The Kiss of Death

Chapter 10

Eleanor's POV:

    "Hi Nik."

    I watch as both of the boys exchange curious glances with each other, struggling with what to say or how to handle this situation. Do I keep my mouth shut or try to explain? Will glances at me, a questioning brow raised as he tugs on my arm, pulling my closer into his side. 

    "So do you two know each other?" Will murmurs flippantly, trying to hide his obvious interest from any onlookers by remaining aloof. 

    "No!"

    "Yes!"

    I flinch as Nik and I answer at the same time. God, can this get any worse? Why did Nik have to work at this rinky-dink little hospital? And why doesn't he want Will to know about our past relationship? As far as he knows, I am nothing more than a vampire's pet, so it makes no sense that he should expect any kind of retaliation from Will. In normal circumstances, any other vampire wouldn't even pry or bat an eye that we know each other. Maybe he just doesn't want to draw any more attention to himself. I glance back up at Will to gauge his reaction as Nik begins to ramble off an explanation.

    "Just barely. We met once at a shop in the market place, we bumped into each other and I purchased some squirrels from her. She had quite a terrible attitude actually.." He pauses as if he's struggling to recall some minute and unimportant detail from this fake meeting but shrugs once in defeat. "Ah well, water under the bridge now." He looks back at me, his face blank and hard to read then shifts his gaze back up to meet Will's. 

    "In order to provide the best possible care, and since she has reached full maturity, we will need to complete a physical exam as well as updating her on her shots. We tend to perform these in private to ensure the patient is comfortable enough to divulge all of the information we tend to require, you understand." He stops and grabs a clipboard before moving towards the back of the house, heading towards the stairs to what I can only assume leads to an exam room.

    I turn back to look up at Will and find his eyes already searching mine for answers about this strange encounter. "I won't be long." I murmur, unable to meet his gaze or to offer any comfort to him to help settle his nerves in the presence of prying eyes. I wait for his nod, then turn to follow Nik down the hall to the stairs.

    As we reach the top step, I notice that the house is in greater shambles than I had originally guessed when the hand rail snaps under my hand and I stumble forward into Nik's waiting arms. "Shit." I look up to his face and our eyes meet for a brief moment before I step back widely in the opposite direction of the stairs, grateful for the space that is between us once again. For some reason his touch was only uncomfortable, almost painful.

    "Don't worry about it." Nik murmurs, picking up the shattered pieces of the rail and placing it on top of his clipboard as he walks past me towards the open door at the end of the hall. "That thing was meant to snap any day now." He grins back at me as he gestures for me to enter the room. 

    I nod and step through the door first, cringing as his hand grazes the small of my back and the little twinge of pain makes itself known again. Apparently he doesn't seem to feel that because he lingers for a few seconds longer than bearable before he turns back to close us in and sets the clipboard down on the desk beside the wall. He turns back to me and leans against the door.

    "Why did you lie?" I question him, moving to sit on the exam table to hopefully keep the distance between us so he doesn't try to touch me again.

    "I figure you don't want some leech knowing any details about your life, I was protecting you. But I also don't have to explain myself to those monsters so I saw no reason that I should have to divulge any extra information." He washes his hands and goes about filling out some paperwork and taking my vitals, which luckily doesn't involve anything more than little whispers of a touch.

    "What happened El? Where's Eddie? How did you get caught?" He fires off questions too rapidly, and stares at me, waiting for my response.

    I frown and look down at my hands, watching the oximeter fluctuate rapidly as it tries to find my heartrate and oxygen levels. I don't know how to explain my situation to him in a way that might settle his nerves. I can't tell him about Will and I which only makes matters worse. I guess I'll just have to make it up as I go.

    "I was hunting and they snuck up on me, a pair of them." I murmur as he jots down the numbers and removes the device from my finger. "Ed was back at the camp when I got caught so she wasn't found. I wonder.." I stop and look up, trying to catch his eyes. "I think that she may be in trouble." I stand up too quickly and reach for him, momentarily forgetting that I shouldn't touch him as I grab hold of both of his arms. "Agh!" I quickly pull back and cross my arms behind my back. Embarrassed, I carry on as if I didn't just shriek for no reason.

    "There was another bloodsucker following us through the trails the night I was taken and I fear he may have caught up to Eddie. With me not there to look after her, or to get us back on our way again, she must have waited there for me... but they're so fast." I pause, lost in thought and trying to keep as close to the truth as possible. "He could have easily sniffed her out. I'm desperate to go and look for her but I'm too heavily guarded. Please, Nik. You have to go and find her for me, she needs someone who will keep her safe."

    His brows furrow as he watches me. "Let me help you escape. Then we can go and find her together." He steps toward me but I take a retreating step back and shake my head so he stops. Distracted and confused about my response, he stops. "What is this? What's he done to you? The El I know would jump at the first opportunity to run, especially if it meant finding Eddie. Why do you keep backing away from me as though it burns?"

    "Nothing!" I blurt out, turn, moving to the window and staring out at the trees beyond. "He has no intentions of biting me. He's already made that clear." I tell a half lie as I watch a hawk flying overhead, likely circling for his next prey. I wish that I could be as free, soaring through the sky, no problems to weigh me down. I rub at my temple, eyes closed, as the gravity of my situation brings me back to this conversation in this room with this man who used to mean the world to me. 

    "I am as safe as I can be, he plans to keep me for several years which is more than enough time for me to find an easier escape route that doesn't put any of my loved ones in danger. And that includes you." I open my eyes, offer the sky one last fleeting glance, and turn back to face him again. "I do care about you Nik. I just have to do this my way. I don't need you to help me, I need you to find Ed. Find Ed and keep her safe until I can find a way back to her again. Can you do that for me?"

    He lets out an exasperated sigh and runs his fingers through his messy brown hair as he studies me from across the room. "I-" He stutters. "Yeah of course. I mean, obviously I want to find Ed too." He drops his arms by his side. "I can ask around town and you know I'm just about as good at tracking as you. I'll find her." He falls into the chair by the door. "How am I supposed to let you know if I've found her since you're so heavily guarded?" 

    I stare at a painting on the wall beside his head of a woman hanging off of the handlebar of a moving train, her pretty blue dress flapping in the wind and her little blue hat with a matching blue ribbon in her hand. Her arm is extended out to her side as she waves it at whoever she seems to be leaving behind. She has a big goofy smile on her face as though she's happy to be leaving this part of her life behind her, or like she cares deeply for the man on the receiving end of that smile and she knows she'll see them again soon.

    I wonder if Will and I will ever be that happy together, happy enough to exchange goofy little grins, confident enough that we'll see each other again every time we part ways. I've found love, what has to one day be the realest and truest loves that one could find since the man is my soulmate, but am I as happy as the woman in this picture? I can't tell. Will I ever be? It's too soon to tell, I guess. I find myself wishing again that everything didn't have to be so damn hard and complicated.

    "El! Back in the room?" Nik, who seems to have noticed that I'd drifted away into my own mind once again, beckons me back into this conversation and out of my distracted thoughts of life and love.

    "My master is a king, or he will be a king.." I murmur as I puzzle through what to say. "He comes out this way a lot for work, or so I'm told. I'll  be around enough that I should be able to find you when I come back. If you happen to find her, or hear news about her, just post up outside of the Inn back in town and I'll find a way to slip back out to collect the details." I move back towards the exam table and sit down, pulling my sleeves up as I go. 

    "Let's just get this exam over with now, there's nothing more for you to know." I watch him, patiently waiting as he stares at me for another moment before he silently rises from his seat and moves toward the table. I continue to stare in a daze at his back as he rummages through all of the drawers and paperwork, no doubt looking for supplies to finish up the exam.

    "Nothing more for me to know?" He questions quietly, barely tilting his head in my direction as he draws some clear medication out of a bottle and into a syringe. "That's rich El. So what was I to you then? You don't think I deserve some kind of explanation?" He turns to face me again, moving lithely through the room with several very sharp and scary needles in hand. He pulls some sanitizer wipes out of his pockets and begins to clean my skin to prepare for the injections.

    "You up and disappeared Eleanor. I was worried for you. I was scared that you'd been caught or killed. I didn't know what to think. You tell me that you can't be with me anymore, no answers as to why and I never see you again until now and you don't think there's anything else to discuss?" I can see the anger he's barely managing to contain popping through with the vein in his temple and the flare in his nostrils. I can hear the barely contained rage in his voice and feel the way his fingers tighten on my arms with every word. I need to remember to ask Will why his touching me hurts so badly, it must be a side affect from the feeding or the soulmate thingy. I clench my eyes shut for a moment to collect myself and open them again to study him once more.

    "Nik." I start but I don't know what to say, so I just wait as he dolls out three separate injections and I try to find the right words that will hopefully offer him some comfort or at the very least some peace of mind. When he's finished and begins to bandage me up, I start again.

    "I never meant to hurt you, and I know that sounds cheap but its the truth. I have obligations to my sister, to my family. I wasn't planning on coming back here, I thought a clean break would be easier for you." I pause again and look up into his eyes, his deep and rich chocolate brown eyes, and wonder if I'm hurting him more now than I had when I left. "I love you Nik. I really do. You've always been there for me even when we were just kids.." I trail off again, knowing that this next blow would be the worst but also knowing that he needs to hear it so he can move on with his life. 

    "I'm just not in love with you."

    I watch as his anger dissipates completely and his shoulders drop lightly along with his hopes as he stares, studying my face as he always does when he can't believe me, no doubt finding the truth written plainly there for him to see. He turns his back to me again to dispose of the needles and fill out some paperwork. When he drops the pen, I know that this meeting is over and no further explanation will be needed.

    "That wraps up the exam, we should get you back to your bloodsucker." Nik murmurs under his breath, gathering the paperwork up and clipping it back onto the clipboard then walks to the door and grabs the knob. I stand and he pauses, not turning to face me as he speaks this time. "Thank you for telling me the truth. I'll still help you find Eddie, so don't worry about that. You know I'll always help you, with anything, no matter what happens between us." 

    "I know. I'll never be able to thank you enough for all you've done for me, butt I'll start trying now. Thank you." I move to stand behind him as he opens the door and leads the way back down the hall, down the stairs, and to the front waiting area where Will is still waiting for me. He stands up when we stop at the desk and moves to stand in front of us. 

    "So, how'd it go?" Will questions Nik, giving me a once over before looking back at him again as Nik thrusts some folder full of pages in his face.

    "These are her medical records. You'll find everything you need for travel inside as well, which we offer to all pet owners upon their first visit. Don't lose them because it's very difficult to obtain new copies. The exam went great, your pet is in perfect health and after today all of her shots have been caught up. Since you've already handled payment you're free to go. Have a great day, safe travels." Nik looks longingly at me for one fleeting moment before he nods his goodbye and disappears behind the desk into the next room.

    I look after him for a moment, strangely sad and feeling guilty for having caused him any pain. He's my oldest and dearest friend and it kills me that I've had to hurt him this way but I know it had to be done. I'm with Will now, nothing can ever happen between us again and he needed to know that. Will clears his throat, causing me to look up at him and forget my wayward thoughts. "Ready to go?" He asks, holding his arm out to me.

    "Yeah. I mean yes. Sir." I nod, taking his arm and walking with him toward the exit. I notice the curious glance he throws my way but I know better than to try having this conversation now when there will be many prying eyes for the rest of the day. He'll just have to wait until we're alone again to fire off his questions. We walk back to the cart and he tucks me away, in with the luggage, before we're on the road again, heading towards town to find some unwilling victims to drag along back to wherever the hell he's from.

    Has it really only been a few hours since we got out of bed this morning? It feels like a whole day's worth of drama has already rested on my shoulders and I'm emotionally exhausted from this rollercoaster already. Now I have to watch random girls and young women be abducted from their homes to go be slaves somewhere else.

    We've got a long road ahead of us and I know its not just this gravely one that we travel on to get back to town. I know we have a lot of hurdles to get by, a lot of trials and tribulations to get through, but at the end of the day I also know that it'll be worth it too. It'll be worth it to live what I hope will be a long and happy life with Will because I do want that, despite all of the red flags and obstacles we may face. I want to go on, me loving him, him loving me. That's the future I look forward to and it may take loads of time, but it can't be entirely impossible to achieve it. There must be a way to work things out for the better. For now, all I have to do is survive.