Defying Our Fate

CHAPTER 5- NARCISSIST

The steady beeping wasn’t what woke me, it was the constant sobbing and feeling of water being dripped on me. Someone was crying, why were they crying? I was here, I was alive. I tried to force my eyes open but they felt so heavy, like I’d had them closed for far too long. The beeping sound started to speed up, making me panic even more. “Calm down, Freya. Just give me a few more moments to finish healing your wounds”, the voice said, reassuring me that I really was alive. It didn’t take long before I felt the weight being lifted off my eyes, allowing me to finally open them. My mother’s face was the first thing I saw, her eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying, “Oh, Freya!”, she wailed, throwing herself on top of me and squeezing me. I groaned at the aching that it caused, mentally kicking myself for being stupid and walking home at night. 

“Mum…You’re hurting me”, I wheezed. She immediately released me and stood up, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “I’m sorry, baby. I was so worried, we thought we’d lost you.” Lost me? I didn’t die though; Alexander had saved me, had stopped the man from killing me. “I’m okay, mum. It’s okay, I’m alive”, I whispered. A fresh torrent of tears streamed down her face; she was always so over-dramatic. I tried to sit up and felt a sharp pull on my arm, looking to see multiple tubes all sticking out of me and hooked up to a variety of machines. “Ouch. Can you get someone to take these off, you know I hate needles.”

She hurried out of the room and came back not two minutes later with a woman that looked no older than me. “I hear you want to have some of the IV’s removed, sweetheart”, she said happily, moving over to check the machines. “Your vitals look really good. It was a little touch and go when you got here but I’m glad to see you’re doing alright now. Can I ask you a few questions, if you’re up for it of course?” My mother being her normal self, answered for me, “She will answer anything you ask.”

“Okay, now I need to know if you’ve shifted yet?”

“No, I haven’t”, I croaked.

“Have you connected with your wolf yet?”

I didn’t know how to answer that, obviously I had connected with my wolf but I was embarrassed to say it out loud, to have my mum know that I was talking to my wolf already when I wasn’t due to shift for at least twelve months. “Um, yes”, I whispered, hoping my mother wasn’t listening properly. “What! Your wolf connected with you, already!? When? What did she say? What’s her name?”, she stood and shouted, jumping up and down like an excited child; trust my mother to embarrass me more than I already was. 

The nurse shot her a strange look and then turned back to me, “I thought so. That explains how you healed so quickly. We expected you to be healed in a few days, but it seems your wolf wanted to give you a helping hand on that front. But still, to heal such significant injuries in less than twelve hours is quite an effort; make sure to tell her that she has done well.” I could almost see my wolf doing a happy dance in the back of my head, “I think she knows”, I laughed. 

“Okay, so we’re going to send you home with some pain medication just in case you need them, and you need to stay in bed for at least two more days, just to give your body time to recuperate”, she said, writing something on the clipboard in her hands. “Can I have visitors?” I needed to know if Alexander could come and see me, and I really wanted to thank him for saving me. “Sure, I don’t see why not, just as long as you don’t get yourself too worked up; it really is important that you rest as much as possible.”

My mother stood and picked up her handbag, “Alright, sweetie. Let’s get you home.” I kicked my legs over the side of the bed and stood up carefully, making sure I had my balance before slowly limping towards the door. “I can get someone to bring a wheelchair down here if you’d like, Freya, so you don’t have to put yourself through any unnecessary pain”, the doctor said. I held my hand up to her, “I’m fine, just a bit tender; it’s nothing to worry about.” She smiled and shook her head before leaving the room.

“Mum, can you hold the door for me?”

“Freya, I think you should put some clothes on first”, she laughed. I looked down and noticed that I was wearing a hospital gown, “Oh, Goddess, they didn’t cut my dress off, did they?”

“Of course not, honey. I made sure they didn’t, that thing cost me an arm and a leg. When they called me, I made sure they wouldn’t cut it, and I brought a change of clothes for you; just in case.”

“Thanks mum, you’re the best.” She really was amazing when she wanted to be; not so much when I really needed her. “Your father sent a car to take us home, I was too distraught to drive when they told me what happened.” I rolled my eyes, of course she found a way to make this whole thing about her feelings, “Why didn’t dad come?”

“He’s still in his meeting, sweetie. He can’t just drop everything and come running whenever you call.” Wow, she really knew how to make me feel pointless. If it had been mum in the hospital, I had no doubt that he would drop any and everything to be by her side, but me, I wasn’t important enough. “Can we just go home now? I’m tired”, I huffed, moving as quickly as I could to get to the car.

Once we were in and on our way back home, mum called dad to tell him that I was fine and we would be home soon. I seriously contemplated asking her why they didn’t show up to my graduation but I figured it would just start a fight that I couldn’t be bothered with, and the doctor had said not to get worked up; so I sat in silence, watching the trees and buildings fly past us in the darkness. 

The driver pulled the car up as close to the front porch as he could, something I would have to thank him for later because my body was starting to ache from being upright. As I opened the door, the front door of the house flew open and my father came running out, “I’m so glad you’re okay, squirt. I was so worried!” He pulled me into his arms and lifted me from the car. I said the same thing I’d told mum, “I’m fine dad, just tired.”

He twisted me in his arms so that he was holding me bridal style, “I’ll take you up to your room so you don’t have to walk, honey. It’s the least I can do for missing your graduation and not being there when that creep put his hands on you.” It turns out he did remember my graduation, so why didn’t he push the meeting so that he could be there for me? “She doesn’t need you to carry her Johnathan, there’s nothing wrong with her legs”, my mother said, walking around to us. She hated when my father coddled me; I always felt like it was a jealousy thing, like she didn’t like my father being nice to any woman other than her. 

“I’ll take her to her room and then meet you in bed, Sarah”, he answered before heading into the house. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t at your graduation, Freya. I really wanted to be but I just couldn’t get out of the meeting and Alpha Mika wouldn’t let me go before I sealed the deal. I’ll make it up to you, okay?” I couldn’t stay mad at him, he always worked so hard to take care of me and I knew he would never lie to me. “It’s okay, dad. It was boring anyway.”

He chuckled and set me down outside my bedroom, “I’ll see you in the morning, Kiddo. I love you.”

“I love you too, dad.”

I went straight to my bed and got under the covers. I needed a shower badly, my skin was covered in dried blood, but I didn’t have the energy to be bothered right now. Sleep overtook me as soon as my head hit the pillow.