Something Lost, Something Gained (BEING EDITED)

Chapter 25: Where There's a Will...

The lion paces back and forth in front of us. He licks his new teeth and lets out a quiet growl. I turn back to Bastian, my hand still pressed up against his throat. His wound is almost healed but his face is too pale. I lift my wrist to his mouth. He thanks me silently with his eyes. I watch as his crystal blue irises be consumed by crimson. All of his tiny fangs break through my skin to give way to my copper reservoir. A small moan escaped my mouth. Bastian's arms pull me up against him as he sucks out more and more blood. I feel my head wound start to heal up, the blood no longer trickling down my neck. Bastian continues to drink from me.

"Oh my GOD what happened here?" Strawberry comes screeching to a halt at the door. I watch her assess the state of the locker room. There's one lion, two cracked walls, one vampire, one witch, and no body. "Where's Luke? And those people?"

I clear my throat and wave my other arm towards the lion. "That is Luke." My speech is somewhat slurred but she understands.

"Wow, I'm gone for like ten minutes and it's like the whole world turns upside down..." She trails off. "We need to get out of here before someone notices what happened."

Bastian unlatches his self from my arm so that I can stand up. I stumble on account of the blood lost but he is there holding my arm. I adjust my dress so that it is no longer cockeyed. "Well, I would leave but how the heck are we going to get HIM out of the school? Hmm?" 

"I... might have an idea," Bastian says. A guilty look crosses his face. "I've snuck out of this school enough to know a way out."

"Okay, what did you have in mind?" I ask.

"Well," He starts, "We could go out one of the doors by the middle school end of the hall. No one should be there this time of night. Plus it's by where we parked."

The lion/Luke watches us intently as if he knows what we are saying. I go to take a step forward by I'm still uneasy. I start falling but Bastian is quick. He sweeps me up in his arms. My eyes feel really heavy so I decide to just close them. Through my lashes I see Luke and Strawberry following us. Thankfully no one is in the hallway but unlucky for me the ground is uneven. I knock into Sebastian with every step he takes which makes my stomach upset. 

Sebastian sets me down in the front seat of the car and swiftly buckles me up. He then opens the door for Luke who just climbs into the backseat. I hear Strawberry open the other door on the drivers side and gets in next to Luke. She pets his mane and whispers calming words to him. The ride home seems to take forever. It's like Sebastian is trying to hit every pot hole on the road. My head bumps against the head rest and I hear Red complain about getting his mane in her mouth. I try to laugh but it comes out as a sigh. 

When we get home Bash comes over to my side of the car and lifts me out. He carries me in his strong arms. "I'm like your baby," I murmur half asleep into his neck.

He chuckles, "You are my baby Luce."

"There's a lion following us..."

"Yes Luce, that's Luke." He laughs some more. "Man you must not be feeling well."

Strawberry opens the door for us and smiles at me as Bastian carries me through.

"So pretty...you look like an Angel." I say touching her face. She begins to blush. "Don't be embarrassed pretty lady...." 

My dad asks what happened and Bash tries his best to explain. Their tones are hushed as if they were trying not to wake me but unknown to them I heard everything. He talks about Ethan, my Ethan. He never would have laid a hand on me. Poor Ethan, what have you become? I still dangle in Bastian's arms as they talk. "Here let me take her from you." Elan says.

I feel Bash pull me closer to him, "I'm not letting her go sir." My dad laughs.

"Well, I'm going to call my mom. I don't think I should go home with everyone in the state that they are in." Strawberry frowns at Luke and I. He purrs and rubs up against her. Red smiles down at him and runs her hand through his mane before walking outside to call her mom. 

Bash finishes talking with my father and begins to take me to my room. He uses the hand that holds my legs to open my bedroom door. "Don't..." I say.

"Don't what?" He asks.

"Don't look at the wall.." So of course I see Bash's head turn towards my wall covered in art. Art that mostly contained him. I feel my face get really hot. 

He clears his throat, "Hm, wow."

My eyes fill with tears, "Please don't think I'm weird." I try to hide my face with my arm but Sebastian swats it away. His thumb wipes away my tears.

"Don't cry beautiful. I am honored to be on your wall." He bends down to kiss my forehead. Bash takes a few steps towards the door but I grab his hand.

"Stay."