Chapter 36

☆ ☆ James ☆ ☆

The two female officers found me in the waiting room. They didn't interrogate me or pass silent judgment with their glances either. I suppose that what Kara had said made them believe her.

They instead asked for my version of events, which I corroborated thanks to Kara's phone call. When asked for a description of the man who attacked Kara, I gave them a vague representation of Sylas, a man slightly shorter than me, a good 20 pounds heavier, dressed in all black; I said that he ran off before I could get any more details which would explain my lack of injuries and that he carried a short rope off with him.

When I returned to Kara's room to find her missing, my nerves were on edge, so I began pacing, awaiting any news. My internal rage was subdued, but only for her sake; she didn't need to witness my wrath in her current condition. I was honestly just thankful she was still alive.

Kara was wheeled back in roughly five minutes after I arrived. As soon as I saw her, I asked the nurse escorting her, "What did the scan show?" The male nurse scratched his head before saying, "We have to wait for a radiologist to read her results, and then her doctor will come back in to let you know what is needed next."

It was an answer but not very helpful, so I nodded and smiled weakly at him. I returned to Kara's side and waited for the nurse to reconnect her to all the equipment. Once he left, I gently grabbed Kara's hand and apologized profusely for another hour or more. She was listless and didn't respond to my expressions of regret.

I could have fixed her almost immediately, ending her pain and healing her wounds by giving her some of my blood, but I wasn't sure if it would affect the blood bond ritual. Based on Sylas' recent actions, it seemed that he didn't care about the prophecy anymore, and honestly, I didn't either; I just wanted to be with Kara, but I knew that completing the blood bond was the way to do that.

Kara started coughing again, and I could smell blood entering her mouth. I quickly pressed the call button, and a nurse entered the room. "What's going on?", she asked. I responded, my voice filled with worry, "She's coughing up blood again." She gave Kara an empty vial, "Spit into this.", she said.

The doctor came in a minute later. The nurse had just finished collecting Kara's blood-tainted spit. "Dr. Spector, I have a sample of her latest hemoptysis.", said the nurse. The doctor replied, "Get it to the lab, please." The nurse nodded and left the room swiftly. 

"We got the results of your CT scan, Kara.", the doctor said. I sat down, awaiting the news. She continued, "You have an injury to your larynx, grade 2. We'll be keeping you here for 72 hours for observation; we'll be performing multiple laryngoscopies during that time to monitor any swelling that could potentially block your airways." 

She paused, "If the swelling becomes severe, we will have to do a tracheostomy and insert a tube below the swelling to allow your lungs access to oxygen. We aren't there yet, and I hope it doesn't come to that." 

I nodded. This could have been so much worse. I was thankful I had gotten to Kara as quickly as I had, but I would never let her out of my sight again. The doctor's following statement brought me back from my thoughts.

"Kara, In the meantime, you'll need to stay elevated and avoid speaking as much as possible. I'll bring in a whiteboard so you can communicate, and you'll receive humidified oxygen, steroids, and an antibiotic via intravenous fluids." 

She paused, "You'll be on the dysphagia diet. For the first 24 hours, you should consume thin liquids only, meaning tepid water, teas, and broths. We'll reevaluate your diet after your first laryngoscopy. Your leads will alert us to any drops in your oxygen levels." 

The doctor stood up to leave, "We'll continue to monitor you, Kara, but if something doesn't feel right, hit the call button; in the meantime, try to get some rest." Kara looked so fragile and defeated after the doctor left, which only enraged me further.

I wanted to kill Sylas for doing this to her, for making me break my promise to her, for harming all her reincarnations. He was using her to hurt me. And I was stupid enough to let him do it more than once. I suppose I would have to act like an obedient dog regarding him. 

I sighed deeply, regaining some semblance of calmness. Kara reached up and caressed my cheek, which helped, but I could see the worry in her eyes as she gazed into mine. My demon couldn't be suppressed, which meant my eyes were dark, borderline black at this point. 

There were about five hours left before sunrise; I would need to go in roughly four to make it back with time to spare. It was going to be lonely without Kara. It hadn't been long, but I was already accustomed to her, inhaling her scent while we lay entangled together while we slept. I wasn't sure how I could manage her sudden disappearance from that aspect of my life. Of course, I would be here with her in the evenings. 

My thoughts were interrupted when the nurse came in to put in Kara's IV to administer her medicine and the other things that Dr. Spector had ordered. She also brought the whiteboard in so that Kara could finally communicate. Kara took it immediately and wrote down, "FOOD?" I chuckled; her hunger was a good sign in my book. 

The nurse finished up and said, "I'll be right back with some broth and water." I told her, "Thank you.", for the both of us. I looked at Kara and asked, "How are you feeling?" She scribbled a book down furiously on that little whiteboard.

It read, "I'm okay. I'm very sore and hungry. Please stop apologizing to me; I know it wasn't your fault. I used up a lot of energy defending your honor to the police already. I don't have the energy to defend you from yourself, too."

I threw up my arms, admitting defeat, then gently leaned over and kissed her head. "I love you," I whispered. Kara erased the whiteboard and wrote, "I love you more." I retorted, saying, "I love you most." Kara rolled her eyes, erased the word "more," and added an x and a sideways eight. 

I looked at her, slightly confused, and smiled when I realized what she meant. Just then, the nurse returned with two cups. I discerned that one was a lukewarm broth and the other was room-temperature water. Kara eagerly grabbed the broth and began drinking slowly; the nurse waited to gauge her reaction to drinking the broth. Kara gave her a thumbs-up, and the nurse said, "I'll be back in to check on you later." and left the room once again. 

I let Kara eat the broth uninterrupted. With the added difficulty of swallowing, it took her much longer to drink the broth. Once she finished, I asked, "Do you need me to bring you anything when I return tomorrow evening?" She grabbed her whiteboard and made me a list: "Phone Charger, Change of Clothes, Books."

It was a simple list, and if she had asked for them, I would have given her the moon and the stars. I responded, "Of course, my Love. If you think of anything else, please text me." Kara gave me a thumbs-up. I stood up from the chair and said, "I'm going to let you get some rest and head home. There are two hours left until sunrise." My lips lingered on her forehead for a long time, and I whispered, "I love you times infinity." 

Kara smiled as I gazed at her before walking out of the room. I stopped at the nurse's station and left my contact information; I explained that I may not answer but that they were welcome to leave a message. I also told them that I would return in the evening after work.

 I walked out of the trauma wing of the hospital, and as soon as I was out of sight, I sprinted back to the manor. It felt good to release some of the pent-up feelings that I held. It wasn't as satisfying as killing Sylas, but at least it was some form of release. 

When I returned to our wing, I immediately gathered the items to take to Kara this evening. I packed her charger, a few changes of my clothes, and hers into a small leather duffle bag. I went to get some books for her when I noticed the book that had intrigued her so much last night that she thought she would read it instead of snuggling up to me.

I picked it up and glanced through the pages to determine what aroused her curiosity. A few pages seemed more relaxed than the others, as though they had been thumbed through more than the others. Diablerie, the act of a vampire draining another, is cannibalism in the vampire world. This had to be what she kept reading over. 

After reading the chapter that I assumed she was obsessing over in that book, I gathered some typical novels from our small library for her to read. I thought they would take her mind off everything that had happened, especially if she was going to remain in the hospital for a few days. Then, I got myself ready for sleep.