Keep Yourself Alive ¡ Jasper Hale

Chapter Eighteen

The Girl Who Got Stitches and Became a Snitch

There are mornings when you don't feel like getting out of bed. I know those well because Bella and I went through a lot of them in late September. This morning I did want to get out of the unfamiliar bed immediately, but my best friend and brother were there to force me down again so I wouldn't hurt myself. I take the time to adjust to the room I'm in, thankful it's not a hospital room, rather I recognize the blue walls of Wren's bedroom.

I look down and see the scratches which I hadn't seen on myself but look familiar due to my time with Emily. They don't look exactly like Emily's, they were shorter first of all. The three claw marks went from the left side of my chest, over where I assume my heart is, and extended to my right shoulder. It didn't trickle down to my hand, it was contained and it was all stitched up. I don't know how I was able to get discharged from a hospital without remembering, but they were neat and while the scar would be gnarly it was safer than letting it be.

"I'm sorry that we only have ibuprofen. My mom feels bad but it's not like she can take opioids from the hospital." Wren rambles. She knows me well enough to know that I don't want to address the fact that I am in way too much pain.

"What happened?"

"Paul." Wren answers, her jaw set in anger. I'm not sure why she's angry, it's not like she actually knows him. But that's when it hit me, I'm at Wren's house after a werewolf accident.

"Sh*t. You two know."

"Jeez, Vae, give me some credit. I may have been slow on the whole vampire thing but after hearing some of the legends I knew they were true." Milo has a smile on his face, though I notice his eyes are set on my face as if he's looking for something I'm not saying.

"Yes, I know! A giant boy came to my door carrying you in his arms! And you were passed out with your shirt torn because there were three giant scratches on your chest! I'm just shocked that you didn't run away from La Push as soon as you found out there are werewolves! How stupid can you be?"

"Paul came here? And how does Milo know? Did you call him as soon as I came here?"

"Jared called me from your phone right away. I knew you wouldn't want to go to the hospital in Forks, rumors spread fast and you hate pity, so I told them Wren's address. Sophia's a nurse so I assumed she was the closest thing we have to actual medical attention."

"Anyway Paul was on my doorstep with you in his arms, I yelled for my mom and showed him where to put you. Jared was following him and he explained everything. I've never been more thankful that my mom is prepared for anything. You know that little area of the den is always sterile so all she had to do was wash up, put some gloves on and she was able to clean your wound a little and give you some stitches." Wren explains what had happened, her voice casual even though I can tell she's a little queasy thinking about it. "After hearing what happened my other mom immediately kicked Paul out of the house, Jared refused to leave until he knew you were okay. He only left after the last stitch was done. Milo showed up after that and he's been here all night."

"Don't even worry about us, Nevaeh, we got some sleep. I was on the beanbag over there and Wren was on the couch downstairs." He only says this because even after getting stitches I would yell at them for not sleeping because of me. He pauses. "Actually there is one thing you need to worry about."

"Milo. I swear if you-"

"To stay over here I had to tell mom and dad what happened."

"Milo!"

"On the bright side you can get the stitches taken out next week! But you're grounded until then. No friends outside of school. And you can't use anything from the training room."