What Takes Forever

Chapter 7~Finally Part III

Nolan's POV

"You're going to give me a piggy-back ride? That's really sweet." She said a little roughly, I could tell that she hadn't quite gotten over the freak out. Otherwise, she had feet. She can walk. I just didn't want her to right then. And, quite frankly, I wanted to feel powerful. I was scared, and that's something I didn't like.

Sofia giggled. "You're a cutie." I looked over, and Elliott had his petite mate on his back. "Did Sofia just giggle?" Annalise managed to say jokingly, but I didn't let anyone reply as I walked over to the woods. No way was I going to run along the side of the road with a girl obviously younger than me on my back. Awkward....

"I'd say we're about a mile from the main road. Get there quick if we run," Elliott suggested. I nodded. It was a little weird running while giving Lise a piggy-back, but it worked. It took around six and a half minutes to get to the road, and once we got there I set Lise down.

"Lise, I'm sorry that you've been pulled along into this. I didn't even think to ask if you wanted to come or not," I told her, looking into her beautiful eyes. She switched her gaze to my feet.

"It's okay, Nolan. I know that you couldn't really think about anything except for, um, Ricky?" she replied, and looked up again to meet my eyes.

"Ya, Ricky. She's my sister, she's twelve." I replied. I didn't want her to feel sorry for me. I reached out my hand and ran my hand down her golden hair. My beautiful mate smiled shyly; her hair was super-soft. I looked over at my best friend and his mate, and the two were locked in a kiss. Lise laughed a little uncomfortably, I saw that she had glanced over at the two.

"Get a room, dude," I joked at Elliott. He looked up and flashed me a smile.

"Or you could just quit perving," He laughed back. Sofia looked embarrassed, and Elliott simply turned away from us, his tall body making Sofia completely disappear except for her legs.

'Says the one who, if I recall correctly, was perving on MY mate, what, two months ago?' I mind-linked to him laughing in my head, he'd know it was a joke.

I was wrong. Elliott spun around, and made a bee-line to me. He grabbed the front of my shirt and slammed his forehead into mine. 'I'm SORRY, geeze! I told you, I DIDNT KNOW then! Get over it!' He yelled to me over our link. My eyes widened, and my forehead hurt where he had slammed his into mine. He let go of my shirt, and turned away. Sofia walked over, and put her hand on her mate's chest, and I clearly saw the way she calmed him. I really knew that he never was, or would be, in love with anyone else.

My mate was capable of the same effect. My panic dissolved the moment her lips reached my cheek. It was amazing, we had been dating for such a short period of time, yet it felt like years had gone by by the way we reacted to each other. I'm not sure that I was comfortable with this pace when I thought about it when we weren't touching, but the moment her skin lay against my own, there was no doubt that this was the way it meant to be.

Elliott's loud, deep explanation of "Taxi!" brought Annalise and myself out of our staring trance. The bright yellow car slowed and came to a stop on the edge of the road. I just realized how public we were, but with my sweet mate I didn't even care.

We hopped in the taxi. Elliott looked back from the front seat. "Sorry, man. Just really...stressed." And then it really hit me. Tears jumped to my eyes but I didn't let them fall. My little sister was so precious to me. She arrived out of the blue four years ago, on the pack doorstep. I loved that girl and was extremely protective of her. She's the only biological family I've got.

Lise slipped her hand into mine, and the simple romantic gesture had my heart fluttering. I swear, I never thought that any person could make me feel this way. And here, there was this girl that I met, or rather saw and then made out with, just three moths ago, now sending sparks flying throughout my body. I smiled as she laid her head on my shoulder. I was suddenly uncomfortable with how quickly we had become attached. "Nolan. I know that you are really stressed out. I really wanted to tell you, right now, that you are the only person...besides, my," Lise started, and I looked down at her. Emotion was clear throughout her entire face. Her eyes sparkled with honesty, and her lips trembled slightly with sadness. "Besides my father, that I have loved. Truly loved. I loved him so much. I loved my father. But in this short amount of time, you have become the boy I trust most, the boy I am most comfortable with, the boy I am scared to be around, the boy I feel safest with, the boy I am the most confused about, the boy I love the most, and the boy that I really, really hope feels the same about me. Except for maybe the scared and safe part. But I want you to know that after a few hours of 'dating,' I don't know how I could not do what I do with you. I couldn't not kiss you, not hug you, not love you. I love you Nolan. A few hours in and I love you. But I think I loved you even before I knew you. That's how much I love you."

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I didn't even bother with the elevator.

Once the taxi had dropped us off a block from the hospital, we ran to the large, 50 floor building. It's the largest and most advanced in the area. Anyway, I shoved my way to the front of the line of jumbled people looking to talk to the receptionists. Elliott cleared his throat at the rather larger lady sitting in the chair speaking on the telephone. She glanced up, and then looked down and typed something. This happened twice more before Elliott slammed his hand down on the stack of papers beside her and them pressed the 'end call' button on the receiver for the phone. The lady looked up, startled.

I tried to mind-link my parents and older sister, but all had their walls up, making it impossible for me to silently communicate with them. Same went for Elliott.

After sniffing the air, we both determined that the receptionist wasn't a werewolf. It wasn't much of a surprise, wolves never got fat. Well, occasionally they got a little chubby, but our high metabolism and energy requirements made it practically impossible.

"Ricky Whaffe. What room number. We're family." Elliott said as calmly as he could. The lady looked behind him and raised an eyebrow. I would agree, if I were her. We were a group consisting of a petite Hispanic girl, a very tall curly brown hair blue eyed young man, a regular sized very muscly, handsome, sexy, gorgeous (okay I'll admit I'm just flattering myself) young man with blonde hair and a caramel blond young lady. We did not look like family.

"I said, Ricky Whaffe!" Elliott shouted. The lady jumped, looked up at him, annoyed, and then typed into her computer, clicked the mouse a couple of times, and just before my best friend, I think, not really sure at the moment, was about to tell her off, she looked back up.

"Room 46-13. I'd go quick."She said in an intimidating low voice.

Her words made my stomach churn and my gut hurt. What did she mean by 'I'd go quick?' Were the doctors about to take her somewhere, or was she not in stable condition? I didn't have much time to freak out because Elliott quickly thanked the lady and pushed our way back out of the crowd.

The elevators may have been quicker, but I just had so much adrenalin pumping through my body that I just jumped to the side and took the stairs two at a time. I heard Lise, behind me, say "Nolan?" But as I looked back, Sofia ha touched her arm, and Elliott nodded at me to just continue. So I did.

I took the stairs two at a time, and I found that i quickly ran out of breath. Quick for me, I should say, A fit, lucky human probably would have run out of breath far before I did.

The elevator was quiet and uncomfortable, and I got more and more irritated every time it stopped to let someone on or off. 'Why the forty-sixth floor?!' I growled to myself. The elevator took about five minutes until the ding came with the automated voice saying, "Forty Sixth Floor." I shoved my way out and looked around. room 13 was to the left. I took off running, overestimated, and had to walk backwards our rooms before i came to a closed door, the sign on the side saying '4613.'

One deep sigh later, and I was standing in the room, the door creaking behind me. My little sisters hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she looked like she was sleeping, besides all the stuff on her and around. I felt the need to whisper.

"How is she?" I asked quietly. My parents stood in the back of the room, looking out the window. They both turned to face me, as if they just noticed I was there.

My dad spoke. "He gives Ricky a few hours. If she makes it past that, things look good. But..."

I just shook my head, then finished my fathers daunting sentence. "There isn't much promise that she actually will get through those few hours."