Bloodstream (#2 Blood Series)

Chapter 12

Ow. Ow. Ow.

My head is killing me. Every breath I take seems to bring in more throbbing and aching. I shift a little in my sleep and let out a small cry of pain. I feel like someone ran me over with a truck a couple of times and then threw me off a skyscraper. There has only been one other time like this when I really truly didn't want to wake up. Last time that happened was after my memory had been erased and I woke up next to Nathan.

Nathan.

I jolt upwards and force my eyes to open even if it hurts like hell. I expect to see my messy room but instead my eyes are met with dark majestic decor. I know this room. And I also know I should not be in this room. I search around the room and my gaze stops when I find Nathan. He's sitting on an armchair next to his bed, leaning his elbows on his thighs, worried eyes on me. I stare at him and he stares back. He looks so beautiful, I could just get up and go to him, kissing him until he can't breathe. But I can't so I break the eye contact and let out a sigh.

"How did I end up here?" I ask simply. It's not really what I want to ask but it's the easiest question to answer.

"I carried you", he answers, equally impassive. He makes it sound like carrying me to the Blood Manor wasn't risky at all. Like there is no danger in it. Of course he took me to his house. No one will be angry about that at all. No one will want to kill me for being with him. I won't want to kill him for being close to him. Everything will be okay. Just freaking great.

I scramble to my feet. "Um, thank you but I should go", I mumble, still a bit hazy. I may be a little out of it but I know I have to get out of this room, escape those haunting green eyes before I do something we'll both regret. My hands are already shaking and I just know that I need to go.

He is quick to argue. "No, you shouldn't."

I squint my eyes suspiciously. I have a bad feeling about how he's looking at me like he's planning something. "Why did you bring me here, Nathan?" I ask even though I'm not sure if I want to hear the answer.

"It was either leave you lying there to bleed out or take you with me. Obviously I chose to go with option number two."

"You could have just taken me home."

"Not a chance. I didn't want to feed into Dave's Blood hunt. Also I didn't think it was a good idea leaving you alone after you were almost blown to bits. But that's not important", he says and pauses for a while. He searches for my eyes and although I try to avoid his gaze soon enough he catches my eyes and I can no longer turn away.

He looks concerned. "Haley, you... you healed. Supernaturally fast. I was about to take you to Dr Harris but by the time we got there you were already healed. There was no sign of you ever getting hurt other than the fact that you were barely conscious."

I rip my gaze away again and mutter: "You shouldn't have even tried to take me to Dr Harris."

"How come you can all of a sudden heal on your own?" he asks ignoring my words and I freeze. He's starting to put the pieces of this puzzle together. "And that night you came back you were able to outrun me despite my demon advantages. How did you do that?"