Chapter XI
Thank you
The best friendships are the ones you never saw coming.
Unknown
I got up early, planning to fulfill my promise to Charlie before the pranksters from the reservation started to roam our halls.
Wrapped in a bathrobe and hospital slippers, I dashed straight to Leah's room, ready to even wake her up.
She wasn't sleeping.
She looked at me with surprised eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you."
"I'm kind of popular lately," she smiled wryly.
"Leah, you saved my life…"
"Indeed, but if you'd listened to me, you'd have saved some of our energy, wouldn't you?"
"I don't know what words I'd have to use to apologize to you."
"Stop it, I don't like tearful lyrics."
"I came to thank you."
She didn't say anything, so I figured my time was up and headed for the door to leave.
"Bella... do you know that you're stuck with me?" she suddenly said.
I turned around.
"I will never leave you. I will be with you not because I want to, but because I have to."
At this point, Seth entered the room, who decided to visit his sister in the morning.
"Not now!" we screamed simultaneously.
"Coven," he groaned and backed out of the room. But apparently curiosity took over, because after a while he returned with an innocent face, asking, "Can I bring you something to drink?"
"Out!" Leah pointed to the door.
"Come on, I was trying to be chivalrous."
"Yes, you do have a lot of a knight. A crooked head, for example."
Seth looked offended and backed out into the hallway without a word.
"Leah, I kept thinking about it... How did you find me?" I went back to the conversation.
"Bella, I FELT that you would ignore all warnings and show up in this forest anyway. I tried not to go too far and lured the attackers to me rather than chasing them myself. I disobeyed Sam's orders, which were clear to face the enemy as far from home as possible. I didn't really need to bait them because you did. When they attacked you, I knew how little time was left before the venom reached your heart. There were only two options: kill them as quickly as possible, even at the risk of mortal injury, and in human form try to suck the venom out, or watch you turn into the creature I am sworn to kill. Do you understand the complexity of the situation?"
"When I held you in my arms, I felt you grow weaker. I don't usually do this, but there, in that clearing, I was praying to God. I didn't care if the venom I was trying to spit had any effect on me or not. Probably if it got into the bloodstream... but we were both lucky."
"And…" she added, "don't thank me. That's what imprinting is all about. No matter how much you get on my nerves, and I will admit that you break all records, I will protect you anyway. Regardless of each other."
"Bella, if you really want to feel obligated to me, I have a request: try not to get into trouble, huh? Now I'm quite calm, because I assume that even if you get tangled in the hoses from your own drip and start choking, someone will save you in time, but after leaving the hospital I don't feel like following you step by step. Bloody imprinting," she added grimly.
"Although, you know what, there's one upside to all of this: you've become so absorbed in your foolishness that I've forgotten the hurt I'd caused by inculcating Sam. Anyway, now I know what it's like, and that I can only really get mad at nature, and that won't change anything. I don't wish anyone to lose a loved one once and then worry about the life of another, in their own irrational way. When I found out you were planning to voluntarily turn into a vampire yourself, I thought I was going to explode. It was like an electric shock to me. I literally went mad with rage. I guess only Jacob could match me in his reaction to your decision."
"Leah, do you remember our party?" I asked her.
"Dancing?"
"Were you teasing me on purpose?"
"The ends justify the means. I knew you felt something, but you won't even name it. Jealousy is sometimes a catalyst. I wasn't wrong, and Jake thankfully knew how to play it. You've been connecting us for a long time! Regardless, I had a lot of fun back then. And if you knew what beautiful memories he gave me."
The image of Leah sensually tilting her head back and closing her eyes crept into my subconscious, as if in some erotic trance. So that's when…
"So yes?" I laughed. "Dirty!"
"Jake has the problem of not being entirely discreet about his thoughts about you. But as you've probably noticed, the telepathy has stopped. Now it takes a lot of effort to make contact. Previously, it took effort to switch off this relentless broadcast. I know something about it."
"Leah, you're special, you know?"
"Extremely mean? Malicious? Extremely cold as everyone tells me?"
"And extremely pretty," we heard from a doctor with green eyes entering the room.
Leah, with a surprised expression, said, "Oh, hello, doctor. Will you still insist on not letting me out of the hospital?"
"I'd like to leave you here forever, but I'm afraid I don't have the right arguments. No doubt your condition is improving. Let's just see how the stitches heal. Can I? "
"I'm the one leaving," I said, and started to leave so as not to disturb the examination.
If I had stayed, however, I would have seen smiling green eyes staring at Leah and gentle male hands unwrapping bandages. And then I would hear a lot of compliments about the beautifully healing wounds…
I returned to the room, swallowed the prescribed dose of medicine, begged one of the nurses to help me wash my head, changed into fresh pajamas and waited for my beloved, because I felt that he would appear soon.
And I wasn't wrong. He rushed into the room, and actually his leg freed from the cast appeared first, followed by the rest of his body with the cry "Finally free."
"I'm free! But being a pain in the ass of the ward sister here has its perks. She understood that she would not get rid of me except by discharge. I'm leaving soon, Bells."
I felt sad.
"How about me?"
"Well, you can't leave just yet, but you can talk to the doctor. Besides, I'm not going to leave you here to all these horny interns. Now they keep their paws to themselves, but if you let them out of your sight ... I can already see how everyone would like to personally see how beautifully you are healing. I''ll be back as soon as I check on the house and change into some more civilized clothes. They say they brought me in Sam's pants… "
"You do not exaggerate? I guess you're horny yourself and you're mainly thinking about what to occupy your paws with," I smiled.
"Without a doubt! And that gives me an idea…"
"Shhh... you'd better not say anything out loud, because knowing your timing, Charlie or half of your family is about to drop by. It was enough for me to feel ashamed in front of my mother."
"I'm sorry, Bells. Actually, I got a little carried away. By the way, your mom is cute!"
"I know," I replied proudly. "All right, Jake, sit here. I know you're flaunting your cast, but I want to enjoy you before you go home."
"Hmm... enjoy? Shall I close the blinds and barricade the door?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
"Asshole!"
"Oh, so you don't miss me that much? Is looking and talking enough for you?" He teased.
He sat on the bed, brushed my still damp hair from my cheek and kissed me very softly on the lips. Ever since I'd opened my eyes, he'd teased me with his sight, warmth, and smell, and now I really wanted nothing more than to "enjoy him" in his ways.
"Jake, really, Charlie will be here soon…"
"And arrest me?" he whispered straight into my ear, warming it with his breath and bringing goosebumps all over my body. "Will he take a police baton... and... handcuffs? Will he go to the dungeons? Such a wicked one? Who wants... to corrupt an innocent... child?" he whispered, taking small pauses to touch his lips to the neck below.
"Jake... have mercy..." A butterfly raged in my lower abdomen.
"I want to hear purring, moaning, even a little screaming... Just tell me where and when..."
Jake!" I felt how his jokes and delicate, leaving a huge wanting, caresses make me hot, and the center of this warmth is exactly between my thighs.
"Bells, you're blushing... Can I check if your heart is okay?" And without waiting for an answer, he slid his hand under my pajama top, right over my bare chest.
"Jake, damn it!"
"Oh... indeed, a slight arrhythmia…"
I pushed his hand away just in time, because, as usual, at the most inopportune moment, the ward sister came in and surveying the scene she found (and she only saw the end anyway) screamed.
"Mr. Black! Specialization in cardiology is done after graduation. And I don't really know what you could study!"
"The sweet nature of the hot medical staff. But I would love to learn ... at night," he retorted, looking his sister in the eyes with an innocent face.
"Taking off the cast and discharge from the ward is not able to mobilize you to leave?!"
"Even if I leave, I'll come back. Without a sister, life seems bland." He smiled broadly.
"Go home! And let the girl rest!"
He got up and went to the door. On leaving, however, he did not refrain from the last word.
"If sister let me tire her out first…"
"Out!" he heard in return.
I snickered, and the nurse rolled her eyes skyward and followed him out, apparently wanting to make sure he got to his room.
The rest of the day was calm. I just had to wait for the opportunity to talk to the doctor and ask him to discharge me home. I wanted to be as close to Jake as possible. When he wasn't with me, everything was less intense.
As if the world was shrouded in fog.
Unbelievable how much sun this boy had in him.
The attending physician came to me only during the evening rounds and announced in a cheerful voice that I would actually go home.
"Your condition is surprisingly good. We cannot explain it otherwise than in terms of a miracle. Your entire group daringly escaped the clutches of death. I wish there were more such cases."
I informed my dad by phone that I would be home tomorrow and that he should bring me clothes, because the ones I was brought in in were only suitable for throwing away. I read a women's magazine, lay there trying to take a nap, and then decided to go to Leah's. I wasn't counting on friendly chat, but Jacob was running late, so knowing her hall was having a daily visitor gathering, I went there as a distraction.
Already in the corridor I heard her raised voice, so instead of entering the room I stood by the door. Needless to say, I listened.
"What? How was it not?" Leah furiously glared at Seth, who was getting hit the hardest as always, Embry, and Quil. There were no chocolate muffins? What's that brown crumb on your T-shirt, Embry? Huh? You ate those muffins before you left the bakery! Donuts! That's all you can do: eat and turn heads after nurses. What, you think I don't know why you visit me so often? Once, only once I had a request. Oh chocolate muffins! And what? Eaten!"
Attracted by the screams, the doctor entered the room to see what kind of fuss his favorite patient was making, to which Leah, without looking away from the culprits, hissed.
"Please, doctor, feel invited to the show. We have real comedy here. In 3D! This youngest asshole is unfortunately my brother, and the other two are his friends."
"Anger enhances your beauty Ms.Clearwater," the doctor said with a gentle smile, which took her out of her combative mood a bit.
"Doctor, I'll get angry if you don't let me go home. I'm sick of being at the mercy of the hospital and my wonderful family."
"You've had a number of major surgeries. I don't think so…" he protested.
"I'm an adult."
"For a long time," Seth interjected.
She glared at him and returned to the subject.
"I am an adult and I want to leave on demand."
"It's not the best idea."
"Yeah," Seth spoke again.
"Be silent, heir to all the recessive genes of the family!"
Eavesdropping on Leah's plea for discharge was interrupted by my dad, who had just entered the ward carrying a bag of clothes.
"Bells, before we go to your place, I wanted to stop by Leah. I didn't get to thank her myself. It's here?"
He knocked politely on the open wing of the glass hospital door.
"Oh it's you Mr. Swan. Hello!"
"I won't take long. I just wanted to thank you for saving my daughter. Without you, I would have lost my most precious treasure."
"It was an impulse, please don't thank me, anyone would do it." Father smiled and as he was about to leave, he seemed to change his mind.
Looking at everyone gathered in the steel, he asked, "By the way, do any of you know who persuaded my daughter to get a tattoo?"
" Leah!" the boys shouted in unison before she could open her mouth.
Dad just shook his head silently, waved his hand as if to say "youth today," and left.
Behind him the boys rushed out too, their faces showing the satisfaction of a soldier who had won the battle. Even if the war was lost…
On his way out, Dad almost passed Jake. He'd only been gone for a few hours, and I was as happy as if I hadn't seen him for ages.
"Hi baby." He came over and kissed me the way I like it: a little longer than a simple peck, but not long enough to enjoy the teasing softness of his lips." Did you miss me?"
"No, nothing at all," I lied defiantly. "You know, I've been busy. Those interns... Oh, they tried so hard... When a man tries, he can be so gentle…"
"Shut up, woman," he said slightly annoyed, feeling that I was joking after all. "Did you know that I was advised to rehabilitate? I even went to ask for details. The physiotherapist clearly enjoyed the opportunity to cooperate. Apparently my fame precedes me," he laughed, probably referring to the superior sister.
"Very nice girl," he continued, to hit the ball on the interns."Such a cute blonde with curly hair. Scarlett Johansson type. I don't know how a baby like that would handle me... But well, even the FBI say the biggest bombs come in the smallest letters. I think I will decide on these treatments, I am intrigued by how much strength is in this girl…"
"Okay, stop it or I'll shut your mouth."
"Then I'll add a few more words," he said, smiling and closing his eyes as if ready for the promised gag.
I leaned over to him, took his chin lightly, and contrary to what he probably expected, without preamble, I put my tongue in his mouth. Hmm... that's all he was able to purr, and for a moment I felt my determined outburst of passion disarm him.
He completely surrendered to me, still did not open his eyes, and I wanted to tell him with the caresses of my mouth and tongue how much I wanted him.
"Isabella Marie Swan!" I heard my father's voice behind me. "I guess I don't know much about my daughter after all!" Charlie added after a moment of embarrassing silence, looking at us with an astonished face, in which, unfortunately, I also noticed disappointment with what he saw when he entered the room. "I came back to arrange with you what time to pick you up from the hospital, and what do I see? I am to understand that…"
"I did not say…"
"Yes," said the half-conscious Jacob at the same time.
"Dad..." I finally got my voice out. "Jake and I... we're... sort of together."
"Yeah, that's what it looks like," Father said with a frown. " I hope that your cordial relationship with all FRIENDS is not what you called them recently. Jake, excuse the directness, but I need to talk to my daughter alone. And don't rejoice prematurely, I'll have a word with you too."
Jacob got up, looked at my father as if he wanted to say something, but gave up and just left.
I was left alone with an enraged Charlie who, to make matters worse, closed the door behind Jake. A thunderstorm was brewing.
"Am I to understand that he was the one who dragged you to the reservation? And it's to him that I owe your sudden interest in bear life? And this accident? Riding a motorcycle before? Because, as far as I know, Jake's hobby is fixing car and bicycles, right? Can you even interact with boys without hospital consequences?!"
Charlie was really angry.
"First Edward, who decided to leave, making you depressed, and now Jacob? Okay, Bells, I didn't like Edward, he seemed so... too old for you, but Jake? I'm friends with his father and I've known the kid since childhood, I don't question that he's a good boy, but if you're counting on my permission for his sexual education, you're sorely mistaken. Before you start making out with a horny youngster, and believe me, because I was young too, learn to be responsible! Veto, Bells! You're going off to college soon, and I hope you'll do something other than love affairs there. And forget about the res!"
Then he stormed out into the hall furious.
And so I single-handedly ruined my dreams of spending the rest of the summer in the male arms of a hot brunette.
In the current situation, it would be appropriate to sit close enough to the wall to be able to freely bang your forehead against the wall over the enormity of your own stupidity. On the other hand, how was I to know that Charlie would come back?
I understood my father perfectly well. Jake was his friend's son and kind of my little brother, a cool buddy to pull me out of the mental holes Edward had put me in (according to my dad), and generally the sight of a half-conscious Jacob getting his mouth penetrated by his daughter with pleasure written all over his face was no surprise.
I just hoped he wouldn't go to Billy with his conclusions. Jacob's father's approach to the whole situation was hard to define. He'd only seen us kiss once, but with all the fuss with Sarah Lee, he might have thought it was just a joke.
How his son felt about me might have been known to him, but he certainly had no idea how I felt about him. Maybe he didn't even know that the boy had grown up a bit recently... and I helped him with that.
I didn't want to think about all this. I felt bad. I was alone and I missed Jake, and the worst part of it all seemed to be that I didn't know how long I would have to live like this because I couldn't imagine visiting him on the reservation right now, let alone having him with me.
Charlie had no choice, sooner or later he had to accept that I was seeing someone again. Better to take it slow though. Otherwise, I'll be in La Push... asking for asylum.
I didn't slept well that night. I didn't really know if I was asleep or just awake. I desperately wanted to make some kind of telepathic contact with Jacob, but either he was asleep, or indeed, with the absence of vampires, the wolf qualities were fading away.
Sleep came in the morning.
Like a frame from a slow motion movie. I wrenched away from Jake's grip on my hand and, ready to pounce, I transformed into a wolf in the air. I ran after the dark silhouette disappearing among the forest thicket. For a moment I flashed the person's face...
Edward. I woke up crying.
To keep from going crazy, I put off analyzing it for later. However, I had to face this topic, too often my dreams turned out to be prophetic.
In the morning, Charlie came to the ward to pick me up, thanked the doctors and nurses for looking after me, helped me pack and get dressed, waited for me to get my discharge card and home prescriptions, we checked in on Leah for a moment, but she wasn't too eager for tender goodbyes (apparently she did not take well the fact that she was the only one left in the ward) and we headed towards the exit of the hospital.
We met Sam, Emily and... Jacob in the corridor.
"Good morning, Charlie. Hi baby!" cheerfully, as if nothing had happened, he greeted us. Luckily, he wasn't about to kiss me hello.
Charlie gave him a cool look and replied, "Good morning."
And to me he said, "Bella, you have the keys here, wait a minute for me in the car, I need to have a few words with Jake in private."
Sam and Emily went to Leah's, Jake stayed with my father in the hall, and like a good girl, not wanting to annoy my father, I went to the car. Well, in a public place, he won't hit him with a baton.
Charlie returned ten minutes later, calm and suspiciously impenetrable. He was silent the whole way. Me too.
Finally, being home, he said, "You have to give the kid one thing, he inherited determination from his father."
That's all I got out of their conversation. I decided to give Charlie time to chew on the subject until the evening, then attack again.
I did the laundry and cleaning, because the last time I was home was the night I had to pack up in a hurry and go with Jake to the reservation.
Around eight o'clock in the evening I went downstairs to prepare dinner for Charlie, and with a whole plate of his favorite casserole I sat down meaningfully across from him.
He ate, clearly satisfied.
"Dad," I ventured, "there's really nothing wrong with that. It just happened that way, you know we've always been soul mates. I've had his eye on him for a long time, and... and... he tried very hard."
Unfortunately, his efforts in the tent flashed before my eyes and my face almost turned the color of a good vintage burgundy. "And... you know…"
"Uh… soul mates?" Charlie snorted with his mouth full. "Sorry, Bells," he swallowed, "but you barely wiped away the tears of a certain Cullen, did you? As for the kinship of souls, I have no objections, but the kiss that I unfortunately saw had little to do with the soul!"
"Dad... I'm an adult." I argued.
"And he doesn't!"
"But it will be in a few weeks!"
"So we'll be back to this conversation in a few weeks!You'll just gain more perspective by getting to know the students at the university."
My hands dropped.
"Dad. I love him. He gave me as much as I could take. He was always with me, gave me joy, hope, sunshine…"
"Bells, I'll say this: I'd rather not know what he gave you, much less what you gave him, and for now I don't want to hear about any male-female relations under my roof."
I didn't say anything more and dragged myself resigned to my room. I sat on the bed for a while trying to calm down, then went to the bathroom to take a long bath. It was ten o'clock, I didn't feel like sleeping, but I couldn't concentrate on watching TV or reading. I turned off the light.
I honestly hoped Jake would come. It was damn risky because Charlie was at the height of his allergy to him, but on the other hand, the risk was more motivating than discouraging for Jacob.
Around midnight a tiny pebble hit my window. I got up, saw him on the lawn, and let him in. As usual, it took him a few seconds to get into the room. He was dressed in dark jeans and a black T-shirt, except so as not to stand out against the dark bushes in front of my house.
I had a speech ready about safety, complications, Charlie's appeasement strategy, but Jake, without a word of greeting, took me into his arms and took away my ability not only to speak but also to breathe.
He kissed me as if for the first time he had the opportunity to taste my lips, his hands wandering under the tiny sleeping shirt, which caused the familiar butterfly in the stomach to take on the size of a large sparrow.
"Jake." I tried to peel myself off his lips.
"Jake!"
"I know, I love you too!"
"For God's sake, if Charlie catches us, we'll have to leave the state and maybe the continent today."
"Together? Don't tempt." He impatiently pulled down the straps of my shirt.
"Jake, do you even know what I'm talking about?" I tried to put them back on.
"Forgive my lack of willingness to discuss actively, but my hormones are flooding my gray cells," he replied simply and with a sweet smile.
"Jake! I am not joking!" I struggled to put on the other strap he had pulled off, and with one hand pulled back my panties, which were slipping down under his able fingers.
"Shhh... Tomorrow you'll tell me everything."
He didn't seem to have heard what I was trying to say to him.
He released me from his embrace for a moment and took off his T-shirt in a flash. I didn't do anything meaningful with this momentary freedom, because the sight of his body affected me so much that to resist the urge to touch his skin, I'd have to close my eyes and suffer sudden amnesia.
Half-naked, he went back to trying to strip me of the bit of silk that separated his eyes from the desired view.
"Jake, Charlie will be here soon..." I whispered, surprised that I was still able to speak at all.
"Charlie is sleeping."
"We'll wake him up!"
"Will you scream?" he purred sensually in my ear, causing the remnants of my sanity to thin the ranks again.
He pulled his hands away from me for a moment and, quickly scanning the room, ripped the sheets from the bed in one motion and threw them on the floor.
"What are you doing?"
"If your screaming doesn't wake Charlie, the creaking of the bed will. I don't weigh as little as you." And with one hand he undid the buttons of his pants, which a second later landed in the corner with his T-shirt.
" Will it always be like this? You fall through the window at night and half a minute later the only person in the house is my father?" I laughed. "You've changed, boy. You weren't like this before," I added.
He looked at me smilingly.
"I wasn't and I regret every wasted minute."
"I love you."
"Then stop fighting with my hand," he laughed softly, moving my hand still securing the panties.
Naked as God created him, he brought to mind the athletic models of ancient sculptors. There was something almost shameless about the perfect harmony of his body.
He pulled me impatiently to the floor. I lay down first, and he, so as not to crush me, placed himself between my thighs, propped up on his forearms.
"Bells," he whispered every few words as he kissed my neck. "Sorry, I want you so much... It was supposed to be romantic and unhurried, but…" Then he entered me.
My eyes dimmed with delight.
I pressed my lips against his neck to keep from screaming.
He tried to be gentle, he listened to my body's reactions, he loved me so long and passionately that he was finally pleased to see my eyes fill with tears and I lose control of myself. I found his mouth so I wouldn't wake Charlie up with a second groan. Just in time, or Jake would have caused it otherwise.
Common sense dictated that we part quickly, glad that we got away with the madness.
However, lately I have not been in the habit of listening to reason, which I proved earlier by the hospital scene and now by letting Jacob into the room.
We lay on the sheets scattered on the floor, both sweaty and tired.
"Jake…"
"Do you want more?"
"Ha, ha, you only about one thing. What arguments should I use to convince Charlie?"
"I don't know, I got the impression that I'm not the biggest problem, but the fact that his daughter has grown up and ... you understand. It's good that he doesn't quite know what kind of dynamite he has at home."
"Dynamite? Hmm... I was right when I said that YOU are the spark."
"Bells, I love you. That's all that matters."
"Jake, I'd like to live a normal life. I am no longer a child."
"Charlie thinks I'm him." He declared.
"What were you talking about while I was sitting in the car?"
" About responsibility, the importance of feelings, and stuff like that."
"And…"
"I told him that ... Anyway, Bells, manly chatter, you know, like horny youngster and daddy of the chosen one … "
"Jake! What did you say?"
"Truth."
"That is?"
"That I've loved you forever, that I'm incomplete without you, and that all his attempts to get me out of your life are doomed to fail because I KNOW, and I'm absolutely sure, that there's no obstacle I can't get past. And whether he wants it or not, he will be my father-in-law one day!"
"You didn't say that," I laughed.
"Well ... the password "father-in-law" did not come up, but only because Charlie left me in the middle of a sentence. Don't worry, Bells. With Edward and the Volturi, your father is a pleasure."
I was pondering. Jake had a completely different take on the whole situation. Ready to fight and hide for who knows how long, just to finally get his way. In the end, thanks to this stubbornness, he was with me.
But I was impatient, wanting to be officially seen with him and not feel my dad's suspicious eyes on my back. One thing Edward and Jake were alike, time meant something different to them than it did to me.
"Bells, I think it's time to go, right?"
"When I will see you?"
"In a few hours, I'll pick you up and we'll go to Leah's."
"But you can not…"
"Yeah, you have to be consistent. Charlie will understand that he can't win."
"I don't know…"
"Bells, who is the alpha male? Who?" he laughed.
"All right, chief, you know better."
He got dressed, hugged me tight and, as usual, neatly jumped out.
My Jake.
Soon after, I collapsed on the bed exhausted and fell asleep immediately.
In the morning, I decided to take Jake's tack and stubbornly force Charlie to accept the facts.
Brushed and dressed in a denim skirt and a matching blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, I went downstairs to prepare us breakfast. Charlie was already sitting at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.
"Hello Dad. Did you sleep well?"
"Yes and you?"
"Me too," I lied. "Dad, I'm going with Jacob to Leah in the hospital in a moment, she is supposed to be leaving in the afternoon and we want to help her pack."
"I thought I made myself clear, YOU ARE TAKING A BREAK FROM THE RESERVATION!"
"Dad, understand, these are my friends. They are like family."
"Aren't you in too much of a hurry to join someone's family?"
"Dad, I just want to go to the hospital. What's wrong with that?"
"Company!"
"I've been hanging out with Jake since I can remember as a kid, and you had no problem with that!"
"Except that Jake has recently moved up a bit in your eyes, am I wrong?"
"Dad... Please, it's just a ride to the hospital, what does Jacob's current status matter here?" I tried to coax.
"Bells, I consider the topic closed!"
Okay, then I'm going to have to lie and conspire. Right after Charlie left for work, I called Jake to come pick me up.
He waited, leaning nonchalantly against the hood of the car. He was saying "take me home" with his whole body, and I wondered if my body temperature was rising because of Leah's blood, or if it was a lack of self-control.
I eyed my young god, who, although fully clothed because it was cold and probably didn't want to cause a sensation, was more impressive than many celebrities in a widely read magazine.
He was wearing classic faded gray jeans and a white T-shirt that showed off his body perfectly. It was nothing, but it appealed to the imagination.
"How do you do it?"
"What is it, honey?" He asked.
"By fulfilling you leave unfulfillment?" I replied.
"Stop, or we won't get there today," he smiled innocently.
We got in the car and drove to the hospital, talking all the way through possible scenarios for our battle with Charlie.
Leah sat on the bed waiting for the doctor and her discharge, dressed in baggy linen pants and a crop top that showed off her shapely body and the tattoo I also wore a copy on my arm. Of course, she wasn't alone. Jared, Paul and Seth arrived moments before us.
"Hey!" We both greeted her.
"Hey," she replied, eyeing us suspiciously. "Did the first night at home went without injuries?They brought in some wounded at night, I was even afraid it was you, " she added sourly. Jake laughed, and Leah turned to him with a cute smile, "And you, instead of laughing, wear a turtleneck. You've got a hickey around your neck, dickehead!"
Everyone burst out laughing.
The green-eyed attending physician did not keep us waiting long. He came with a stack of prescriptions and the discharge Leah had been waiting for.
"I'm still not convinced," he told her.
"Don't worry, doctor, they'll take good care of me at home," she said, looking meaningfully at her brother.
"Oh yeah, we even built a new paddock for her," Seth said quietly so as not to be overheard.
Leah suppressed the burning urge to whack him on the head, and, with the face of an innocent girl, sweetly asked, "Can I go now?"
"Mrs. Clearwater, I'll take the trouble to see if you're taking care of yourself as a convalescent should be."
"Hmm... I'm afraid the reservation isn't the best place for you... I mean, a bit dangerous."
"Full of evil she-wolves," Seth added, charmed by the doctor's invitation.
"And overgrown puppies. A scum that National Geographic might be interested in," Leah hissed, glaring at him with a murderous glare.
"Your address is on hospital records, expect me by the end of the week." Smiling, the doctor ignored the warnings, smiled at Leah, and left the room.
Jacob took the bag with her things and the six of us headed towards the exit. We both looked back at the same time, looking, perhaps for the last time, at this place.
This is where I was born for the second time, Leah kind of became a mother, the green-eyed doctor had a crush on his patient, I brought into conflict with Charlie, the ward sister started to think about retirement for the first time…
I think we all looked a bit oddly slow walking silently to the car because no one seemed to notice us. Five Indians and a light-skinned girl who shared a tattoo hidden under her blouse. And blood, which few knew.
This stay in the hospital healed more than just physical wounds. For Leah, it was the first moment of acknowledging her imprinting and letting go of the pain of losing Sam, for me, the moment of separation from her previous life, if only by the changes her blood had caused, for Jake, the first period of boyish carelessness in a long time. Each of us felt that we would miss this place even more.