Expect the Unexpected

Chapter 8

Once we were back at the hospital, Nick walked me back to my room and took the chair closest to the bed. Ben and another bald man came in with bottled water for Nick and I. Nick took one massive swig.

“I don’t know if the doctor has released you to have food yet but once he does I’ll have Ben or Zeke go and grab you whatever you’d like. You’re much too malnourished and small for a werewolf to safely shift when you need to.” Nick says matter-of-factly to me

“I’m not a werewolf and I’m not staying long. I’m getting checked out like we agreed and then going home, with or without your help.” I respond while messing with my nails to avoid his gaze.

I hear an animalistic growl come from deep in his chest at my response and he immediately stands from his chair while rubbing his hands through his hair, clearly aggravated.

“ I don’t know what you’re getting so angry about. I don’t know you and you don’t know me. We have no obligation to each other.” I say while moving on to fidgeting with my hair.

It’s true. I haven’t even told him my name and the only thing I know of him is that his name is Nicklaus and that he turns into a 7 foot wolf, which I could chalk up to me hallucinating to whatever medication this hospital had me on or from the possible concussion I have falling face first into concrete.

But the thought of not knowing him or not having him around made me feel like a lump was forming in my throat and that I would have the wind knocked out of me.

What is going on with me? Why am I feeling this way?

Nick grabs the bridge of his nose and takes a huge sigh as if he needed all the air in the world to say what he needed to say next,

“To you there is no obligation and I hope that changes over time, but to me there is. By your reaction outside, I’m guessing you knew nothing of your heritage or where you came from. If you give me a chance to explain, I can tell you why all this is happening.”

About that time, a Doctor and nurse walks in. The Doctor introduces himself as Cornelius Hatch and gestures that he has Nurse Cindi with him today to assist. He shakes my hand and bows a hello to Nick.

Again with the bowing?

The Doctor has the nurse check my blood pressure and take some blood samples while he checks my pulse and listens to my breathing with his stethoscope.

Once the Nurse and Dr. Hatch finish, he stands in front of me smiles,

“I’m going to ask a few questions concerning your health and family history but I’d like you to be completely comfortable. Would you like it to just be you and I?” Dr. Hatch murmurs to me as quietly as he can while he places his stethoscope back around his neck.

There came another loud rumble from Nick’s chest after the Doctor asked his question but he just kept making eye contact with me and ignoring Nick’s wordless protest to the idea.

“No, it’s fine if sir grumpy-ass stays for the questionnaire portion of my exam because I’m an orphan so I don’t have much information to give you anyways” I respond, glancing at Nick with an irritated look on my face as I say it.

The Doctor clears his throat as if to hide a chuckle and a hint of a smile.

“Okay well that takes care of half my questions. The other half involves your full name for our records and current state of health. Why, may I ask, are you so malnourished? Do you have access to clean food and water at all times at your current foster placement?”

I break my gaze from the Doctor down to my feet sitting on top of the blanket.

“My full name is Elara Lucile Allen but everyone calls me El. I don’t live in placement. Haven’t for two years now since I was sixteen years old. Foster care is a nightmare and only causes more trauma than we need. My friends and I have somewhere to stay in Chicago. We either steal food or we steal to pay for food so it doesn’t come as easily or as regularly as you are able to get it. We survive on what we can get until we turn eighteen to have the ability to gain access to our birth certificates and social security cards without DHS getting involved. I’m the first one out of the five of us to reach legal adulthood so I plan on getting a job and helping us get into an apartment of our own” I say as my voice trails off at the end of my last sentence realizing the crew must be freaking out on where I am.

Nick sits up in his chair and puts his head in his hands listening to me and the Doctor gives me a nod, not knowing quite what to say but confirming he heard me.

“Well, we need to change that and get your weight up because you may not survive your next shift. We have vitamin and nutrient bags I’d like to continue you on for the next day intravenously, have you eat whatever you’d like and then I can discharge you to outpatient care for a few weeks.” Dr. Hunt replies

“That’s okay. I don’t plan on ‘shifting’ and I need to get home to my friends. They don’t know where I am or what happened to me.” I say as I start standing up from the bed, trying to hide the fact that my muscles still feel like they’re being weighed down with boulders after being bludgeoned nearly to death.

Nick stands up quickly from his chair and walks over to the bed next to where I’m standing,

“You’re not going anywhere and that’s final. You’re too weak to walk out of this hospital let alone back to Chicago to continue living the way you were.”

I turn to my left and walk in front of Nick, toe to toe, then look up at his face which is a good two and a half feet above me

Man this guy is big.

“ I don’t know who the hell you think you are telling me what I can and can’t do but I WILL be going home when I choose so LET. IT. GO!” I start to raise my voice as I enunciate those last 3 words.

As much as I like this guy, I have never enjoyed someone telling me how to live my life, let alone a stranger that I barely know.I don’t care how good looking he is.

About that time, Ben walks in and closes the door behind him. Probably because everyone can hear us all the way out into the hall.

“Sir, If I may make a suggestion? What if we bring her friends here to the hospital to stay with or visit her so she can get the care she needs but has the support she’s asking for?” Ben asks in a stern but respectful tone

Nick and I were silent for a moment, pondering the current proposal.

“I suppose that would be okay but we’d need to keep the whole werewolf thing under wraps.These humans can’t know what we are and lead anyone back to the pack hospital asking questions” Nick says as he slightly shrugs his shoulders and then turns to me to gauge my reaction

“My friends wouldn’t bring anyone here to ask questions. I’d be fine with that but once I’m discharged tomorrow, I want to go home.” I state as forcefully as I can to Nick

“That doesn’t take care of the malnourishment that you’re experiencing. You need somewhere to stay while you regain your strength and gain weight. You can stay with me and visit your friends every few days until you’re stronger.” Nick says, clearly irritated

“ Then the deal is off, I wanna go home.” I huff under my breath as I start to put my shoes on knowing Nick was going to fight me on it even more.

Just then Ben speaks up once more in the same tone he used previously,

“What if we allow the six of them to stay with us in one of the cottages so they can help her recuperate. She already said they wouldn’t say anything so she obviously trusts them and will probably tell them what she has discovered that she is anyways, whether she stays with us or not. I’m sure if she trusts them then we can too, right sir?”

Nick glares at Ben for a moment then finally un-clenches his jaw and slowly nods in agreement, turning his attention to me with a softer look on his face than what he shot at Ben.

I toss my shoes back on the floor and plop down onto the bed with my arms crossed to show that I agreed but wasn’t super happy about it. I didn’t want to drag my friends into this but it felt like I was given no choice.

Nick rolls his eyes at my actions and turns to Ben,

“You and Zeke need to go pick up whatever Elara wants to eat and then head back to that warehouse to grab her friends. Call Sam and Chris to come up here in your place in case we need anything and for security detail.”

Ben bows to Nick which makes me then roll my eyes and then turns to me,

“Miss Elara, what would you like for us to bring you?”

“Please call me El, it's preferable and what is around here? I don’t ever eat out so I’m not sure what to choose.” I ask, somewhat embarrassed.

Nick and Ben glance towards each other and then back at me,

“Do you like pizza?” Nick suggests

I nod yes, a little too excitedly,

“Cheese please!”

This makes Nick chuckle and shakes his head at me in a playful way. He finally takes a seat back at the chair next to the bed while the nurse starts another IV in my arm and the Doctor states he’ll check in on me later.