65: Blood Drunk To The Point Of Unconsciousness

I wake up to Gabriel’s wrist to my mouth. How long has the blood been trickling down my throat before I started to stir? My attempt to fight him off is feeble. I’m still groggy from the earlier dose. How long has it been since he angrily poured that vial down into my mouth?

It’s over quicker than the first time, because my fight doesn’t last long. After he lifts his arm from my lips, he kneels next to me, hand smoothing down my hair, soft words of safety in my ear. Then my eyes flutter closed.

Until it happens again. At least I think it happens again. My eyes don’t open because they're so heavy and my head pounds violently against my skull, but I swear I feel Gabriel’s skin on my lips, taste a fresh tang of mouth in my mouth, hear his nurturing voice telling me it’s okay.

He visits me in my blood drunken daze two more times that I’m slightly aware of before I’m jolsted into his arms. The weightlessness of being held by him eases my pain. Even though I’m still too sleepy to open my eyes or care where we’re headed, because all that matters is that I’m with him. Safe.

There is an inkling of fear. I get a little itch in my head reminding me of it, but I don’t remember what it is. All I know is that when Gabriel is with me that little itch is silent.

***

A faint commotion in the distance wakes me up. A familiar voice. A motherly voice. “Where is she?” The woman screams. Her distress makes her voice pitchy, but yet she sounds strong at the same time.

Another familiar voice. “You’ve already got a war coming, vamp. Do you want to start it today?”

“It’s quite sad, you’re loyalty to her considering she is bound by an oath to me...well, my son Gabriel. She’s in better hands here than she is with any of you.” Phillip replies.
“Where is she?” The familiar male voice says clearly annoyed. Caleb? What would he be doing here? Wait, where is here?

I struggle to move my heavy limbs and open my eyes. So sleepy, so painful, but I fight through it. My friends are here and they sound terrified. ‘And they should be’ a tiny voice in my head says.

A groan escapes my mouth as I finally manage to swing my legs off the bed, the plush, comfortable bed. As the thoughts come rushing back, my head feels like it’s splitting in two. The surprise attack and getting thrown into a car. Being brought unwilling to the manor where I was tossed into the dungeons. Gabriel forcing me to drink his blood.

“Lay back down, Love.” Gabriel’s voice eases some of my pain, but the memories fight their way through to the front of my brain refusing to be ignored. “Hazel, lay back down.” His cold hands grab my arm to guide me back into bed.

“Gretchen!” I scream at the top of my lungs. My throat burns from being so dry and used to its fullest so quickly. “What did you do?” I snap at him.

“I did what I had to in order to get you out of that cell. I promise you, nothing happened.” There’s a desperation in his tone. “You’ve been sleeping.”

“Because you have me blood drunk to the point of unconsciousness.” My whole body heaves with pain that comes from pulling myself away from him. A feeling I never wanted to feel again. “Caleb!” I yell before it’s too late, before I’m silenced.

The once small commotion downstairs breaks out into a loud riot. I can hear their fighting bodies and spiteful words. In my mind my legs rush forward to reach the door, but in actuality, I take two shaky steps forward before my knees give out from underneath me. Hands quickly wrap around me bringing an unwanted sense of relief.

“Don’t do this Hazel.” He spins me around to face him. “I’m begging you, don’t do this.”

He seems genuine, but then again, how would I know.

Thumping of footsteps rush up the staircase. A panicked voice hollers my name. Seconds later Caleb barges through the door finding me crumpled in Gabriel’s arms.
Caleb rushes in so quickly, fist raised. Instead of letting me go Gabriel takes a punch to the face since his hands support my weight, keeping me on my feet. But as he jerks backwards from the force of Caleb’s hit, I slip from his grasp and slump to the floor.

I stare at Gabriel and Caleb who wrestle each other. I’m unable to move, to help, as if I know who to help being so torn in two. Caleb gets a punch in and it feels as if I was punched too. Gabriel gets a jab in and my stomach tenses with worry.

“Oh thank God.” Gretchen’s relief stricken words startle me. “You had me so worried.” Tears run down her face as she stares down at me. “What have they done to you.” She whispers as she picks me up off the ground.

I’m not sure if that’s a rhetorical question or not. I’m not even sure I know the answer. “How long have I been gone?” I ask or at least I thought I asked, but no one answers.

Gretchen wraps her arm around me and guides me out the door. It only takes seconds for the heart stopping, crushing pain to tear through me. With each step away from Gabriel it gets worse. My eyes look back to Gabriel who fights to get past Caleb. His golden eyes lock on mine, his nose bleeding. “Hazel.” He calls after me and my feet falter to a stop.

Gretchen uses more force to push me forward. Her soft words of ‘you’ll be fine’ get quieter and quieter as more and more tears trickle down her cheeks, but we still progress forward.

But I won’t be. I can feel it in every fiber of my being. I won’t be fine or at least that’s what I feel. My brain on the other hand is slightly smarter and it keeps my lips tightly clasped shut not letting his name slip through. It keeps my knees bending and my feet shuffling forward. It gives me false motivation that only lasts so long. By time we reach the staircase my legs don’t have anything to give and they buckle from the weight of my limp body. “I can’t.” I whimper through heaving breaths.

“Caleb.” Gretchen calls down the hall. “I need you. Now.”

Within seconds Caleb rushes in and sweeps me off my feet. I look into his dark eyes that have trouble staring back at me. He only gives quick one second glances before his lips pinch together in a grimace.

I have no idea if he won or if Gabriel just let him walk away. Would he do that? I try not to think about it. Gabriel hurt and bleeding and devastated at my rejection. I try to put my mind on something more substantial...like my pain. “It. Hurts.” I mutter.

“I know. I know. You’ll be fine. Gretchen will make sure you’re fine.” He says to comfort me, but I don’t know if he believes it...I don’t know if I believe.

As we approach the door Caleb’s shoulder slams into someone on the way out. I hear the hiss of someone saying, “wolf,” as we pass. Caleb tightens his grip around me to keep me from slipping out of arms and I have to bite my lip to keep my yelps of pain silent.

It feels as if my body is covered in bruises, my lungs burn as I force in deep breaths, which only makes me lightheaded. By time we reach Caleb’s car everything goes black.

***

“Hazel...you need to wake up. You need to eat.” Gretchen’s sweet voice says as her boney finger pokes at me. “Hazel. Wake up.”

I’m barely conscious as I groan for her to go away, but she props me with some pillows ignoring my pain and brings a spoon to my lips. It dribbles down my chin and soaks into my shirt. The hot liquid scolds me sometimes. I don’t care too much, because I’m still overtaken with unbearable pain and a fog that prevents me from being fully present to everything going on.

All it is, is pain, forced feedings and sleep. Nightmares, night sweats and groping hands.

But then it starts to dull and voices become more clear. “Gretchen.” I say into the empty unfamiliar room.

She comes running in. “You’re awake.” She breathes a sigh of relief as she approaches the bed.

“Where am I?” It takes great effort to say such few words. “How long have I been-”

“You’re at my house. Figured it was better to keep you with me instead of bringing you home.” She pauses and I stare at her with wide eyes urging her to answer my second questions of how long. She doesn’t.

“How long?” I repeat, my heart racing with possibilities. Was I gone for a month? A week? Two days?

This time she reluctantly answers. “You were missing for four days before we got to you...and you’ve been out for two weeks since, recovering.” She gently takes my hand into hers, her eyes unable to meet mine. “I can only imagine what they did to you.”

“Nothing...at least that’s what Gabriel said.” The room spins as dizziness overtakes me for a second. The blood must still be lingering in my body as I rush to protect Gabriel and his sudden cruelty.

“And you believe him?” Caleb voices his concern from somewhere within the room...just outside the room. It takes a moment for me to push the dizziness away, so I can search for him. I finally spot him leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed with frustration. “I mean they didn’t even have the decency to feed you those four days, so yeah, I agree, they did nothing, but I don’t trust him.”

Gretchen lets my hand slide out of hers. “Get some more rest. I’ll be back in a little bit with some food.” She retreats from the bed. She pushes Caleb out on her way out, closing the door behind them.

Alone. Again.