Black Magic ▹ The Vampire Diaries [1]

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE BRIGHT ONE

"Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

     Henrik couldn't remember the last time he was in a hospital. In a world where vampire blood could heal the majority of things and magic could heal anything at all, Henrik had rarely ever felt the need to go to a hospital, least of all to the emergency wing. That was where he was now, walking through the automatic doors and looking around at the sterile and plain waiting room. Lacey was there already, an ice pack in her lap but otherwise looking fine save for the tears staining her cheeks. Morgan wasn't there, but Carol Lockwood was at the front desk, talking heatedly to the nurse behind it. As Henrik walked deeper into the room, he caught a snippet of what she was saying.

"...don't care if he hasn't woken up yet!" she all but shouted, her hands clutching at the edge of the counter separating people from the desk. "I want to see my son!" The nurse opened her mouth, probably to explain that Ethan wasn't stable enough to have visitors yet, but Carol was already on another tangent about the incompetence of the hospital, and how she hadn't gotten a single update since she had gotten the phone call as Ethan's emergency contact. Henrik was wise enough to turn in a different direction, heading over to Lacey instead. She looked relieved to see him. Henrik was too anxious to be relieved about anything.

"What happened?" he asked, sitting down beside her. She sighed and brought the ice pack to her head, where Henrik could see a large bump on her forehead. Considering she wasn't in a daze and her eyes were clear, she didn't seem to have a concussion, which was somewhat of a miracle.

"Well, Ethan called and said he wanted to talk about something, but I said I had work so he offered to drive me as he ranted. We were barely on the road when some asshole ran a red light. Ethan couldn't stop the car in time and we drove right into the other car. I wasn't wearing my seatbelt, so I went flying. Ethan wasn't wearing a seatbelt either, but the airbag stopped him from going anywhere. It also knocked him completely out, which is why we're here." Lacey paused then, sucking in large gulps of air. She had been talking so fast that she hadn't been breathing. Frowning, Henrik tilted his head in concern. She just shook her head and shot him a curious look. "I thought you two had a date today?"

"We had a fight," Henrik told her, feeling guilt rise up inside of him. He knew logically that the car accident wasn't his fault. It was the person who had run the red light who was at fault. Still, it didn't change the fact that if they hadn't fought at all, then Ethan wouldn't have even been on the road. He rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling an ache there, then glanced over at Lacey. His eyes were drawn to the bump on her forehead. "Can I have a look at that?" Lacey blinked a few times, then frowned in puzzlement, tilting her head. Despite that, she lowered the ice pack and shrugged her shoulders, leaning closer. Henrik reached up to touch the bump. When he did, he felt dizziness and unease. Grimacing, he pulled his hand back.

"What was that about?" Lacey asked, pulling away. She was looking at him strangely, not that Henrik was surprised. He just shrugged.

"Do me a favor? Get your head double-checked?" Henrik suggested. He didn't want Lacey to collapse out of nowhere just because the people at the scene of the crash hadn't been thorough. Lacey frowned at him for a moment, then noticed his concern and simply nodded her head. Relieved, Henrik looked around the waiting room again, and noticed that someone new was at the front desk. He took one look at the blonde hair on top of her head and immediately knew it was Caroline. She was talking to the nurse in a low voice. Henrik got up to walk toward her, frowning. Carol was gone. She must have pulled the mayor card and gotten permission to see Ethan. That, or Caroline had compelled Carol's way in.