Bella Vita (39 page)

“You opened this door for
us, thank you for calling on us in your time of need.” Emmaline
followed Charlie's cue and bowed slightly.

“Come on, darl, nothing can
keep you down, all we did was speed up the process a little bit.”
Even cocky Leland gave a slight bow.

“Oh, for Pete's sake, get
over here you guys.” I threw open my arms so I could hug
them.

Leland sprang right over, Charlie and
Emmaline were nervous at first, but made their way over to me.

“Thank you, thank you for
coming, for believing in me, for giving me the energy I needed to
take control of the situation, for everything! You're my heroes.” I
hugged all three in a tight embrace.

Being so disconnected from my body made me
very thankful for every sensation. Once the hospital staff had been
notified I was in control of my body, the tests began. Most
would've hated all the poking and prodding, but I was just happy I
could feel it. Hours passed, my friends and family waited patiently
to see if any of the tests revealed anything. I knew they wouldn't-
just as Mike did. I had started something and now the consequences
caught up to me.

Mike was upset, but he didn't know how to
retaliate or even who caused it. It seemed that those closest to
him had betrayed him and then attacked me for showing him the
truth. Every time he looked at me, I could feel the guilt through
our bond. If I hadn't been connected to a sea of machines, I
probably would've lured him into a sparring match with me- just to
prove I was fine.

Saturday concluded with no new answers. None
of the vampire specializing doctors had any idea what happened to
me. All they could say was that I medically fine now. I was an
enigma. A shocking fact that I had discovered in my boredom was
that none of the doctors had any special talent for healing. There
were many warriors that had never had their gift recognized.

I sat studying the neurologist they had
currently brought in for the last tests- Doctor Kheng. He was tall,
had pale alabaster skin, deep dark blue, slightly slanted almond
shaped eyes. He was built for a doctor. His beautiful long maroon
straight hair was pulled into a pony tail. Every ounce of him
screamed warrior- everything but the fact that he was my current
neurologist.

“I'm fine.” I smiled at
him.

“So I've heard. You are
quite remarkable, Miss Hutchinson.” His teeth gleamed white in the
darkened room.

“Please, call me Emma. I'm
not remarkable... but you sure are.” I had to tell him.

“Nothing remarkable about
wanting to help people, Emma.” Dr. Kheng's voice was smooth as
silk.

“I wasn't talking about
your desire to heal. I was talking about your gifts as a warrior.”
I beamed at him.

“I'm not a warrior.” He
looked at me with his deep penetrating eyes.

“But you are. It is your
natural gift. You were never trained as a warrior, but if you were
to pick up a sword or a katana, you would be unstoppable- even as
untrained as you are.” I was sure he was thinking I had damaged my
head in some way.

“Hmm.” He expression was
puzzled.

“I'm not crazy. I can sense
what your natural talent is. You'd be surprised how many of you
doctors don't have any gift for healing, but for wielding death and
protection.” My thoughts turned to the many people that I came into
contact with since I was back in my body.

“Interesting.” He just kept
on fidgeting with his instruments like I hadn't said
anything.

I let the silence surround us. Sometimes
people don't want to hear something and choose not to hear it, I
had a feeling that if I tried to tell any of these people that they
were in the wrong profession I would just get the same reaction.
People that have chosen to heal people don't wanna know that they
would be better at killing people and causing injuries- strange but
true.

Doctor Kheng finished up his tests, declared
that I was fine and should be able to go home later that day or the
following morning. I merely thanked him, no longer wanting to get
involved with the people here at this hospital.

My family buzzed around me like antsy bees.
All the necessary things had been signed, but I wasn't allowed to
leave until my primary doctor signed off- and he wasn't there to
sign it. Dom offered to take the paperwork to him- wherever he was-
but was declined. So we sat and waited.

Mike came to my side, and I knew instantly
that it was time for him to go back home.

“I've got to be heading
back to the Emerald Isle.” He took my hand.

“Yeah, I figured. It's been
a treat for them to let you off the leash for so long.” I
laughed.

“You'll have to come back
for a visit... you know, after everything is settled down again.”
His smile was like sunshine.

“You know I'll take you up
on that.” I hugged him tight.

“
Gráim thú
go síoraí,
a
chuisle, a
chroí
- is tú mo
shonuachar
.” His whispering
breath was like a warm summer breeze blowing across my
ear.

I put my forehead to
his.
I love you too, just as
you're my soul mate as well. Be safe. And if you need me, remember,
I'm always here.
I kissed his
cheek.

“See ya, Em- take care
of yourself.” Mike's hand gripped mine once and then let go- it
felt like we were being ripped apart, my heart hurt from
it.

The moment Mike was
gone, Dominic was at my side. His fingers gently stroked through my
hair. I realized then that he could feel the pain I was going
through, and that it was probably hurting him as well- in all
honesty, I didn't really care at that moment. Every ounce of me had
the strongest desire to get out of the bed and follow Mike back to
his green isle- leaving all this behind me.

It took me about half
an hour to calm down enough to get control over my emotions. The
entire time, Dom was sitting next to me- trying to get through to
me. When the mood passed, I reached and took his
hand.

I'm sorry.
It was the best I could say, I didn't know
how to explain it.

Don't worry, Emma. I
understand that there will always be a pull with him, and that
you're torn in two between the two of us. Just, don't worry about
it.
Dom's voice felt like a cold
shower in my mind.

Thanks.
I drifted back into silence, attempting to
keep all my feelings locked behind their usual walls- not letting
those around me know anything of my distress or the coldness I had
felt from Dom after the warmth from Mike.
It's normal... he's just jealous.
I let my own words comfort
me.

Three hours later, I
was in a car and headed back home to
Castello
di
DeDominico
.
The world kept shifting from completely black to fuzzy. I knew that
this was just a side effect of being detached from the world for so
long. I could feel the worry coming from the people in the car with
me- I didn't remember who had gotten in this car. I tried to
explain to them that I was fine, but I slipped back into the
darkness.

When I came back, I
felt Dom's strong arms carrying me up the stairs. I smiled up at
him. His face was set in determination.

“Hey there.” My voice
sounded groggy.

“
B
entornata
,
mia bella.
”
His accent was in full color.

“Why, thank you, good
sir. You know I can walk, right?” I felt better.

“Sorry,
cara mia
,
I'm not taking any chances, there are quite few stairs for you to
go tumbling down if you suddenly blackout again.” He shook his
head.

“I could just jump
outta your arms.” I shook my head as I felt his grip tighten in
response.

About two minutes later
I was gently deposited on my bed. I pouted at him for being so
pigheaded.

“Pout all you want,
Emma. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you
when I could stop it.” His face got tense.

“I know that!” I sighed
at him.

“Goodnight, my Little
Emma Bird.” He actually bowed to me.

I wanted to scream,
instead I just threw a pillow at the door and laid
down.

Sunday dawned with
glaring light and with the worst headache I've ever experienced in
my life. When I got outta bed, the world tilted violently sideways
and my stomach lurched. I swallowed down the extra saliva in my
mouth and inched my way to the bathroom. I wasn't sure if I should
call out or just take it slow.

By the time I made it
to the toilet, everything that I had eaten in the last days came
screaming out. My body shook with tremors, and my face was covered
in a light sheen of sweat. I sat on the floor and thought of trying
to get to the sink to wash my face and rinse out my mouth, but I
knew I would never make it. My head rested on the cool rock next to
the porcelain throne.

“Emma?” Dom's voice was
gentle as he stepped into my bathroom.

I lifted my head and
weakly blinked at him.

“Oh, Em. Let's get you
cleaned up.” He rushed over to me.

I tried to protest, but
my words failed me.

“I promise you, I'm not
afraid of a little vomit.” He smiled at me as he washed down my
face.

“I don't know... what's
wrong... it's like I'm not completely healed.” I breathed out at
him.

“I'm sure it'll pass.”
Dom's face was suddenly ashen and strained.

“I'm just outta sorts
is all. I know I'm healed.” I smiled at him, trying my best to keep
the shortness out of my voice.

“Must be.” He held a
glass of water to my lips as I rinsed my mouth.

“Thank you.” I let him
carry me back to my bed.

“Okay, now I need you
to rest. If you need something, let me know. No matter what! And if
you have to get out of bed, let me know if you need help.” He
pulled my blanket up to my chest.

“You know I can
actually do things for myself.” My tone was
defensive.

“Yes, I know. But I
also know that I don't want anything to happen to you. You don't
want me to have never-ending guilt because you didn't call for me
when you needed something and got hurt trying to get it yourself,
do you?” His beautiful green eyes shone with
triumph.

“Oh, fine. I promise
I'll call you.” I sighed and rolled over to stare at the
wall.

It's funny how you can
stare at a wall for only so long before your mind completely shuts
down and you go to sleep- at least that's what happened to me. When
I woke back up, I felt a little better and slowly inched my way out
of the bed. I didn't want a repeat of earlier. I knew I had to
start thinking about tomorrow as it was a school day and I had
classes to teach. But every time I tried to focus on something in
particular, the world went a little fuzzy.

I wobbled my way down
the stairs and made it to the kitchen before the world felt even
funnier and I knew I had to sit down. I was hungry though and that
was enough to drive me toward the fridge.

“Emma! What happened to
telling me when you need something?” Dom's voice sounded
hurt.

“I made it this far,
what was the point of asking for help when I'm already in the
fridge? You gonna chew my food for me?” I knew I shouldn't snap at
him, but I was not enjoying being hounded and treated like a
fragile eggshell!

His face went taunt for
a moment, and I could see him debating whether or not to actually
say anything in return. I turned back to the contents of the fridge
to let him think of something brilliant to say, I was damn hungry.
I pulled out some leftover pasta with what I hoped was spaghetti
sauce on it, but you never know in this house. I wasn't sure if I
could handle the thick texture of blood and I didn't really feel
like heating up the food.

Instead I sat down with
a fork and began nibbling at it. It tasted all right to me. Dom sat
across from me and handed me some fresh bread. It smelled
delicious!

“Thanks.” I said around
a mouthful.

“No
problem,
mia
bella
. I do wish that you would
let me take care of you when you're not entirely well. How are you
feeling?” He reached across the table and took my hand- my instant
reaction was to bite him.

“A little out of it.
Not myself. I don't really know how to describe it. Maybe a little
crazy.” My laugh was weak and shallow.
What the devil is wrong with me?