Auction Swap: COMPLETED

Chapter 16

Yay here is the update like I promised :) guys sorry in advance if this story seems bonkers...

Ara got to work uneventful, the night shift seemed longer to her—maybe it was from the conversation she had with Abby—they thought she didn't like them anymore? She felt a pang of regret and pain...she was their sister not their mother and she had to change hats since their parents died. She didn't have a choice and the option she had been given was not going to fly—several years after their death and her inability to take care of all their needs in full-she had asked for help—but they wanted to take away her brother and sister. She fought back proved she could care for them—dropped out of high school and took a full time job as a research assistant Dr. Brimage had needed help—and her grades had been superior. He had made an exception for her.

She studied at night—learned the content of her job better—learning on the job as well she was soon considered for moving up from a research assistant to his personal aid—then to the position she had now where she was in charge of a portion of a project. As if on cue while she was getting ready to clock out her butt dragging as it was he called her.

"Dr. Brimage?"

"I—I need your help." His breathing sounded labored—like he was in great pain.

"What's wrong?"

"Get to the labs—please hurry." The phone hung up and she cursed clocking out and running out of the store to have Jenny jump at her sudden exit.

Ara double timed it grabbing her ID from her purse; she always had it on her in case something like this happened. Brimage tended to be a night owl and had on several occasions called her up from a dead sleep for some sort of assistance in the lab. This time was different he sounded like he was hurt. Heart in her throat she rushed inside flashed her badge at the building guard and went to his office...he wasn't there so she started to call for him.

"Brimage? Where are you Dr. Brimage!"

"Here." he gasped from down the hall Ara spied him and skid to a stop...he was covered in blood.

"Kyle!" she rushed to him dropping her purse in the hall—his white lab coat was splattered with huge saturated streaks of blood...speckled and glopped on the once pristine coat. She thought he had a laceration to his stomach area where he was clutching his hands and as she pulled them away she saw to her horror two perfectly circular holes where the strange bruises had been.

"Oh my God..."the bones of his hands seemed to have fused together—to form a solid plate of bone—but this strange hole bored into each hand... she rushed him towards the sink in the emergency designated area, blood dripping on the floor and her clothes.

"I—it just happened...I was—I was sitting there---and it was like the skin popped..."

She felt sick she turned to see his face was so pale—he was going into shock. "Stay with me Kyle—come on we'll get this fixed up..." she washed the strange wounds under the cold water—cold to help stem the flow...

"I—I can't..."

"Come on don't give up—you are stronger than that!" she hissed she felt him pulling back against her hold...he was losing his balance.

His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he collapsed, she kept his head from hitting the ground almost being drug over with him. But right before he slammed into the hard linoleum floor his eyes snapped open—black again. She yelped and jumped away as he righted himself—saw the state of his clothing and hers.

"I am terribly sorry about that—" he seemed to disregard the state he was in—what had just transpired... he looked down at his hands as if they were the most normal thing in the world. He went for the first aid stand grabbed the box down and turned back to her as she gaped at him. "Come help me Ara—it's difficult to bandage them on my own."