196. Not Up For Negotiation

Warning: coarse language

Bridgeport, present day...

Krisis was surprised to find Leigh awake when he returned to her room; he’d just run down to the cafeteria to get some coffee.

“How are the kids?” It was the first thing she asked him when he sat down and took her hand.

“They are great, they were here earlier but you were sleeping. They left this for you,” he handed her a stack of colorful drawings and a box of chocolates.

Leigh looked through them and smiled.

“Is that supposed to be me?” She laughed at a weird looking stick figure with one huge eye right in the middle of what appeared to be a face.

“I’m pretty sure I don’t wear lipstick, so yeah, that’s definitely you,” Krisis leaned closer to kiss her on the lips. 

“So when are they releasing me? “Leigh asked. Her eyes were bright and lively. She seemed more lucid too.

“Not for another day,” Krisis replied as he sank on the tiny cot beside her and held her.

“I’m sorry. I know you’re mad at me, but I really just wanted to feel normal again and do normal things that people do, like drive myself to a restaurant. I got tired of having Sandra and Ray around,” Leigh explained her actions leading up to this very moment.

“It doesn’t matter now, Leigh,” Krisis tried to hush her up, but she wouldn’t drop it. She wanted to clear the air, the past few days whenever they were alone there was always tension between them and she knew he was angry with her.

“The important thing is that you’re alive,” Krisis kissed her temple.

Leigh couldn’t argue with him there, and she’d always be grateful to the people who’d helped her.

“Have they made any progress with the case?” Leigh laced their hands and gently played with his fingers.

Krisis shook his head. Chances were they’d never find the hit and run driver. Her file would most likely end up in the basement of Bridgeport’s Police Department and gather dust. It will be yet another unsolved case.

“Did you see the bastard’s face?” Krisis asked.

It was Leigh’s turn to shake her head. She saw nothing that day, everything happened so quickly, one minute she was crossing the road and the next she was in hospital, connected to machines and tubes.

Krisis didn’t want to, but they had to talk about the tour. Since they were too far into it to cancel, he’d made arrangements for her and the kids to join them. Patty too, along with Nick and Tony, and the physio therapist Leigh would be working with to get her leg right again.

“It’s not feasible Krisis. I can’t go on tour with you. We can’t uproot the kids. They have their training sessions with Dr. Scott. You saw their progress reports, they are doing so well. And Lily’s starting school in few days. We can’t disrupt their lives,” Leigh would have loved to join him on tour, but they had to be practical.

“They can always pick up where they left off with Dr. Scott. But leaving you alone again is not an option. It’s not up for negotiation.”

“What if I got Devon and El to move in?” Leigh tried to find a compromise.

Krisis kept quiet, mulling over her suggestion.

“No, Eloise and your brother have their own issues to deal with. You’re coming with me,” he finally decided, bringing an end to their discussion. 


Leigh could have pushed on, but Krisis was right. With everything Eloise had told her last night, about her being a werewolf, Leigh knew her best friend and brother had a lot to work through, the last thing either of them would want is to babysit her, it wouldn't be fair on them...

_______

A few days later...

Carmen was not a happy camper as she sat glaring at Joshua.

“How the hell did this happen? She’s supposed to be dead. I swear that bitch is like a fucking cat!” She raged at no one in particular.

“It would seem she has nine lives,” Joshua agreed. His attempt at humor was met by a scathing scowl from her.

Beau, staring blankly outside the window, lit another cigarette. It was his fifth one since Joshua returned from the hospital and announced Leigh was being released tomorrow and she’d be joining the band on tour.

“This is bad!” Carmen hissed as she got up from the couch and began prowling the room.

“The good thing is you were thorough, nothing links you to the hit and run.” It was Joshua again, the poster kid for optimism.

“Yeah, well what good is that when she’s still alive? I think I can finish her off tonight, at the hospital. This is my only chance to be with Krisis,” her suggestion drew the first spark of interest from Beau since he announced himself at her apartment earlier that evening.

“Forget it; Krisis won’t let anyone near Leigh, he’s there 24/7 and when he’s not around, Nick and Tony are there. I think you should cut your losses and walk away now. Admit defeat,” Joshua rubbed his chin in a serious fashion as he regarded her. He rarely talked sense, and this was one of those moments when he did.

“Joshua is right, let’s cool it off for a while, and we’ll attack when they least expect it. Krisis is still reeling from the hit and run, so he’ll be ten times more protective of Leigh. We can’t touch her right now,” Beau finally spoke. 

His words of caution were not what Carmen wanted to hear. She wanted action, and right this fucking minute. And she told him this. But he wasn’t budging.

“Fine. I’ll stay down for a few weeks. Until the shit storm with Vladimir passes Beau. But after that I’m going after what I want. You didn’t tell me it would take this long to get Krisis,” She whined.

“Yeah well, life happened. Get over it!” Beau retorted carelessly. As much as he wasn’t pleased with the Leigh issue, it was the least of his worries. Bianca had hired herself a pit-bull of a lawyer; Lord knew where she got the money from. But her blood hound planned on fighting the court order for the paternity test, which meant a delay in the custody battle. With his id always in the driving seat, he was used to instant gratification. He hated delays of any kind…

Another Vampire who hated delays was William Thornton. Eloise’s hearing was arranged swiftly and promptly.

After a grueling two hours, she emerged from the Vampire Council Headquarters looking drained and visibly shaken.

“How did it go?” Devon asked in a stilted voice as he held the door for her.

Things between them were still very tense; they’d hardly talked during the past week. Eloise wanted to, but Devon only spoke to her about things concerning their son. Every time she tried to bring up their issues he shot her down with an angry scowl.

“So? What did they say?” He asked again as he jumped in the driver’s seat.

“I had to sign a treaty forbidding me from hunting humans. If I go after one of them, they’ll kill me without a moment’s thought.” Eloise announced.

“That’s doable, right? You can stay away from humans, right? Right?” Devon prodded her.

“I think so,” Eloise closed her eyes and sighed.

“What do you mean you think so?”

She could feel his sharp glare on her, but she refused to look at him. She’d had enough hassles from the Council, she didn’t need any crap from him, and especially after the afternoon she’d had.

“I mean exactly that Devon!”

“That’s not good enough!” Devon banged his fist on the steering wheel.

“I haven’t hunted humans since I was changed.” Eloise screamed right back at him, hot frustrated tears brimming in her eyes.

Devon pulled over and killed the engine.

“At least I think I haven’t,” Eloise continued in a much softer voice. “But I don’t know what I do when I’m in wolf form. The moments just after I phase back to human form are the scariest because I have to try and recollect what I did for the last couple of hours. And you know how devastating it is not being able to remember?”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea,” Devon replied. He tried to take her hand, but she yanked it away from him.

“How could you know when you haven’t given me a chance to tell you anything,” Eloise murmured as she stared outside her window. From where she was, she could see Krisis’ house on the cliff, she could see the place where her horror began.

“I’m ready now, you can tell me everything.” Devon’s voice pulled her back into the car. For a second she stared at him, trying to decide if he was being sincere. The sadness in his eyes told her he was.

She closed her eyes again, and in a slow, lifeless voice she told him everything, starting with her grief from losing her father and her evening jogs and ending off with her lie about traveling to Twinbrook and to various places every month after that.

“So you lied to me about that too? My God, what else have you lied about?” Devon snorted.

“I’m sorry. I was protecting you and Blake. Throughout the month I can transform at will, but on a full moon, it’s out of my hands, and since I don’t know what I do when I change, I didn’t want to hurt you and Blake. That’s why I have to go away every month,” she explained.

Devon didn’t say anything for a while. Instead he started the car again and they were back on the road.

Eloise turned on the stereo. She couldn’t stand the silence, couldn’t stand his anger and hurt. She wanted to drown it out, and she did, for a little while when she lost herself in the wonderful world of Highveld Stereo. The Deejay played five Avril Lavigne songs, back to back, all favorites of hers.

Eventually Avril’s voice made way for commercials, and Eloise found herself confronted by Devon’s hurt once again.

“Dev, level with me, please. Be honest. Do we stand a chance? Will we ever get past this? Will we make it?”

Devon didn’t reply. He pulled over again, got out and yanked her door open. Before she could think or react, he had her in his arms and he was kissing her.

His lips were hard and angry at first, but when he felt her tears, mingling with his, he softened his mouth on hers and slowed down his pace.

“I love you. We’ll work through this. It’s just so hard right now. I’m still getting used everything, but we will,” he promised her.

At that moment, she couldn’t have loved him more.

“Thank you,” she told him as she rested her head on his chest…

_______

Note: Kalene, I told you I'd use the chocolates, I didn't expect it to be a year down the line though. Again,  thank you so much for the gift. I love it!