Secrets Leave Scars [EDITING]

4 - Weak

I wake up in a bright room, squinting as I slowly regain consciousness. I rub my eyes and try to remember what happened. "So you're not dead."

I cautiously look over my shoulder to see Marcus sitting on a bed beside me. "Where are we?" I ask, groggily.

"It's the medical center," Marcus replies. "It's not much of a center though, seeing as we only have two doctors at the moment." My head throbs as I try to get up. "You shouldn't get up yet, I knocked you out pretty hard."

I groan, holding my head in my hands. Slowly, I stumble back to the bed. Now I feel my lip burn. I wince, lifting my finger to it. "You shouldn't touch that either, you're gonna need stitches," Marcus continues.

I scowl at him and face away. I try to fight the embarrassment I feel. "How could I make myself look so weak," I scold myself. I reach for the back of my head when I'm interrupted again.

"You impressed me you know." I look back at him surprised.

"Are you kidding?" I laugh, "I passed out... or did you forget?"

"You fought well," he continues. "Much better than the other pathetic recruits my team's come up with." I look at his face, not a single scratch in sight.

"You're not injured at all," I say, upset with myself.

"Don't sound so disappointed," he replies, grinning. He leaves his bed and walks towards mine. "Anyways, it's rare, for a recruit to impress me." I scoff and roll my eyes. He grabs an ice pack from a tray and hands it to me. I take it reluctantly and watch as he sorts through the other materials. He picks out a suture and places it beside me.

"You're doing my stitches?" I ask him worriedly.

"I'm trained, relax," he replies softly. He places his hand on my chin and swiftly pulls my face closer to him.

"This is going to hurt. Are you ready?" I nod and close my eyes, preparing for the pain. "Don't move," he reminds me quietly. I clench my jaw as the needle makes it's way through my lip. I wince in pain, trying to hold back the tears. Finally, he finishes the last stitch. "There, all done," he announces proudly. He clasps his hands together and gets up. I exhale harshly and tilt my head back.

Marcus looks back at me and laughs quietly. "What's your name recruit?" He asks, as I glance over at him.

"Isobel Pierce."

"Well, Isobel Pierce," he says cockily, "I'd introduce myself, although you should already know who I am."

"It's Mark Steele right?" I joke. He grins then continues.

"Everyone calls me Steele."

"Good," I reply, "then I'll call you Marcus." He laughs as he walks to the door. "Wait, what do I do?" I stop him.

He glances over his shoulder and meets my eyes. "You're in. Come back tomorrow morning, one of my men will escort you here," he says before walking out of the room.

"And how exactly do I get out of here?" I shout after him. I wait to hear a response but there isn't one. "Great. Now I'm stuck in this creepy clinic," I think to myself.

I slowly stand up, trying to remain balanced. I feel dizzy and grab onto the tray for support. It topples over and me along with it. The loud crash echoes through the room as I pick myself back up.

The door behind me swings open and Kol is in the doorway, holding his gun.

When he sees me his weapon lowers. "Bar girl? What are you doing here? I thought Steele was gonna take care of you," he looks at me, frustrated and confused.

"He left, I don't know," I tell him, groaning in pain.

"Come here," he says, rushing over to me. He lifts my body off the floor and wraps my arm around his shoulders. I lean on him, still feeling dizzy. "Damn, he knocked you out hard," Kol laughs, placing me back on the hospital bed.

"I'm fine I just need to go home so I can come back in the morning," I tell him, trying to get back up again.

"You can't leave like this," he stops me. "Look, just stay in my bed for tonight, I'll sleep somewhere else." I look up at him, surprised to see that he's being serious. "Dimitri and I live here with Steele so we're always close to headquarters. You'll be fine, I promise." He assures me.

"I guess I'm in no position to say no," I reply. "But don't tell Marcus about this, I already look weak I can't have him thinking I'm homeless too." Kol laughs as he helps me up.

"You don't look weak by the way," he says. "The complete opposite actually."

"You're sweet," I smile. "Thank you." He nods his head and leads me to his room.

***

The room is spacious and new. You wouldn't be able to tell if anyone lived there. There are two large windows, covered up by even larger dark curtains. The king-sized bed looks small compared to the giant painting hanging above it. There's an old wardrobe in the corner of the room that appears untouched.

Kol sets me on his bed and gets a new blanket from the closet. "Is this okay?" he asks me.

"This is great, thank you," I tell him, smiling. He nods, walking over to the other side of the room.

"Here's the bathroom if you need it," he explains, motioning to the door next to him. "I'll leave my number so you can call if you need anything."

"I do need one thing," I say. He looks up at me, attentively. "Your name." The worry in his face disappears and he smiles.

"Right," he laughs, "I'm Kol."

"Isobel," I reply.

"A pretty name for a pretty girl," he flirts. I roll my eyes and get under the covers.

"Goodnight Kol!" I shout, slowly falling into a deep sleep.