Before Time Runs Out

Chapter 21

Carmelita was asleep on and off for the next few days, her body recovering from all it had been through. Elise gave her blood tablets daily, forcing her to drink them when she was awake before she fell back asleep. She was never awake long enough to register what was going on around her, and Elise had moved her back to the room she was staying in while recovering. Ethel, on the other hand, was finally starting to heal. The transfusion had worked, and her bruising was almost gone except for the green coloration under her eyes. Her head was fully healed aside from her stitches, and her pupil was no longer blown out. Stefan had taken the bandages off of her, assessing her before checking on any physical changes from Carmelita's blood. Her veins had gotten darker, and her heartbeat had significantly slowed. He checked her jaw and teeth, noticing her canines on her top row starting to get loose as her fangs began to grow and push in.

Carmelita was shaken away by Elise, and she sat up slowly, groggy from her fifteen-hour sleep.

"Darlings get up. Ethel's been awake for an hour." Carmelita sprung up from the bed, falling on the floor from being off-balance before scampering up and throwing a robe on. She dashed into the hallway and to Ethel's room, slamming the door open with such force that it left a dent in the wall. There she was, sitting up with a cloth pressed to one side of her mouth, as she bit down on a piece of now bloody gauze. Carmelita flung herself onto her, nearly knocking her over. She sat back on her knees, planting a kiss on Ethel's forehead. Ethel had something clutched in her other hand tightly, and Carmelita raised an eyebrow. She slowly opened her hand, revealing a bloody tooth.

"Did you pull that out?" She moved her hand to the side, studying the slight gap that she now had where her tooth had been. She could see the end of a fang beginning to protrude where the tooth had been, and Carmelita gave her a small smile.

"She pulled it out herself. I went to get her more water and ice and when I can back, she had my plyers and had ripped the thing clean out of her skull." Stefan sat down in a chair near the bed, coming back from opening the curtains of the window.

"It bothered you bad enough to do that huh?" Ethel went to nod, but quickly stopped when she winced at the pain that radiated through her entire top jaw. "If the other one is loose enough I'll pull it, I would rather her have to eat soup for a week or two than have to put her anesthesia and force them through as I did with you."

"Oh, I remember that! Yeah, I couldn't eat any solids for about four months." Carmelita turned back to Ethel, kissing her on the cheek lightly as to not cause her any more pain. She moved some of her hair out of the way, assessing her stitches that were now nearly healed. Ethel took the gauze out of her mouth, throwing it in the bin nearby.

"Ew." Her voice was quiet as she tried not to talk very much, and Stefan sat down next to her, pulling a pair of gloves on. He grimaced and took the tooth from Ethel's hand, setting it down on a small tray nearby. He was careful as he checked her other tooth, moving it slightly and assessing how loose it was.

"I think this one is ready to come out. Here hold still." He went to grab the pliers that were sitting on the tray, and Ethel moved back from him quickly.

"So, you'll rip your tooth out but won't let me, the person who has a degree in how to handle this and fifteen years of experience do it?" Carmelita moved over to Ethel, pulling her back slowly and wrapping her arms around her.

"Hey, you want to hear a story?" Ethel gave a small nod in response. "Well, once upon a time." She began talking to her, keeping her fully occupied with her. She gently tapped the bed, signaling Stefan to make his move. Quickly, before Ethel could get away from him, he gently grasped her face and yanked her tooth before she could react or protest. She had to admit, it felt much better a few minutes after, but she still ended up crying anyway. She laid there as Carmelita embraced her and pet her head, holding an ice pack to one side of her face while she did the other. She had already drunk about nine glasses of water, and Carmelita began to realize why after she downed one after the other. Her mouth had finally stopped bleeding and she kept on drinking and drinking, barely stopping to breathe.