Turned

Chapter Forty Five

I sat Matt down on the sofa and wet a cloth to help clean his wounds. He held it up on his nose, I couldn't stand to see him like that, it twisted my insides. Nick helped, held his head up to stop the bleeding, he looked inhuman as he beat the crap out the hunters, finally letting them run away like maggots. I hated them for what they did, Matt was innocent, he hadn't done anything, he was just protecting me.

"I didn't... I didn't... tell them anything" Matt promised.

"Don't try to talk" I whispered.

"So, I take it you know about him?" Nick asked Matt, while looking at me. "Do you want to tell me why they're after you?"

"They thought... you... killed... her... a vampire... gave... your name" Matt explained between groaning in pain.

"Matt, come on, you'll be fine" I promised him as I phoned for an ambulance.

Matt and I agreed I'd have to stay home, I needed to clean up the blood, make sure nothing was traceable. For some reason, Nick stayed with me, I hadn't asked him about being a werewolf, I didn't dare ask, it was too... unexpected, besides, I had no right to argue, not with him, not about keeping secrets when I had kept one of my own. 

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"You know, I'm... I'm kind of... waiting for you to explode right now, I thought... I thought you'd be... running for the hills, angry or... or something, I don't know what I expected but..."

"How long?"

"How long what?" I asked.

"Have you been a... a vampire?"

"Weeks... I am my age... I've... I've not even hit the year milestone yet, so, how did you know?"

"I saw you, the eyes, the fangs"

"And I saw you, the eyes, the fur and the fangs" I commented.

"Touché" he said in defeat. "I should've known... I thought you were... strange, I didn't realise just why or that you're still lying to me!" he snapped.

"What?"

"Your age, can't you just be honest with me?!"

"I am... I'm twenty-three!" 

"You were made when you were twenty-three, I get that but how old are you? Come on, just tell me!"

"I'm twenty-three, I'm a twenty-three-year-old, same as Matt, he knew me since I was... little and everything I told you, it was all true, my name and my story... all of it"

"Yet blood doesn't bother you... all the times we've been... together, you've not once even shown me any signs... I... I don't believe you"

"I drink blood... vampire blood, it stops... I'm not proud, far from it but Nick, Matt is important, I could've lost him and it's my fault because that bitch decided to make me into a monster! I hate this life, I do, I fucking hate it, I think about blood all the time, it's a constant thought and it takes everything I have to fucking resist it so yes, yes I drank vampire blood!"

Nick shook his head and clenched his fist. "You shouldn't do that, Jack, it's dangerous"

"I did it for you, so I could spare you all this" I admitted.

"Jack... I... I think we need... I can't do this, I can't see you anymore... the trust issues I have right now... I don't know if you're telling me the truth but a part of me hopes you're not because if you are, I feel guilty... for making you an addict"

"It isn't your fault" I commented as I cleaned the floor.

"Let me..."

"Don't. I have it" I snapped.

"Jack..."

"Just go, please"

"I..."

"Just go!" I snapped.

 I heard him leave but I wasn't too concerned, if it was over, it was over, but it wasn't registering because Matt was my concern. I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed his blood out the carpet, tears rolled down my cheeks as I dipped the brush into water. All I could see was the water turning pink, a light pink at first then darker, crueller. He suffered because of me, it was all my fault and there wasn't a thing I could do to help him.

I finished cleaning the blood off the floor, off the sofa. I couldn't help but panic, a fearful panic, a worried look on my face. I didn't care about anyone but Matt, Matt was who I was worried about, panicked about. What if he was badly hurt? What if they nearly killed him? I needed to make sure he was okay, I had to... he was my brother, he was my friend, he and Lena were my only family.

I changed my shirt, packed some clothes for Matt in case they wanted to keep him in. my state of fear made me worried about my brother, made me want to rush to the hospital, made me want to find the bastards that hurt him but there was nothing I could do, I couldn't find them, even if I wanted to. 

I made my way to the hospital, the panic on my face was sickly. I looked for Matt, some of his clothes, underwear, jeans and shirts in a bag. Finally, I found him, I found the ward he was on only to stop dead in my tracks... my fear struck my heart as I saw two police officers interviewing him, him, the man covered in cuts and scrapes, my best friend, Matt.

"Thank you, we'll be in touch" they replied as they turned and walked away.

Matt grunted as he sat up, I helped him quickly, looking at him to access the damage. His eye was awfully bruised, his arms were black and blue, his nose was bloody and so was his lip. I sat by him as he reached out for my hand.

"I'm so sorry Matt, I swear... I..."

"Don't... be sorry, it wasn't your fault"

"God, you look awful... this is... this is their doing, if I find that vampire... I'll" I whispered.

"I told them... it was a burglary gone wrong... I thought it was easier... than explaining that my best friend's a vampire, who's boyfriend's a werewolf"

"Ex-boyfriend, he broke up with me" I explained.

"I'm sorry"

"Don't you be sorry, it's not your fault. I'm sorry I dragged you into my world... I"

"I'm glad to be a part of it... if Nick is too stupid... to see what he's lost, that's his problem, not yours"

"How long are you in here for?"

"Just a couple of days, they x-rayed my head... I'm fine thankfully"

"I'm glad you're okay" I whispered as I held his hand.