Till Death Do Us Part - A Morira Novel

Chapter 2

Hospitals had always seemed white and cold to me. They'd always lacked that human warmth that I felt sick people truly needed. They needed color and love, to feel at home and not caught in an unfriendly and sterile world. But as I sat on the hospital bed with nurses fussing around me, cleaning the cuts on my shoulders and wrapping the bite wound on my wrist, this place seemed fitting for how I felt inside. I was completely detached from everything they did to me. The doctor looked me over, asked some questions I didn't answer. He talked to the police who tried asking me questions I didn't answer. I couldn't talk. I had nothing to say that they would ever understand. Vampires had murdered both my parents in our house; what could I say to that?

After what felt like hours, the police gave up. They finally left me in peace, but deposited two officers by my door in the hall. Whether it was to keep me in or keep someone out was unclear to me. If it was the latter they could save their breath; they wouldn't be able to protect me. And yet I wasn't afraid; it was like I was already dead.

I was sitting on the bed, dressed in a clean white hospital gown that one of the nurses had helped me put on, when I noticed a man in the hall. The only reason I noticed him was because he was staring at me, while everyone else was deliberately avoiding my gaze. He was leaning against the white hospital wall, jeans low on his hips and his white t-shirt was stretched tight across his chest. Meeting his gaze, I noticed that even from this distance I could tell that his eyes were startling blue. Like dads were. Tears welled, but I blinked them away as a nurse entered. She smiled at me, but I didn't look away from the guy in the hall, even as she started setting up the IV. He didn't look away either and yet he didn't really seem interested at all; he had this strange look about him, like he too was detached from everything and like he didn't really care about the people milling around. At first I thought he was my age, just about seventeen, but he didn't seem young; he seemed timeless. He could pass for being twenty, thirty and perhaps even forty and yet he seemed oddly young and beautiful.

The prick in my arm from the needle made me blink, and when I looked back up, he was suddenly gone. Frowning I shook my head slightly – maybe I was seeing things. With a final smile the nurse left me and only the sound of the dripping IV could be heard. Lying down on the hospital bed I stared at the small strip of light under the door. Each time someone passed, I held my breath, fearing that it was one of them. Tossing and turning all night, panicking every time someone neared the door I didn't get much sleep. When the light brightened behind the closed curtains I was staring obsessively at the door. I couldn't believe they hadn't come for me – that I was still alive.

When the door suddenly opened I was sure I almost had a heart attack, as I leapt from the bed and ran clear across the room before the person even entered. Grabbing a water pitcher so I had something to throw I turned and stared at the door.

A woman stood there, frozen as she stared at me, her eyes wide and her mouth open in shock. Recognizing her I immediately got rid of the pitcher and ran to her, embracing her as I sobbed. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry," she whispered against my hair as she held me close. Gently she pulled me toward the bed and pulled me into her lap like I was six years old and not seventeen. She rocked me silently until my tears stopped and my shaking lessened.

"Baby, I'm really sorry about what happened," she whispered, stroking my hair. "Are you okay, though? The police said you wouldn't talk to them."

I dried off my tears as I nodded. "They wouldn't understand anyway, Jane." I whispered.

Jane shook her head; "I'm sure that's not true..." I looked at her blonde hair which was gathered in a messy knot; usually Jane had perfect hair and really nice clothes, but now she was just wearing jeans and an old t-shirt.