Chapter 12: The ICU

HELENA.

Last night was pretty….weird. I was exhausted, scared, and probably thought I'd go into cardiac arrest at least twice. Imagine the shock on my face when I opened my eyes and found Aaron staring straight at me. His strong arms were on my waist, and his breath fanned against my face. Our gazes locked on each other.

I was stunned at first, our proximity was a little too close for comfort. But now, all I could hear was the sound of my heart furiously trying to escape its confinement in my chest. His green eyes glowed, his breath was shallow and his muscles tensed. For a brief moment, I wanted to kiss those half open lips. Like I said, brief.

"And what do we have here?"

Oh fuck.

I jerked away from him, at the same moment Aaron let go of me. I scurried to my feet, covering myself with the blanket, and saw Luna, leaning on the door leading to the kitchen. She had a judgemental look on her face.

Please don't.

"Aaron, you didn't tell me you both were already getting down." She cast us a lazy glance.

"We- we weren't. I-er.."

"So how did you end up laying next to him? Funny how you both waited until I was asleep. Classic." She tsked.

Aaron was silent the whole time. He seemed to even like what she said.

Bastard.

Luna didn't say anything else, and turned to go back to her room. I glared at Aaron.

"Why didn't you say anything?" I whispered.

"Well, I had no clue of how you ended up here either. So I think you should answer all the questions." He smirked. I bit my lower lip. He sat up, on the couch, and his muscles flexed with each movement. I wanted to run into his arms, feel the warmth that made me have a sense of safety throughout the night. "What actually happened, Helena? Did you miss me that much?" He asked, a playful glint in his eyes.

"You wish I'd miss you." I snorted. "I-I saw something. Or rather I felt something." I said quickly. No way I'd let him know how much I missed his presence.He furrowed his brows. "Go on."

I took a deep breath, rubbing my palms on my arm. "I don't know what it was. I had a nightmare last night so I came to get water, then something brushed past me. I was too scared to go back to my room and it was too cold to sleep on the floor so…." My voice trailed off.

Aaron stared at me, his eyes filled with worry and concern. He patted the space beside him, motioning for me to sit. I walked over and gently sat on it.

"What happened in the nightmare?" He asked, his voice a little soft.

"I've been having these nightmares for a while now. They're about my parents. The day they died. The day my life spiraled out of control. The day that made me who I am now. The day I lost everything… I don't know why I was particularly scared about this one…." My voice caught in my throat. I turned away, a sting building up behind my eyes."I need to get ready for work."

"Hey, you'll be fine." I heard him say before I walked to my room to take a shower.

Yeah, I will.

I stepped carefully into the shower, letting the warm water cascade over me, soothing my nerves. The past month has been rough. Up, down, left, right. My life was getting exciting. Too exciting. I stayed in the bath for a while before-with effort- I stepped out. I got dressed, and looked at myself one last time in the mirror before leaving.

I took the last step on the landing of the stairs and was greeted with the fresh smell of pancakes and oranges. My stomach rumbled. I hastened my steps, curious, even though I already knew who was making that gorgeous aroma.

Aaron stood in the kitchen, broad shouldered and handsome, flipping pancakes on the stove. Warmth curled low in my stomach.

"I suppose you're hungry. Unless you want to use your ogling as breakfast." He said, not turning from the stove. I furrowed my brows at his arrogance. Yes, he was hot. But he didn't have to rub it in my face goddamnit.

"I'm not ogling. I was admiring." I lifted my chin defiantly. He chuckled lowly, sending shivers down my spine. I walked closer to him.

Damn those pancakes smelled good. "I think I should hire you. You would make a good chef. How long have you been cooking?"

"Firstly, that proves that I've finally crossed your threshold. You haven't even tasted it yet and you can tell that it'll be delicious. Secondly, I have only started cooking since I stayed with you." He said, his eyes gleaming with pride.

Me: "..."

That did not make any sense. How was he so good?

"No, you haven't. I'll need to taste them first. And what?!" I reached over and forked down one of the pancakes. Gosh. They're even better than mine.

"Mmhmm, try to hide the goodness evidently showing on your face." He whispered in my ears, sending a tingling sensation down my spine.

Sigh.

"If you two are done with your early morning romance, I'm going hunting." Luna said and I whirled around. She had the sling bag she was with the night before. Other than a white t-shirt and black trousers, she wasn't with anything else. No gear, no hunting clothes or boots, just plain.

"You're going hunting dressed like that?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I'm a werewolf, remember?" She snorted and made her way towards the door.

 Well, that makes two of Aaron.

"Even werewolves need protective gear at least." I said. She turned around, extended her claws and bared her razor sharp teeth. Her blue eyes glowed brightly, and I flinched, stepping back a bit. Aaron stood in front of me, his green eyes flashing with warning.

"That enough protective gear for you?" Luna smirked, slowly retracting her claws and changing her teeth back to normal. Her blue eyes still glowed brightly. I nodded slowly.

"Hey, be safe out there. Don't go fighting any strays. I won't come and save you." Aaron said, crossing his arms. I had reason to believe he didn't mean it.

"Like I'm the one supposed to hear that. I know you have to go to work now Helena, so we'll discuss when you return. And Aaron, fuck you." Luna retorted and shut the front door.

"She's a work of art." I said, half dazed. Luna had an athletic build, and she had an aura that was capable of making anyone weak in the knees. I wondered what type of scroll made her leave her world to ours.

"You need to eat. You have work in an hour." Aaron motioned for me to sit.

I devoured Aaron's pancakes in minutes, completely oblivious of his gaze. He stared at me with amusement. "Did you miss my cooking that much?" I glared at him.

I did.

"No, I'm just hungry." I said, contradicting my thoughts. He laughed and took off the apron he had on. I might need to get him a bigger one. That apron only fitted me and Veronica.

My mind drifted to her texts last night. I dropped my fork and reached for my phone, anxiety flooding my veins. She hadn't texted since last night and it was strange. I dialed her line. She picked up on the first ring.

"Good morning, this is Veronica's line." A female voice said from the other end. That's strange.

"Um, where is she?"

"Miss Veronica is currently in the ICU ma'am. Are you a relative?"

My stomach plummeted. It felt like a weight had been dropped into my abdomen. My breath hitched. My heart raced, as I tried to process the words I'd just heard. I suddenly didn't want to eat anymore, I wanted to vomit. I was already lightheaded. My palms became clammy, and I could feel the blood drain from my face. The intensity of the emotions was overwhelming, and everything seemed to spin. My world had been shattered.

"Hello? Ma'am? Are you there?" Her voice jerked me back to reality.

"Um..yes…I…" I grasped for words. What the hell could have happened? Was she drunk? Veronica would never drive if she's drunk. Did she get into trouble?

"Do you know what happened to her?" I forced the words out of my throat.

"Miss Veronica was brought in around 3:30am last night after her car collided with a truck."

My stomach plummeted even further. Out of the corner, I could see Aaron, suddenly aware of the sudden shift in atmosphere, move towards me. Veronica….collide…. truck …ICU…

These words replayed in my head as I tried so hard to breathe. This had to be a dream. I imagined her lying on the hospital bed, bloodied and disfigured, just like my parents. Images flashed through my head. My mind swirled with possibilities. What if she was dead already? What if they can't save her?

"What's her condition?" I asked, my throat tight with emotion.

"Well, she is still in critical condition, and I cannot say what the outcome would be." She said, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"Are you the doctor?" I whispered.

"Yes ma'am. I just got out of her operation and saw your call. She saved your name as "Sissy" so I figured you would be her relative."

My heart warmed up, then dropped to a dangerous low again. Operation….

Dear God.

What hospital is she in?" I managed to say.

"Regional Medical Center."