Catherine Kos – Author

Chapter Four

Bianca

“I can’t believe you called Duke,” I grind out as I follow Hayden out of the hospital. 

Killian has the Impala idling right in front of the sliding doors. He jumps out, rounding the hood, and opens the passenger door.

“I had to,” Hayden insists with a roll of her eyes as she pushes the seat forward and slides into the backseat. I drop into the passenger seat, Killian closing the door behind me. 

“Do you know what he would do to me if something worse happened to you and I didn’t tell him about it? I’ll tell you, he’ll kill me. Like hunt me down and kill me.”

Now I roll my eyes. 

After that dick vampire took a bite out of my neck, I passed out. Killian and Hayden were so freaked out that they took me to the nearest ER. I woke up at some point during the day to Hayden sitting next to my bed looking completely freaked out. The doctor gave me a blood transfusion and kept me during the day for observation. I wanted to leave the moment I woke up, but Hayden made me stay just to make sure I was okay. When Killian came once at sunset, he brought me a change of clothes so I didn’t have to shimmy back into that tight dress.

Just when the doctors and Hayden let me leave, she tells me that she called Duke and told me what happened. Naturally, I didn’t like that at all. 

“They don’t need to know certain things,” I mutter. “And he wouldn’t have killed you, because I would’ve been fine. I’m the Huntress, I literally can’t die.”

“Except you did, remember? You died, and a witch brought you back to life. You were a normal human for months, Bianca,” Hayden scolds from the backseat. “And then a witch gave you your powers back, so who knows what the rules are anymore. No one knows if you can die and I would prefer if we didn’t test it out.”

I cross my arms over my chest, not saying a word. 

“No one wants you to die,” she mutters. 

“Fine,” I sigh. “I’m sorry, okay. It’s not like I wanted this to happen. But, I’ll – I’ll be careful. Plus it was Killian’s friend.”

I say the last part teasingly, glancing at Killian, who’s hands tighten around on the steering wheel. 

“I’m sorry,” he says, gravelly. “He wasn’t my friend, but what happened to you was my fault – ”

He stops talking when I reach over, placing a hand on his forearm.

“I’m fine,” I tell him. “Did you find anything on his phone?” 

“Well, he had just one number that was a constant in his called history. I’ve got someone doing a trace on it. If we can figure out where the caller is then we might just find the witch.”

“See? Something good came out of this anyway,” I tell the pair, motioning to my neck. 

Hayden shakes her head and leans back against her seat. 

“Do you need anything?” Killian asks, clearing his throat. “Aspirin? Food?” 

“Sleep,” I reply on a yawn. Even though I spent most of the day sleeping, I’m still exhausted. The doctor who signed my discharge papers I’d feel a lot of fatigue for about a day until my body was back to normal. “Food,” I mutter next. “Hospital food is total shit.”

This earns me a chuckle from Killian. “I’ll drop you both at the hotel and then go grab some food. Sound good?” 

I nod and lean my head against the window beside me. 

Minutes later we’re pulling into the lot of the hotel. When Killian pulls to a stop in front of our door, I climb out and hold the door for Hayden. 

“What do you want to eat?” Killian asks, leaning against the center to peer up at me. 

“Cheeseburgers,” I grin. 

“Of course,” Hayden scoffs, turning to open the door to our room. 

I close the passenger door and Killian waits until we’re inside to drive off. 

“God, I need to shower,” Hayden complains, tossing the bag of my clothes on my bed. She slides off her shoes and going to the bathroom. 

“So do you,” she says, glancing back at me. 

I shoo her in. “Go. I’ll shower when you’re done.”

She hesitates, but then nods after a moment of indecision and closes the door between us. I flop face-first onto the bed I’ve claimed and groan. It’s not like my bed at Sarah’s house but it’s better than the crap cot at the hospital.

Faintly, I hear the soft rumble of an engine outside. After a minute it cuts off, and my eyes drift close. I don’t know how long I lay there, the only noise in the room, my breathing, and the running shower. 

A knock sounds at the door and I groan.

“That was fast,” I mumble pushing up from the bed and stumbling over to the door. 

“Did you go to the place over by the movie theatre? You know I like their fries,” I say, swinging the door open. 

“What – ” I take a step back, my heart dropping in my chest.

“Sorry,” Chase mutters from the other side of the door. “No food.”

“What the fuck are you doing here?” I growl out, blindly reaching a hand towards my bag on the bed. 

A wide, haunting grin stretches across Chase’s face.

“I’m here to bring you home,” He says, bitterly. 

Nothing’s changed about him and yet everything has. He’s still tall and handsome, his blonde curly hair is still the same unruly mess atop his head. His blue eyes are brighter than ever. His lips a darker pink. He looks the same as ever and yet, his features are harsher, more extreme. He’s not the man I love. He’s a monster. 

My hand wraps around a stake, and with a speed I’ve never know before, I raise my arm into the air and slam it down, ready to stab it into his chest. He grasps my wrist mid-air with one hand and wraps his other around the back of my neck. He spins us both, slamming me against the front of the door. My head whacks against it, and when I don’t release the stake, Chase pulls my hand away from the door and slams it once, twice until I’m crying out and the stake drops to the ground. 

“You’re not going to fight me on this,” He growls out, leaning down so that his nose touches mine. “And if you do, I promise you, you won’t win.”

Tears form in my eyes, as despair fills my chest. He’s harsh, cold, not like Chase at all. I knew this. I knew this, I knew he would, but it still hurts to look into his eyes and see a stranger.

Inhaling, I rip my hand from his grasp and shove at his chest. He stumbles back a few feet, his nostrils flaring, eyes narrowing. 

“I don’t want you here!” I shout. “And if you don’t leave, I will kill you.”

“Well, this is a surprise,” a voice mumbles from our left. 

Chase and I both look to see Killian standing a few feet away, holding a greasy brown paper bag. 

“Oh shit,” comes from the other side and we all turn to see Hayden has stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. 

I take a deep breath, march over to Killian, snatch the bag from his hands, and stomp back into the hotel. I bypass Hayden, to the adjoining door of Killian’s room. 

“Get him out of here,” I growl, before sealing myself inside of the other hotel room. 

I lean back against the door and slowly slide down to the ground. The bag drops to the floor next to me, forgotten, as tears silently slide down my cheeks. My mouth opens, a silent sob falling out. I wrap my arms around myself and try to breathe. 

The end, for now.