Chapter 12 Cosima in the Hospital with Jeffery

Chapter 12 Cosima in the Hospital with Jeffery

Chapter 12 took a long time to edit. Sorry about that but I think all the chapters from here on out are going to take longer. There was a lot of "Telling" instead of "showing". So much so I think there is still telling in the chapter but I was ready to move on.

This is the chapter I call, " The main character starts their adventure," chapter. From here on out it should get more interesting, I hope anyway. 

Chapter 12

     Jeffery reached through the dirt and struggled to pull himself from underground. Clumps of dirt and soil fell from his body as he brushed them away. He despised sleeping in the ground. It made him feel inhuman, but he had no choice. 

     Last night after watching Cosima, he tried to return to his hotel room to delete the message, but he was too late. The hunters had been in his room searching it. They would have heard the message already. Would they hurt Cosima or just question her? Vampire hunters were always unpredictable.    

      He feared the dhampir could sense his presence and decided to put a few miles between him and the hotel.  The distance would also prevent Millicent from hearing his thoughts if she was lurking around. He buried himself near a stream so he could wash the filth and worms from his body. He fed extra last night for strength, slept, and now rose to warn Cosima about their arrival. 

     Jeffery hid some clothes and his army green backpack in a plastic bag deep inside the trunk of a tree. He reached in and retrieved it dressing in the dark. The sound of the nearby river soothed him after lying dormant in the earth. Clean and dressed, he felt human again.   

     He dashed through the trees on his way to Cosima’s home. His heart pounded and the wind whipped past his face. He ran through the woods at inhuman speed toward his car. The forest blurred but his quick eyes and reflexes prevented him from crashing into the trees and plants.  Normally, he would enjoy the freedom of a run like this, but tonight there was no time to waste. He may already be too late.  He pictured the hunters holding Cosima captive. Her arms bound her eyes full of fear. He didn’t know what to expect.  

     Jeffery parked next to Cosima’s car. The side door stood wide open blowing back and forth in the wind banging against the siding. His heart dropped in his chest. 

As he walked into the house, Jeffery saw no sign of Cosima in the dark. He frantically searched around in the kitchen and living room and then in the bedroom. On the floor lay Cosima and beside her a lifeless cat.

     “No, no, no, NO!” He ran to her and scooped her up to his chest. She was motionless. Her body felt cold but not with the chill of death. He collected himself and listened for a heartbeat. Cosima’s heart still fluttered in her chest. He bit his wrist and let the blood pour into her mouth. He listened again and heard her heartbeat grow stronger. Thank goodness. He gently laid her back down on the floor and searched for a phone to dial 911. He hurried back to her still on the phone with the dispatcher. Jeffery smoothed Cosima’s blood soaked hair away from her face and noticed the puncher wounds on her neck. In an instance, he knew who had done this to Cosima. Millicent.

****

     Pain surged in Cosima’s head as she opened her eyes to unfamiliar surroundings. She glanced around absorbing the room. White walls, cloth partitions, and strange medical instruments encircled her. She noticed an IV in her arm and a faint sensation of nausea came over her. She took a sip of water from a plastic cup next to her bed as the memories of the attack returned, the red haired woman in her home, Cosima’s cat lifeless in the monster’s hand. Cosima dropped the water and shifted around in the unfamiliar bed, a panic feeling taking over her. A hand touched her arm. She jumped.

“AHHH, no!,” Cosima screamed.

     “It’s OK, you're safe, you’re at the hospital.” Jeffery smiled at her from a chair close by. He moved closer to Cosima, his eyes full of relief as he brushed his hand against her cheek. His skin cooled her. He had cold hands like her. She relaxed and smiled, her head clearing, and she lay back down against the pillow before another wave of nausea hit.

     Why was Jeffery here? He hardly knew her. How did he know? A million questions sprang into her mind at once overwhelming her. 

     “Logan! Where’s Logan? He was spending the night at a friend’s.”

     “He’s fine. He’s with his grandmother Pitzer, I think? He came home the following morning and she was at your house to pick him up. I’m sorry. I had to go through your cell phone to call your family after I found you. Your mom was here a little while ago. She left to get some rest. I told her I would stay with you.” 

     Another wave of dizziness came over her. Her mind was still a little muddled. Her heart beat fast as she gazed into Jeffery’s eyes. She couldn’t believe he was here.

     “You found me? How did you know where I live?” She really didn’t care about the answer. She should be creeped out, but she felt happy. She hardly knew him, yet they had a connection she couldn't explain. She never felt anything so strong in her life. Does he feel the same? Reason told her she should be in hysterics, but his presents calmed her, made her feel safe.

    Jeffery lowered his arms and gazed at his hands in his lap. “After you left the mall I followed you home.” His voice trembled. After taking a deep breath he connected with her eyes again, his expression pleading for understanding.  “There is a lot I need to tell you. I don’t think you’re going to like it. You might not believe me.” He paused for a moment then fidgeted in his chair not looking her way. ”You may hate me after I tell you the truth.”

     She waited for him to continue, but instead he held his head in his hands staring at the ground. What could make her hate him? Was he married already? Was that woman his wife? That wouldn’t explain why he followed her home, but it would explain her. How could that monster kill her cat? The memory of Kittie’s lifeless body in that monster’s hands. Tears filled the water line of her eyes blurring her vision.

     “Well, Hello Cosima,” a voice from the door said. “I’m glad to see you’re awake.” A man with a white coat and a chart in his hand entered the room. He walked over to the bed and studied some of the instruments beeping around her. “How are you feeling?”

     “I’m fine I think, a little weak.” Cosima said, not really knowing how to answer. She wanted the doctor to leave so Jeffery could continue. What could be so bad that she would hate him?

     “That’s normal with the amount of blood you lost. We gave you a transfusion, but you may still feel weak for a while. Since you were attacked by an animal, I’ve given you a dose of rabies immune globulin. You’ll need to come in for a series of five doses of the rabies vaccine over a 28-day period. Normally, additional doses of rabies vaccine follow on days 3, 7, 14, and 28 after the first vaccination so I’ll get you scheduled to come in.” He smiled at her and then started to leave the room.

     “What? Rabies! I wasn’t attacked-”

     “Don’t worry, Dr. Cline.” Jeffery interrupted,” I’ll make sure she is here for all of them.”

     “Good. I’ve got other patience to see now. I’ll be back to check on you later. A nurse will bring your appointment dates. I think I’m going to keep you overnight for observation.” He winked at Cosima and left the room.

     “Jeffery, I wasn’t attacked by an animal! A woman-!”

     “I know, a red haired woman attacked you,” he whispered.   Jeffery did know her. What was going on?

      “Her name is Millicent, I know her. She attacked you because of me. What I’m about to tell you, you’re not going to believe, but it’s the truth, and you can’t tell anyone else. Not even your family or closest friend or you’ll endanger their lives. I’m already endangering mine and yours by telling you.” 

     The pit of her stomach churned. What had she gotten herself into? What could he say that would endanger her? 

He hesitated before starting. The expression on his face ashened to a pale saddened stair. His eyes glassed over as if he were trying to hold back tears. How is Jeffery mixed up with this woman?

     Jeffery moved in close to her. His breath tickled the hairs on the side of her cheek. “I’m … a vampire,” he whispered in her ear. He moved away leaning back in the chair again, the glassiness growing stronger in his grey eyes. 

The corner of Cosima’s lip rose into a kind of smirk. He must be playing around, but the joke didn’t make sense, and this wasn’t the time for jokes. She was attacked. Why would he say he’s a vampire? 

Jeffery picked up a hand mirror lying on a side table. He moved in close again and moved her hair away from her neck. Two puncture wounds at the base of her neck were purple and swollen. That explained why the doctor thought she was attacked by an animal. The punchers were deep. He took another breath and moved in close to her ear again.

     “Millicent is a vampire, too,” he continued, “She attacked you because she wants me to be her companion and she read my mind and knew how I felt about you. I guess she tried to eliminate her competition. I didn’t know she found me again until it was too late, or I would’ve never put you in danger. I would’ve never even spoken to you.” 

     She moved back from the warm breath of his lips and stared at him. Why was he making up this story? If that woman was his jealous wife why didn’t he say it? 

     “Halloween night, when you were in the alley, that was me.”

      Her smirk slipped away. He couldn’t know about that night. She never talked with anyone about it. What’s going on here?

     “I was going to …kill you. I was out of control and I was going to kill you.” His face twisted in pain. The pain was real. This was no joke to him. ”But something happened, I could see us together, I didn’t know you at all, but I could see us in love and happy and it gave me the strength to release you.” 

     Her body shivered remembering that night. She went over it again in her head, how afraid she was, the pull she had felt towards the shadow man, and then the sensation fell away and she ran. Jeffery couldn’t possibly know about that. It was him? It was true. It was all true and she didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t believe it. It would change her entire world, her simple black and white world. The white sterile walls came crashing down on her taking her breath. She grabbed a hold of him and cried into his chest. At the same time, she wanted him removed from the room. The woman, blood all over, she had bit Cosima and drank her blood.

     “Cosima,” his voice sounded like it would break any minute, “You don’t have rabies.” He stopped talking and held her in front of him. He peered deep into her tear filled eyes. She hated crying. She hated him for lying, for changing everything. He stroked her wavy brown hair and looked down again. “You’ve been bitten by a vampire and survived. There is a chance you’ll become a vampire yourself.” 

     Her breathing increased as her body trembled. “What does that mean?” She didn’t know what else to say, her mind had trashed all reality. Did he say she would turn into a vampire, too? Vampires aren’t real!

     “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. His eyes appeared bloodshot and tired, “In a few days, weeks, maybe a month, you’ll start to show symptoms of the change. Everyone will think you have rabies, but you’ll be changing and eventually you’ll experience your human death.  You’ll actually be metamorphosing.  You won’t feel pain and you won’t be aware of time passing. Eventually, you’ll awake from your death, a vampire.”

     Cosima couldn’t breathe. She choked on the air as if she were drowning in a lake with no one around to save her. She continued hyperventilating trying to get relief but it never came. What did this mean for her?

     “Can it be stopped?” she choked through gasps of air. “I don’t want to change, I don’t want this! I don’t want to be a blood sucking killer!” She began to weep and grabbed her bed sheet to wipe her face- this wasn’t happening, this wasn’t happening. The nightmare would end any minute when she woke up. 

     “Please, calm down.” Jeffery whispered to her. He looked around the room, nervous. “No, it can’t be stopped. That’s what I’ve been researching, a cure. I didn’t want this either. To be turned into a monster.” His whole body appeared to crumble before her. “I wish I never came here. Your life would still be normal, undisturbed. I’m sorry I brought all this on you. It was never my intention, I should have been-” 

     She kissed him. She didn’t know why. But she was glad she did. For a moment the feel of his lips made all the nonsense disappear. She wanted to kiss him for so long but didn’t realize her need until this moment. His lips were soft against hers and they tasted sweet. Jeffery didn’t fight her, he welcomed her lips. She wanted him to know he wasn’t a monster, that what happened to her wasn’t his fault. She didn’t want the kiss to end. He grabbed her and pressed his lips against hers. She let his passion unleash on her. Her need didn’t make sense, but the kiss erased her fear.  He pulled back from her, his hands on either side of her face. He pressed his forehead against hers.

     “I promise you, I will find a cure. I won’t let you die. I will somehow find a cure before it changes you. We need to leave. I don’t think we’re safe here. The doctors won’t be able to help you anyway.”

     “OK, where are we going?” Her willingness to follow him surprised Cosima, a stranger, a vampire. She rolled the last word around in her mind. The concept still seemed unreal, like a nightmare. Any moment she would wake up on her couch still wrapped in a towel, Kitty curled up on her lap. She needed more proof that what was happening was real. Maybe that was why she was willing to go along with the insane.

     Jeffery brushed Cosima’s cheek with the back of his fingers. His skin did feel colder than a human’s skin should feel. “I need to speak to the dhampir.”