Midnight Alley: Shane's Point of View (A Morganville Vampires Fanfic)

Chapter Eight

“The best magic trick doesn’t trick you; it makes you believe.”

Chapter Eight

I had just woke up and was surprisingly disappointed when no one was waiting in the room for me to return to consciousness. The last thing I remember was Claire. She held me while I cried. Oh God. I’m making her swear to never tell because that would so ruin my rep. I looked around and the room was as it was before I passed out again, though this time I think I wasn’t out quite as long. It had been early morning when Claire and I had visited. The sun had just been coming up, but now it just going down. Because of that I kind of figure no one will be here tonight. I suddenly remembered Eve coming and visiting for a few minutes. It seemed like there was hell at home, but she wasn’t telling me about it. She did say that Claire was sick. She probably just got scared seeing me like she did. I was always there to support her and she...she probably realized that I’m not that strong all the time. She probably can’t even look at me now. Oh god. Why couldn’t I have stayed strong for her? My nurse suddenly entered and she smiled when she saw me awake. “Hi Shane, how are ya?”

“How do you think I am?” I grumbled. 

“Peachy?” she mocked me. I growled and she chuckled. “Well, you’re healing up nicely so far. I wouldn’t expect to get out of here to soon, but you’re on the right track. Of course, it’s only been a day.” 

“A long day,” I grunted. 

“Agreed, Mr. Collins. Let me check your vitals and bandaging one more time, then I’m leaving for the night.” I sat still while she checked me over and when she made to leave a thought occurred to me. 

“Does that TV have a remote?” I asked motioning to the big, old television that was elevated just enough to see it on my bed. 

She frowned, “That TV hasn’t worked in ages. There are some books in the drawer of your nightstand. Goodnight, Mr. Collins.” With that she left and I was stuck laying there bored as fuck. 

After a few moments of aimlessly sorting through my thoughts, I decided to see what kind of books there were. There was only one book in the drawer and it had a old, worn leather cover that was dark green. On the side it said, A Cowboy Romance. Fantastic. Just the kind of book I had been hoping to find. I cracked it open and began to read. The main character was a brunette with “eyes like the calm wind of a meadow” and “cheekbones like the deep valleys of the Southwest.” Yep, this is gonna be great. All of a sudden my door creaked open and I glanced up, surprised to see Claire standing in the doorway. I was relieved to see her because it meant she didn’t hate me or she was disappointed in me. “Eve told me you were sick. I figured maybe you were just sick of seeing me here,” I said. I smiled at her and was tempted to frown when I realized she was here as the sun was setting and there were tears in her eyes. I suddenly recognozed how defeated she looked and I was instantly concerned. I wanted to take her in my arms and by the looks of it, that’s where she wanted to be too. “What’s wrong? Your eyes-”

“I made a mistake,” she blurted. She walked to the side of my bed but made no move to touch me. “I made a terrible mistake, and I don’t know how to fix it. She’s dying and I don’t know how-”

“Dying?” I yelped. I tried to sit up and settled for a half way between sitting and laying. “Who? God, not Eve-” 

“Monica. I gave her something, and she took it and she’s dying.” Claire began to cry and I began process what she just said. Monica was dying. Okay, so not the worst thing that could happen, but...Claire had given her something. Something like...drugs? “I have to do something. But I don’t know what I can do,” she shook her head and more tears fell. 

“Claire, are you talking about drugs?” The look in her eyes confirmed my suspicions. If Claire had drugs...shit. I didn’t even want to think about it. “You gave her drugs? Christ, what are you thinking?” I took her hand in mine and squeezed so she’d look up at me. “Did you take something, too?” She nodded and I felt my heart break. If this is killing Monica...what is it doing to her?

“It doesn’t hurt me, but it’s killing her,” she told me. She wanted advice, she wanted me to be strong and tell her what to do. Hell, that’s all I really can do.

“You have to tell them. Tell them what you took. Do it now,” I commanded. 

“I can’t-it’s-” she paused and shook her head. She looked at me like she was preparing for me to punch her and that scared me. “I can’t tell because it’s something to do with Amelie. I can’t, Shane,” she looked into my eyes and plead me to understand. Amelie. She was going to sacrifice a human like, albeit Monica’s, for her loyalty to the vamps. I released her hand and she silently gasped. I didn’t look at her as I responded. 

“You’re going to let a human die because Amelie told you not to say anything. Not even Monica ranks that low. If you don’t do something-” I stopped. What was I trying to say? Could I really give her up just because of a stupid decision she was making? I felt sorry for her and knew I would instantly regret what I was about to say, but I couldn’t not say it. “If you don’t do something, that means that you put the vampires first, and I can’t deal with that, Claire. I’m sorry, but I can’t.” She didn’t say anything and I didn’t look at her. 

But finally, after what seemed like forever, she whispered, “Shane.” My name sounded sweet on her lips and I prepared myself for what she would say next. At least I thought I did. “I love you,” she said. My eyes snapped up to hers and they twinkled with fresh and left over tears. I grabbed her hand once more. She loved me. And while those three words were sweet and unbelievably mind numbing, they were also a goodbye. One I didn’t want to hear. “I can’t tell them anything, but I think I can help her. And I’m going to.” 

“You’re going to do something crazy.”

“Well not as crazy as what you’d do, but...yeah.” She leaned forward and kissed me gently, still afraid I’d break even though she was about to go get herself killed. “I’ll see you,” she lied then gently let her fingers trail down my cheek. She then ran out of the room and my world seemed to stop. 

“Wait!” I yelled, but she didn’t come back. All of sudden it was to much. I wanted to take everything I said back. The hell with Monica, if she was left okay. I wanted to tell her that she would be fine, that I would keep her safe. I wanted to tell her that I didn’t blame her for choosing the vamps because she was just a scared sixteen year old girl. I wanted to tell her that I would hold her until the tears stopped. But most of all, I wanted to tell her that I loved her. And now I may never get to. 

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