Midnight Shadow

Chapter 20 - Understanding

"Ash?"

I heard the angelic voice floating in the space around me. It was bright behind my closed eyes. I could tell it was bright, where ever I was. Bright and soft. I knew I wasn't in the abandoned brewery anymore. It was warm and bright.

"Ash? Can you hear me?" I heard the angels voice again. I knew that voice. It floated around and through me like a magical melody only stronger.

"He's going to be alright Mia" another voice said. It was deeper, masculine. I listened for more. I heard breathing. Three sets of lungs, two heartbeats in the space with me. I knew the voices floating around me.  There were faces floating in the space too. I tried to connect the sounds with the faces.

"How much longer will he be like this?" the angel whispered. It sounded sad. I wanted to comfort that voice. There was no reason for fear.

A third voice spoke quietly, higher than the second but not as beautiful as the angels. "He's stable Mia, He's going to live. But I've never worked with a... vampire before." The voice shuttered.

"He's not a vampire!" the angel hissed.

"Mia, it's going to be alright. Dianne has learned a lot in the last three days, give her time to adjust" The deep voice cautioned.

I realized I could feel myself again. I hurt everywhere, like I'd been pulled from a burning building. I could feel the soft coverings over my body and the heat from the others in the space. I twitched my fingers to reach out to the angel. She need not fear, I would protect her.

"Ash!?" I heard her voice again. I wanted to see her, to touch her. I could feel more now. I could hear more now.

Slowly, I opened my eyes to the brightest light I had ever seen. In the center of the light was the angel,  her beauty stunned me beyond words. I blinked against the light, not believing my eyes. I knew that face, that voice. It was Mia. As soon as the voice and the face met in my mind everything clicked. Understanding flooded me. I was in my room. The voices were Mr. and Mrs. Hill. Mia was there. She wasn't dead, it had worked.

"Ash? Can you say something?" She asked me, lifting her hand to touch my face. I stared into her eyes and she understood.

"Mia" I breathed quietly.

"I love you too"  she whispered into my mind. I lifted my hand to touch her face as she touched mine.

Mrs. Hill broke into sobs behind Mia and Mr. Hill stood from the chair by my bed. Mia's gasp of astonishment washed over my face and her tearless sobs broke through as well. We stared for a moment into each others eyes. And she leaned down to kiss me.

"No!" Mrs. Hill gushed behind her. A flood of terror washed over me from Dianne and I understood. She was afraid Mia was going to bite me. It was laughable.

"It's alright Dianne" Mr. Hill said quietly as he held her back. "They're both ok"

"How long was I... unconscious?" I asked an hour later. Those first few minutes had been so disorienting it took a while to catch up. We were sitting in the living room in front of the red and white Christmas tree and it struck me that I had not idea what day it was.

"Three days" Mr. Hill responded from his lazy boy. The scene was comfortable but tense. The five of us were in the living room. Mia sat with me on the couch, facing the room. Mrs. Hill sat on the arm rest of Mr. Hills chair staring at us both with fear and tension in her eyes. Rebecca, stood in the door way confused and afraid. I learned she'd actually been unconscious for most of it. She hadn't actually seen anything thing intense.

I'd learned a few other things as well. Mr. Hill had been much better informed than thought all along. He'd met a vampire while an orphan in Illinois. They had become friends in the same way Otis and I had. He'd never told a soul about it. Mrs. Hill was struggling to understand that the stuff of Hollywood legends were actually real. I felt her conflicting emotions in constant battle, fear of Mia vs. the love for her that couldn't simply be washed away and the same for me. The love was strong enough that I knew it would be ok eventually. She simply needed time.