Bloodlust (The Blood Series #1)

Chapter 38

I've never very much cared for November and this year it's even worse. There's no snow in sight, everything is a shade of grey and from time to time freezing rain pours down on us poor souls risking walking outside. The weather follows my mood, we are both dark and gloomy. The direction my life has taken annoys me greatly and even more pissed I am because there's nothing I can do about it.

After all that happened on Halloween my dad jumped straight to the No-Nathan-bandwagon and also forbade me to see him. It didn't matter how many times I told him and my mom that Nathan was not the reason that Andrea was rushed to a hospital. To them it only mattered that a Blood had been near by. Now my dad and I aren't speaking because I told him that it's kind of hypocrite for him to tell me who I shouldn't hang out with when during his dark age he befriended the worst of the worst and to this day still has to sleep next to a baseball bat due to all that followed from those friendships. Amy tries to maintain the peace but there's not much to do when the participants of a fight won't even talk to one another.

Due to fighting with my dad I'm back to living with my mother. I have to put up with Dandy Dave's unctuous smile every time he comes by to visit which is all the damn time. You'd think he was the reason to keep me from seeing Nathan by the way he acts. I searched the Internet for anything on how to tell if someone is under a spell but nothing useful came up. I'd talk to my magic world peer guide about all this and ask for his advice but he won't talk to me.

Nathan and I aren't really working at the moment. With both of my parents forbidding me from seeing him it's a lot harder to sneak out to meet with him. Harder but not impossible. But whenever I try to contact him he's always very curt and businesslike in his responses. 'I'm sorry but I don't think we should meet up. I miss you too.' And that is all. No explanation as to why we shouldn't meet up. I can only guess that his people weren't exactly thrilled about the stunt we pulled on Halloween, messing with Hell and whatnot. But I know that if Nathan really wanted to see me nothing could stand in his way so I stop asking for a meet.

I visit Drea every day in the hospital. Some idiot meaning me called her an ambulance when she could have been treated once by Dr Harris and gone home like I did. But excuse me for getting scared and doing the human thing which apparently was the wrong thing. Now due to my panicking the school is investigating what happened. Being who they are the Bloods are getting most of the blame even though I said that I found Andrea on the ground outside but of course nobody listened. Instead they wrote a story that I didn't tell. In their version I fell for a Blood, got my best friend involved with them as well and force-fed her hardcore drugs on Halloween which led her to not wake up for several days. I don't know what was in that potion that Oliver threw but 'nothing good' seems like an apt guess.

It's been wonderful, I must say. There's only one huge relief: the Giorgios don't think that I force-fed Andrea hardcore drugs. I was terrified that they'd blame me too but Mr Giorgio said rather sternly that he had known me and my family for a long time and if I said that Andrea probably had a bad reaction to the bloody punch then that's what happened. I was really touched by their steadfast faith in me although I'm sure that backing up my 'version of events' as our dear principal calls it is best for the Giorgios as well. They don't want to be known throughout the town as the parents of the girl who OD'ed at the Halloween Fest.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wake up. She'll wake up. Wake up. She'll wake up. 22:17. 22:17.

I wake up with a jolt. I've grown used to seeing things like this due to being a Seer and all that but it's still pretty unnerving to literally hear strange voices in my head. Lately my visions have been changing, though. Some are sharp like the HD plasma TV my dad has in his living room. But then there are dreams like this one that only have fast images and words that are more like feelings really.

I check my clock. It's 21:22 so I've only been asleep for a solid hour at most. I don't remember falling asleep and it shows. I've got The Great Gatsby printed on my cheek because I apparently thought it was a good sleeping place which it of course was not. I remove the book and get up. If this dream is to be trusted as my guideline Andrea will wake up tonight at 22:17. She has woken before but the conversations held with her during those times haven't been exactly informative because she has never had a long concentration span and now it's even worse. She simply goes full-on Andrea and most of the time I'm the only one who can understand her which is why in addition to immediate family members I'm allowed to visit her. Callum is not happy that only I and Drea's family are allowed to visit; in fact, he has already been caught once sleeping next to her in a chair. I keep him up to date on what's going on with Drea partly because he helped save her and partly because I feel bad for him. Although Callum is an ass he does deserve to know how the girl he loves is doing.

The nurses are used to seeing me at the hospital every day but I don't think they'd take too kindly to tiring late night visits after visiting hours are over. Now, if this was Rosewood Community Hospital I'd just walk in like all the Pretty Little Liars do. But sadly, I do not live in that beAutiful town and must therefore find another way in. If roles were reserved my sneaky best friend would have already found a way in but because I'm the goody-goody that I am I haven't got a clue how to sneak into a hospital.

The sad truth is that the hospital workers are underpaid and understaffed and cannot be everywhere at once. Feeling lightheaded by my boldness I walk to the emergency room, blend in with the worried relatives and wait for a good time to walk through a door where only nurses are allowed that will lead me to Andrea. A suspicious looking old lady keeps checking on me like she knows that I'm up to something. Under her hawk eyes there is no way I'll be able to just slide through the door and to Drea. I'm starting to panic. It's 22:03 already and Drea's room is at the other end of the building. If I don't go through the door soon I won't make it in time.

Then some Godsent woman starts a loud argument with a nurse and everyone's attention turns to them. I take an advantage of that and slip to the other side of the door. Then I hurry down the hallways until I'm at Drea's door. The Giorgios thankfully got her a private room so I don't have to deal with any weirdos sleeping on the bed next to Drea's while I wait for her to wake up.

It's just as big a shock to see her like this as it was the first time I came to visit her. She looks so tiny in that huge bed, somehow younger, too. Drea has always been skinny but now she just looks like she's fading away. It kills me to see her like this, especially when I know that I should be the one lying in this hospital bed, my face pale and my eyes closed.

"Hey hun", I whisper as I silently slide to the room. I go to my usual spot on the uncomfortably stiff armchair by her bed and carefully reach for her tiny hand. "It's 22:17, time to wake up."

"You're so annoying when you tell people what kind of time it is", she mutters eyes still closed. I squeal a little which makes her complain but I don't care. She's awake, really awake and just then I truly understand how monumentally I've missed her and talking to her with her answering me like a normal person. Well, like Drea, anyway.

"How are you feeling?" I ask sympathetically once I've calmed my nerves again.

"Nope."

"Nope?" I repeat incredulously.

"I'm not talking about anything even relating to medical stuff. You're my best friend. Tell me the gossip. And don't you even think about leaving out the gossip about me, I need to know what I'm working with once I go back to school."

I break into a smile. "I love you, Drea."

"Don't try to distract me, you rotten girl. What's the scoop of the day?"

"Annabelle Reese is suffering from pneumonia due to her slutty dress on Halloween. She just now came back to school and still looks like a ghost. Gigi Elliot might be having an affair with Mr Wilson, our dear chem teacher. Jason Tyler fought Michael Stanford over Deidre Lyson and they look so bad that Deidre didn't want either and is now going out with some guy from Rosedale. And we shouldn't forget about this one girl whose bestie forced her to do drugs and who is now lying in the hospital while said bestie looks miserable without her", I reply.

Drea lets out a chuckle. "Oh, poor Annabelle Reese. And I KNEW Gigi was shacking Mr W! I told you like last year already that I saw something there."

"I should never doubt your insane skills", I admit shaking my head.

"And I cannot understand why anyone would fight over that evil bitch Deidre. And what the hell, Rosedale is like three states away! But then again it is three states away so he won't have to deal with Deidre's insane demands all the time. The boy in question must be a smart one, how ever the hell Deidre bagged one of those is beyond me. So you're the reason for my downfall?"

I spread my hands a little. "That's me."

"You're pretty", she jokes and I laugh.

"But seriously though we have got to talk about Halloween while you're still you", I say then.

She shrugs. "Shoot."

This time I do tell her everything, no matter how it hurts, no matter how I wish I didn't have to. But this time I know she has to hear it, has to be aware of everything I'm dealing with here. It's surprisingly good to tell her, to not hold back anymore, to really tell her why Nathan means so much to me after so little time. She's the best kind of audience: she gasps, screams, smiles, laughs, even cries.

She's so wrapped up in the story that once I finish she just stares at me, waiting for more. When I stay silent she starts to squeal like a baby sea lock and reaches over to hug me. "That is so amazing!"

I stare at her and don't hug her back. "Amazing? You did hear the part about a psychotic killer teaching at our high school? Or the fact that Nathan and I aren't even really speaking at the moment?"

Drea shrugs. "I always kind of figured that Oliver was a little crooked. The best looking ones are."

"So you didn't hear me. Oliver is EVIL, Drea, he is the reason you're here in this hospital!" I exclaim a little louder than I was supposed to and Drea casts a scolding look in my way.

"And that scares me, sure, but he's still hot. Actually, this whole bad-boy-avenging-wrongs-done-in-the-past just makes him more interesting. But by amazing I meant your relationship with Nathan, it sounds like a freaking movie or a TV series or something. It's just epic."

"Epic like 'Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined, bloodshed. EPIC'?" I ask even though I know that this reference will fly right over Drea's head. It just fits here and I needed to say it. Fangirls need to grasp any moment they can to promote their fandom, right?

Drea shakes her head. "You're weird. But yes, I think that we are talking about the same kind of epic here."

I smile at her. "Thank you."

"So, uh, speaking of our lovers... how's uh, how's Callum? Not that I care", she says too fast.

My smile widens. "He's desperately, hopelessly in love with you. He can't eat or sleep or even think without you."

Drea tries to stifle a smile but fails miserably. "Really?" she asks hopefully. It's clear that she is even more infatuated with Callum than before Halloween. I guess the distance really does make the heart grow fonder.

"The poor boy doesn't know what to do with himself without you."

"Okay, you have got to make up with Nathan or else I'm taking your Netflix away. I can't handle all these yucky little TV drama cliches you're throwing my way", she says and looks at me judgmentally. "Have you been holed up in your room watching sad romantic movie whilst eating ice cream and bawling your eyes out due to your fight with Nathan?"

How did she know that?

"I've just been --" I start to say defensively but stop when I hear a door closing right next to Andrea's room. Someone is near here and if we keep talking this loudly I'll surely be found. I look Drea who nods, instantly understanding what I'm thinking.

"And just so you know I love you, too, bestie", I hear her say just as I exit the room. I smile to myself but the smile disappears when I see who's waiting for me in the hallway.