Angel Academy

Chapter Thirty

Niamh's POV

"No, please. Don't."

I heard cruel laughter and turned to run. I couldn't see anything in the darkness that surrounded me. My heart raced so fast from fear that I worried it would jump from my chest and thump away. Tears clouded my vision as I ran. I could fear footsteps behind me, and hear dark laughter all around me. No matter where I tried to turn, the laughter was always there.

I tripped, and suddenly I was in my house. My mother sat on the couch with her back to me, and Heath lay under a blanket in his play pen. The sun shone in through the window, and I sighed with relief.

"Mom." I reach my hand out and grabbed her shoulder, hoping to wake her up. When I shook her, her head rolled off, and I screamed. I turned abruptly to Heath and yanked him out of the play pen, and, to my horror and surprise, what I really had grabbed was a teddy bear. "Heath?" I screamed, running through the house.

I heard a child-like giggle that came from behind me. Slowly turning, I saw Dean standing in the kitchen doorway. His face was covered in blood, and he sported a devilish grin, his teeth each as sharp and thin as a dagger. Jeremy stood beside him, the same grin on his face. In his hands, he held Heath. I reached out, but I was too late. I watched as Jeremy broke Dean's neck, and then bite into Heath's and tear his throat out. I screamed.

When I woke up, I was still screaming, and thrashing about. It hurt my abdominal area immensely, but I was too terrified to care. Tears streamed down my face, and I shook.

"Niamh, please. Calm down. You're going to reopen your stitches." Caleb's voice and soft hand on my arm made me calm down enough to stop screaming and thrashing. My heart pounded dangerously fast in my chest, and my cheeks were soaked from tears. Caleb sat on the side of my bed, and pulled me gently so my face was in his chest. He held me as I sobbed into him, fisting his shirt as wave after wave of fear washed over me, slowly drowning me.

Caleb rubbed my back soothingly, and whispered softly to me. It felt like hours when I finally was able to control myself enough to stop crying. "Is Heath okay?" I asked, looking up into Caleb's eyes.

He nodded. "He's safe, like always. I made sure. " I settled back into the bed, wincing at the pain. I must have winced harder than I thought because Caleb went to get a nurse. "Can you give her more pain medication? Please? She's in a lot of pain." Caleb came back and sat in the chair beside the bed, waiting for the nurse.

The nurse soon came in and after a few moments I was drifting dangerously between high on morphine and still able to think logically. The pain had subsided, and I was able to breath safely as long as I didn't take any deep breaths. Caleb watched me, a deep frown on his face. "What happened?" I asked.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "You don't remember?" I shook my head. "You almost died, Niamh." I gasped, and instantly regretted it when I felt a sharp pain in my abdominal area. "You had a miscarriage and severe internal bleeding. The doctors said you were lucky enough to even be alive. You lost a lot of blood."

I stared at my hands. "A miscarriage? But I haven't had sex since.." My heart stopped cold. Corbin. I was pregnant with Corbin's baby, and I hadn't even kmown it. Tears formed in my eyes and spilled down my cheeks.

"Hey." Caleb reached his hand out and took mine in his, squeezing gently. "You can try again, Niamh. You just have to wait until you heal up. I'm sure Jeremy will be happy to try again."

I frowned. I couldn't recall why, but the sound of his name made my blood run cold, and a deep foreboding settled into my stomach. Caleb seemed to notice this because he sat back on the bed, wrapping an arm over my shoulder. "Hey, you okay? You're shaking."

Slowly, I nodded. "Can we not mention the miscarriage? Please?"

Caleb furrowed his brows more. "Why?"

I shrugged. "I didn't know I was pregnant, so he didn't. I don't want our first attempt at a baby to be tainted by this," I lied. I wasn't sure why, but something told me that if Jeremy knew I was pregnant with Corbin's baby, something bad would happen. "Do they know how I even got internal bleeding?"

He shook his head. "No," Caleb murmured. "They think someone beat you pretty bad though. You have a broken rib, and your pelvis was fractured pretty badly so they think you either fell down a concrete flight of stairs or something beat the hell out of you." Frowning, I lifted my shirt. Deep purple bruising spread from the top of my waist up to the top of my ribs. Some places were yellow but it was mostly that ugly, scary purple. "Oh my god, Niamh," Caleb murmured, fear in his eyes as he took in my injuries. "Someone really beat the shit out of you."

"I wish I knew who..."

Caleb frowned. "What if it's the people who attacked your mother," he asked in a low voice, looking around as if those people might be here in the room with us. I looked with him, and the room was completely empty except for three vases of red roses. "You have to move Niamh."

I automatically shook my head. "No."

"No?"

I continued shaking my head. "No. I'm not letting them run me out of my home. I'll get a security system, but I'm not moving. I grew up there. It's mine and Dean's home, and it will be Heath's when he's returned to me." I frowned. "Where is Dean? I can't believe I forgot about him."

Caleb gave me a small smile. "He's fine. Your mother is at home with him and Heath."

"Heath?" I looked up at Caleb, surprised. He nodded. "My baby's home?"

His smile grew, and he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, nodding. "Yes, he is. Corbin dropped him off two days ago."

I stopped smiling. "Two days? How long have I been asleep."

Caleb's smiled dropped. "Three days," he revealed, watching me carefully like I was a dog that might attack him at any moment.

"Wow. Three days. When do I get to leave?"

His frown deepened. "Not for a couple days. Maybe even weeks. Do you not realize how close you came to dying Niamh?"

I nodded. "Yes, but I have to see my son. You have no idea how much I missed him. Please, I have to see him."

Caleb watched me silently for a few moments before nodding. "Fine; I'll have your mother bring him and Dean here, but you have to promise to stay in bed, listen to the doctors, and not rush the healing process." I nodded quickly, grinning. Caleb smiled back, and brushed a piece of hair behind my ear again, his fingers softly brushing my cheek. "I'm glad you're alright Niamh," he murmured before standing up and leaving me alone in bed.

It felt like hours, but must have only been a few minutes, until my mother walked in with Heath and Dean. When they saw me, huge grins spread across both their faces. I reached my arms out, and my mother set Heath in bed next to me.

"Momma," he said with a smile.

I smiled back at him, tears in my eyes. "Hey, baby. How are you?" I kissed his forehead, and he giggled. Dean crawled onto the bed and I also kissed his forehead. "How have you been?" He tilted his head, worried etched into his eyes. "I'll be fine. I just got a little banged up." Dean smiled a little and lay down beside me. I held both of them to me as the morphine started to kick in harder, making me extremely drowsy. I drifted off to sleep holding Heath and Dean gently against my sides; tight enough to feel them there, but loose enough to keep them from crushing my aching sides and stitched abdomen.