I'll Protect You (Re-Edit #2, 2016)

Is this even legal?

dedicated to thea for the absolutely lovely banner on the side!

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Never before had I woken up to such an intense pain throbbing at the back of my head. 

Actually, that was a lie. There was this one time I had thrown off a boat and my head had smacked against the dock. That one hurt pretty bad. I'll rate this current pain as a close second. 

Is it normal to rank the pain of concussions? I thought as my eyes flickered open. A bright light forced me to flinch, but it only took me a few seconds to adjust them to the fluorescent bulbs overhead. Probably not. 

Judging from the stale, odorless air that I breathed in, the steady beeping of a machine nearby, and the soft cloth brushing against my arms, I was in a hospital bed. Images flashed in my mind, recalling the guy with sunglasses throwing me against a car, a gunshot, mall security, and Logan--

I sat up abruptly, remembering that there had been two fired shots. One of them had gone through Logan's leg. Had the second bullet reached a target? 

For a moment, I considered ripping out my IV to go find someone. Elijah would no doubt be here. However, considering the fact that he wasn't pacing back and forth in the room, cursing himself and me, he was probably dealing with paperwork. 

Where was James? Mark? Josh? Had they been hurt? Why wasn't Alec here? 

With every passing minute, my frustration and paranoia grew. Someone was hurt and it was all because of me. My fingers ran through my hair and panic began to settle in when I realized that I wasn't pulling at my wig. There was no sign of it in the hospital room. 

I was just about ready to pull out my IV when the door to my hospital room opened and in entered none other than my history professor.

"You're awake," he stated, flashing me a lazy smile. 

He wore a simple attire consisting of a black sweater and khakis folded over worn-down sneakers, which squeaked on the linoleum floors as he strode past the honey-colored cabinet and plopped himself down on the black chair besides the machines. A clipboard containing a thin layer of papers was in his hands and with a click of his pen, he began scribbling away. 

"I thought you weren't a doctor," I said. . 

"I thought so, too, until Elijah showed up at my apartment door and practically dragged me here," Xavier Fell sighed as the pen moved further down the sheet. 

"Is this even legal?"

He chuckled and flipped to the next page. "The Order of the Dragons can perform wonders if they show their badge. How are you feeling?"

"Disoriented," I answered truthfully, rubbing at my head. Even the slightest rub made me wince. "What happened? Where's Elijah? Who was shot? What happened to Sunglass Dude?"

Xavier Fell laughed again. "Sunglass Dude is gone with the wind," he answered. "Elijah is busy trying to prevent the hospital from calling federal authority."

He had avoided one of my questions.  

Right then, the door creaked open again and my cousin tiptoed in. He seemed intent on making every single one of his steps as silent as a ghost when he caught my eye and stood upright. 

"You're awake!" he exclaimed, relief spreading across his face. Then, he shot an accusatory glare at my professor. "Why didn't you tell me she was up?"

"I literally just found out," Xavier scoffed. "I'm here to perform my duties as her substitute doctor, so forgive me if my first instinct was check up on her, not run screaming for you."