love's mouth, pulling my mind into her. I came back to myself enough to slow a bit more, wrap my arm underneath her back and pull her body up to melt against mine. I laid light, desperate kisses on her mouth, face, and throat.

We were together now; one body, one mind. I could not move in a way that didn't compliment her, and neither could she. We were reaching a level of intimacy that I was not aware existed until right now.

Every push or pull of my hips was met with her own movement, every kiss and touch like a choreographed dance.

"Mmm, Seth," she whispered, an acknowledgment to both of our feelings.

We both fell over the edge then, a combination of sweaty skin and moans of pleasure bursting into the ultimate fire of an orgasm. I collapsed down, on top of Liz's body which was still twitching from the shock.

It always gave me the biggest ego boost when I could get her off.

I rolled to the side, pulling her to me as I tried to slow my breathing. She stayed for a moment, then pulled the sheet with her as she got off the bed. She picked her phone up off the dresser, looked at who had called, then started dialing out to someone.

"Come back to bed," I whined at her, tugging the edge of her cover-up with my toes. "What are you doing?"

"I have a wierd feeling..." she mumbled, chewing on her lip.

I could only hear mumbling but could tell the voice was male, and Liz's demeanor suddenly changed from nervous to downright frantic.

"What the fuck happened?" she asked into the phone.

"I gave her too much! She's already turning blue... Where's the fucking ambulance? Oh God, Suzanne, baby, please breathe... please..."

Daniel was sobbing on the other end of the line. Liz dropped the sheet and started throwing clothes on and searching around for her keys and things.

"I'll come and meet you at the hospital. Daniel! Try to chill, okay? You know CPR, use it. If they're not there in a couple of minutes, load her up and take her to the hospital yourself." She was rushing around her room, tossing things wildly. "Did you set her up to see if she could puke? She is? Okay... do you have any subs with you?"

Liz suddenly smiled brightly. "Yes! Now, do you have any clean needles? The one she used already will have to do. You're gonna have to shoot her up with the suboxone... I know, it sounds crazy but it's going to save her life!" she yelled firmly.

"It will push all the dope out of her and stop anymore from reaching her brain. Hot and cold, don't cook the shit."

She located her keys and tossed them to me; I caught them without even thinking about it. "You drive faster than me," she told me in a whisper.

"Take your time, man. Tie it off... "

There was a sound like a cross between a sob and a shriek.

"Danny, relax! If you can do it to get her high, you can do it to save her life."

I threw some clean sweats on and followed Liz's fast steps out to the car. I started the car and took straight off, not wanting to waste any more time. From the conversation, it was pretty clear that Daniel's girlfriend may be dying.

Liz seemed to be holding her breath, and then I heard someone cough, mumble, and then Daniel yelling something about Suzanne being awake.

"Oh my god, she's alive! Liz! She's fucking alive! Thank you so much, Liz, thank you."

"I'm glad to help. I can't believe it worked!" Liz bounced around happily in her seat. "You are so fucking lucky I remembered that shit!"

There was some disruption happening again on the other line, and the longer Liz sat waiting, the more her face dropped.

"The ambulance is here," Daniel said quietly. "I'm going to jail, aren't I?"

"Oh yeah," Liz said knowingly. "Actually, they'll go really easy on you for calling them in the first place. Most of the time when somebody OD's, everyone who sees it is too scared to help them and they end up dying..." her voice trailed off, fading into her thoughts.

"They'll probably just talk to you and keep you cuffed at the hospital, then let you go later. You might have some fines or court dates or something, no big deal. And for fuck's sake, get rid of all your illegal stuff."

"Too late," Daniel answered, but he sounded less scared. "I have to go, I'm going to follow the ambulance. Are you still coming up here?"

"Yeah, we're already headed that way."

I slowed down to just ten miles over the speed limit since we were out of the immediate emergency. A type of awe settled over me then... I couldn't believe that Liz and Daniel had technically just saved someone's life. The realization made me happy, so I told Liz how proud I was of her.

She kind of snorted sarcastically at me.

Then she considered. "I am extremely thankful that I knew how to fix that. I just can't believe that Daniel," she hissed his name furiously, "Fucking did that to her in the first place! I mean, hell... I've messed up before and introduced people to bad things, but he took a girl that was fresh out of college and never partied at all and somehow ended up sticking a needle in her arm tonight!"

She put her face into her hands and shook her head, almost like she wanted to cry. "And to give her that much...?" she whispered, then peeked up at me through long, thick, black eyelashes. "There's a huge line that he crossed with that shit. He definitely should have known better."

"I'm sure it was an accident," I quickly defended. Daniel was a nice guy, and he had called for help as soon as something had went wrong.

"It was such a fucking stupid accident to make!" she said, her voice raising higher in volume. "Danny's been doing this type of shit long enough to not make that big of a screw up. It wasn't even ron, he had everything measured out perfectly for him in MG's. He had to have given her..." she just shook her head in exasperation. "If he doesn't go to jail, I'm going to bitch him out so bad."

"Maybe he does deserve a lecture," I suggested.

Liz started laughing. "I... love you... Seth," she said between her playful giggles. "You're so laid back about - almost - everything."

I ducked my head sheepishly. "I'm sorry," I amended. "I just can't be laid back about you. I think maybe it's the, uh... intensity... of the way that you make me feel. It's totally new, and it's overwhelming."

Borderline obsessive.

My angel looked over, smiling shyly. "It's not so bad," she said, her voice just a soft, sweet smelling breath of air. I reached over and fit my fingers into the spaces between hers, loving the way that they matched perfectly... as if our hands were each made for holding one another's.

We drove to the Virginia Masen Medical Center Hospital in a comfortable silence, first just because we were both relaxed, then because Liz fell asleep when we were about halfway there and I did not want to bother her. Her head was against the seat and off to one side, mouth slightly open, and every now and then she would gasp or mumble or move her hands around. It was really cute, and it gave me something to say back when she teased me for whining and growling and kicking my feet like a dog in my sleep.

I was already in the parking lot and about to wake her when she twitched violently and leaned up, eyes open and wild. She looked around frantically, her heart pounding inside of her chest. She looked around until her eyes landed on me, then she started to relax, leaning back into the seat and letting out a sigh of relief.

"Bad dream?" I inquired as I backed into a parking space.

"I'm not sure. All I remember is... money. And blood. Felt more like a memory than a dream." She looked around her again, examining the parking lot through her window. "We're here already?"

"Yeah, you woke up as soon as we hit the lot."

She unbuckled her seat belt, then turned back with a quirky smile on her beautiful face. "Ready to see me cuss somebody out?"

"I'm always ready for that," I joked as I got out of the car and walked around to meet her at her door. She wrapped her hand into mine and we set off for the front entrance of the large hospital.

Liz talked to the woman at the front desk to get a room number, then we went through twisting halls following the order of the numbers at every door. We hit the end of a hall when we saw the right room, and Liz knocked softly before walking in.

There were two police officers in here, and I was extremely relieved to not see the one we'd had a run in with the last time we came to Seattle. They were standing by the door, trying to seem as authoratative as possible, though they both shrunk back a little when I entered the room. Daniel was sitting on the edge of the bed that Suzanne was laid out in.

She didn't look so bad; she was pale and there was a light sheen of sweat on her face, her lips were completely white and just from the way her eyes moved slowly she seemed like she must be exhausted. But she didn't look like someone that was dead less than an hour ago.

"You alright?" Liz asked Suzanne, ignoring the cops and Daniel.

Suzanne nodded weakly. "Thank you so much, Liz." She reached her hand out and clasped it around Liz's. "If it weren't for you, I would be dead right now..." she trailed off, voice quavering with the tears that were springing up in her eyes.

"Shhh," Liz whispered soothingly, rubbing Suzanne's hand with her own. "You don't even need to thank me. You being alright is reward enough, trust me."

Liz's smile slipped from her face as her eyes moved from Suzanne to Daniel.

"I want to talk to you outside," she said to him, not at all trying to hide how mad she was. She placed her hands on her hips and actually started to tap her foot impatiently when he didn't jump right up.

Daniel laid a small kiss on Suzanne's palm and told her, "I'll be back in just a second, baby."

He followed Liz out into the hall, leaving me alone in the room with Suzanne and the two police officers. I could hear her cutting into him with her words from outside of the door, and I almost wanted to go out and tell her to take it easy on him.

"What do you think she wants to talk to him about?" Suzanne asked me in a raspy voice.

"She's... um, she's kind of mad at him for... you know." I waved my hand over her, signaling what the problem was about. "She says he definitely should have known better than to give you enough to hurt you."

"It wasn't his fault. I made this decision, it's not Danny's job to baby-sit me and make sure I keep myself in line," she whispered. "If anything, she should be mad at me. I got myself hurt and probably got him in alot of trouble."

She sighed, a sound portraying her own guilt and turmoil. "He'll think it's his fault, regardless. Even if he hadn't been there when it happened, he'd still blame himself."

"... Such a fucking idiot!" We heard Liz yelling in the hallway. The constant background of noise drown out most of what she was saying.

A few minutes passed with no more words from beyond the door, and Suzanne started to fidget and bite on her nails nervously. We both waited, staring at the door until it finally opened.

"What about her parents? What will you guys tell them?" Liz asked Daniel as they strolled back in. There were streaks of moisture on his cheeks like he'd been crying again, and I felt really sorry for the guy. Liz could be ruthless with her words.

"I don't know..."

"You need to tell them the truth," Liz said firmly, her expression daring him to argue.

"No! They'll think Danny's a - " Suzanne started, but Liz cut her off with nothing more than a serious glance.

"They'll think Danny is a fucking junkie, because that's what he is. They'll probably think he's a total piece of shit, which is still up in the air, but they have the right to judge someone that's trying to be with their daughter. If you respect them, you'll tell them."

She turned back towards Daniel. "Otherwise, they're just going to think that she is a junkie piece of shit."

Daniel nodded, keeping his eyes on his feet. He looked like a child being punished.

Liz suddenly turned her attention towards the cops by the door. "Is he being arrested?" she asked them curtly.

"Erm, no," one of them answered, seeming a little intimidated by adorable little Lizzy.

"Is anyone here being arrested?"

The more courageous one nodded a no.

"Then why don't you two get the fuck up out of here?"

They gawked at her, then looked at eachother. One shrugged, then they turned and exited, simple as that.

"Now," Liz sighed, "That being said, I am so glad that you are okay now, Suzanne. I hope you both learned a very serious lesson."

Daniel choked back another round of tears, reaching out towards Liz while his other hand muffled the sound from his mouth. He squeezed her hand meaningfully, then threw his arms around her - his saving grace. I can't even imagine the amount of gratitude he must be feeling towards her... If I were in his position and someone had helped me to save Liz's life, I would owe them everything and more. I would die in her place, if that's what it took.

"Thank you," he was crying into her hair, tears soaking the tops of the strands. "Thank you so much, Liz. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart," Liz replied emotionally. "Just keep that head on, you'll be alright."

Danny and Suzanne both chuckled as he released Liz with a brotherly peck on the cheek.

"We're gonna go ahead and roll out. Call me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, definitely," Danny said with a reassuring nod.

Liz went to Suzanne's side and gave her a gentle hug and a soft kiss on the cheek, and they both told eachother again how grateful they were for things turning out this way. I was just turning to Daniel to say goodbye to him when he surprised me, pulling me into a bear hug.

"Thanks for comin', man. She's so happy with you... It shows in her eyes," he whispered.

I patted him on the back, wearing a wide smile on my face. "Thanks, man. That really means alot to me. She's..." I tried to think of a simple way to describe what Liz was to me, but it would take more than twenty adjectives just to cover the basics.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." He looked back down at his scuffed up sneakers, tears welling up in his eyes again.

I'd never felt so much pity for someone, not for Leah when she lost her Sam, or even when Sam had torn up Emily (or when I had found out that that's what had actually happened). Maybe it was different seeing the guilt firsthand, watching the pain inside of someone after they know they've hurt the one they love the most.

I tried to think of something nice to say to make him feel better, but Liz wrapped up her goodbye with Suzanne and swooped in to save me. She gave Daniel another hug, patting him on the back.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, I was extra mean to you so that you wouldn't have to be to yourself," she said quietly as she pulled away from his arms. "Call me tomorrow after noon."

We yelled more goodbyes until the door was clicked shut and no one could hear anything else from the other side. We drifted away from the room, down the hallway hand-in-hand, smiling like idiots... Because we were in love. Because Suzanne was alive.

Because Liz had saved her. And now I knew that I had been right all along; Elizabeth Collins was an angel on Earth.