Freedom Series: Chasing Butterflies

Chapter 22

Chapter 21

Anderson groaned in frustration when he realized the door to Nigel's hospital room was blocked by a chair. The lights had finally stopped flickering and had decided to go out so the whole floor was bathed in an ominous green light. Thick blinds had been drawn across the window but that didn't stop him from just hopping through, worried that one of Lily's friends might have gotten to Nova and her family.

His reflexes kicked in at the perfect time as he fell to the floor to dodge a perfectly thrown plastic chair.

"Leave us alone!" She screamed, as she stood in front of her family protectively, an IV pole raised. He raised his hands in an "I surrender" position as he stood in place stiffly. All he wanted to do was hold her in his arms, but instead, she was flinging chairs.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Nova." He soothed, taking small, slow steps forward. He stopped when there was about a foot of space in between them.

"What are you?" She whimpered, holding her hand out to make sure they maintained that distance.

"I'm a Lycanthrope, or more commonly known as a Werewolf." He said, softly trying to appear less threatening.

"But-but how?" She stuttered, allowing him one step closer.

"I think you know how babies are made Nova." He said, trying to ease the situation. She cracked a small, nervous, smile but it was a smile none the less and he took it as encouragement. "I'm still the same me, Nova. It's still Andy, and you know that I would never hurt you. You can trust me, just please," He paused as he slowly took the metal pole from her hand. "don't hurt me, okay?"

Nova stared at the man in front of her and couldn't help but be scared. When she was fighting for her families life she had been able to push aside the fear that she was wrestling with, some deformed looking psychopath. However now she was standing face to face with a man that she had clearly seen turn into a wolf and she couldn't seem to wrap her mind around it. She knew that it wasn't a figment of her imagination, however, because he was only wearing a pair of sweatpants, he was sweating and breathing heavily, and looked to have dry blood smeared on him.

Just as she was about to respond the steady beeping sound that she was accustomed to hearing from the machines ceased, replaced with a final long beep. Her eyes widened as she realized that it was the heartbeat monitor that was hooked up to Nigel's body. She cried out and ran to Nigel's side, screaming for someone, anyone, to help her. Neil, who had surprisingly been silent throughout the whole ordeal, began to scream with Nova as if the situation had suddenly become too much for him.

Anderson's eyes widened and he took off, leaving the room at record-breaking speed, in search of the hiding place he knew the medical staff would be in.

Nova sobbed as her hands hovered over Nigel's body, unsure how to help especially when he began to convulse so violently he fell off the bed, ripping the cords and wires from his body. She cried out again for help and this time was answered as a team of doctors came barreling into the room, accessing and then acting, as they lifted Nigel off of the floor and onto the bed, their hands working at speeds she couldn't comprehend. She was pushed to the side and didn't know what to do as more doctors came in to usher her and Neil out of the room...right into a waiting and naked chest.

She instantly sunk into his embrace, not caring that he could turn into a fuzzy dog, and found comfort in the sound of his heart beating, strong and human. She stared into his multi-colored eyes and realized that she didn't care that he had dried blood on his chest, or that the scratches on his neck and shoulder were healing before her eyes. All she cared about was that he was there and that she could look into those beautiful windows that God had given him straight into his open, unashamed, and damaged soul.

 Yes, a human heartbeat was enough for her, as she let the man that she had grown to love crush her body into his.

...

We are basically at the end, with like 2 or 3 chapters left! *sigh*