Blood-Red Tear (26 page)

Everyone was waiting in the foyer looking concerned as we walked out.

“Are you okay?” Orin asked, taking my hand in his, pulling me to his side, and placing his arm around my waist.

   “I’ll be fine
. I guess there was too much blood,” I lied.  “Do you think you could take me home?” I hated to end the evening in such a sour note, but I couldn’t tell them why I was really upset. It was easier to let them believe the gore of the movie had been responsible for my sudden illness.

“Sure t
hing,” he told me.

We
quickly said our goodbyes, walked to the parking lot, and got inside his car. He was really sweet and understanding about everything, and I felt like a heel for lying to him.

“I’ll have you home soon,” he said
, starting the car and turning on the heat to warm me.

“Thank you,” I murmured, laying my head back against the seat.

We rode in silence, me with my eyes closed, feigning illness, and he focusing on the dark roadway. He pulled up to my house, then hurriedly helped me out of the car and walked me to the front door.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realize the movie would affect me that way
,” I apologized.

“It’s alright
. Maybe we can try again another night?” He looked hopeful, but I did not want to promise anything. He leaned forward and lifted my chin so he was staring into my eyes. “I really want to see you again; do not say no, please.” Before I could react his lips met mine and his arms moved around me pulling me into his embrace.

I should have pulled away,
or tried to protest, but I found myself unable to object. It was as if he had me under a spell, and I was shocked by how easily I gave myself over to his kiss considering that just a half hour before I was heartsick over Aidan. The porch light snapped on suddenly and he pulled back, ending the kiss. I, too, took a step back placing a finger to my kiss- swollen lips, surprised by my response to him.

“
Don’t over-think it,” he said, his gaze locked on mine. “Good night, Katie,” he said softly before walking to his car, leaving me staring after him with confusion.

“Good night
, Orin,” I whispered, unsure if he had even heard me.

I opened the front door and walked in
side still dazed by the effect his kiss had on me and almost running into Paul, who was standing in the dark foyer waiting for me. “Did you have a good time?” he sneered.

Obviously,
he had seen the kiss, which explained the light, but I did not understand his anger.  After all, he was the one who wanted me away from Aidan. He should have been glad to see me dating another male.

“It was nice,” I said calmly
, hoping to avoid a fight.

“Well, g
oodnight, then.” He gave me a chilling look then walked out, leaving me to ponder what I had to done that angered him.

I shook my head and walked to my room
, where I started my CD player so I could unwind after my strange evening. I was singing along to one of my favorite bands, contemplating my weird reaction to Orin’s kiss, when the song changed to the one Aidan and I danced to on my sixteenth birthday. All thoughts of Orin dissipated and I wrapped my arms around myself, rehashing every detail of that magical night. How wonderful it felt to be held in his arms, how it felt when he kissed me in the gazebo, and how that night I realized how very in love with him I was. Unable to bear being without him, I slammed my hand down on the CD player and ended the music. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks and sobs tore from deep inside of my throat as I lay on the bed giving vent to my grief until I was so exhausted I slipped into a deep dream-filled sleep.

In my dream,
Aidan and I were walking in the garden together, enjoying each other’s company. We talked for a long time about my friends and school, just enjoying our time together, but as always, the time came far too soon for him to go.

He pulled me into his arms and held me close, brushing my lips gently with his own. “Katie
, please do not spend all of your time longing for me. I want you to have fun, go out with your friends, date like the other girls your age are doing.”

I shook my head.
“I don’t want to date anyone. I only want you,” I told him, wrapping my arms around his waist and laying my head on his chest, wishing he would never leave me.

“For now that cannot be;
you are so young, and I can’t allow myself to take advantage of you. Besides, I need to be very sure I am what you want. So even though it kills me, you need to date and see if what you feel for me is true.” He kissed me again, this time more aggressively as if he, too, was dreading our parting. He began to pull away and I begged him again to stay, but he gave me a final lingering kiss and was gone. I woke to the sound of my alarm and slammed my hand down on the off-button, still feeling the coolness on my lips where he had kissed me. Weird.

Chapter
Twenty-Three

Over the next few weeks, Orin and I spent a lot of time together. We had the same classes, a lot of the same interests, and when he looked me in the eye and asked me out, I just couldn’t seem to say no to him. Saturdays nights we went to Kelly’s or the movies, although he insisted on no more horrors. He was fun to be with and easy to talk to and, although he did not make my heart race like Aidan did, I was drawn to him.

Paul’s dislike of Orin made things
very difficult at times but he seemed to heed my father’s warning and didn’t interfere, although he took every opportunity to belittle him and followed us everywhere we went.

  
During Thanksgiving break we spent our time hanging out at Kelly’s or the movie theater with my friends. My parents were not happy that I was almost never home, but Orin never wanted to go to my house to hang out as I used to do with my other friends. Given the hard time Paul always gave him, I completely understood why.

Despite the fact
Orin was very attentive and went out of his way to make sure I was always enjoying myself, when I got home it was Aidan that I thought about and Aidan that filled my dreams. No matter what it was that I felt for Orin, it could never compete for what I felt for him. I spent hours reading and rereading all of the little notes he had left me and listening to music that reminded me of him. As time went by, though, and no word or visits came from Aidan, I found myself beginning to doubt his feelings for me. I knew my father didn’t want him there with me, but I couldn’t help but wonder how, if he cared for me as I did him, he could stand to stay away. It was irrational, I knew, but I truly felt abandoned by the one male I had never thought would desert me, and that drove me closer to Orin, who was always there and made no secret about how he felt about me.

Orin had
even pushed me to get my driver’s license so I could experience the freedom all of my friends enjoyed. My father was thrilled when I passed on my first try and before long I was driving every chance I got, but never in my own car. I couldn’t bear the idea of driving the car Aidan had brought me, not while I was so angry with him and certainly not when I was with another male.

*****

   Before I knew it, the first week of December was upon us and with it came the cold winter weather. We had an abundance of snow on the ground, and I mentioned casually to Orin how much I loved to ski one night as we ate dinner at Kelly’s. The very next weekend he took me to one of the local lodges as a surprise. We had an amazing time swooshing down the snow- covered hills until our feet were frozen and I could no longer feel my nose. Seeing my chilled state, Orin called a break for lunch. After eating a massive meal that I swore would slow me down on the slopes, we sat in front of the large fire in the center of the lodge snuggling close as we sipped hot chocolate.

“I
had a great time today,” he whispered, nuzzling my hair with his lips.

As always, when he touched me I felt a pull toward him that wouldn’t be denied
, and since I was still nursing my anger for Aidan, I didn’t’ bother to fight it. “Thank you for this, I have not skied in years, but I am having a good time.”

He pulled me closer
, kissing me tenderly, his hand moving up my shirt, which took me by surprise. We had kissed and cuddled before, but never had he been so bold and it unnerved me. “Um…Do you think we could make it downhill one time before we go?” I asked, pulling away to place my cup on a nearby table. I heard his disappointed sigh, but when I turned back he had an indulgent smile upon his face.

“I’m sure we can,” he replied
, jumping to his feet and helping me off the floor.

*****

   The sun was just setting, filling the sky with vibrant oranges, purples, and reds that reflected off the snow, making a spectacular sight as we began our final run.  So caught up the moment we were that neither of us heard another skier behind coming up behind us until it was too late. The male skier ran into me from behind, taking me down in a painful mass of skis and limbs. My arm somehow tangled with his skies in the fall. As he disentangled himself, mind- numbing pain shot through the limb and I screamed.

A loud growl filled the air and
Paul appeared by my side, ripping the skier off and slamming him to the ground before helping me sit up, cradling me against his chest, careful not to hit my arm that hung uselessly at my side.

“Katie, I’m here. It’s alright,” he said as I whimpered in his arms.

I heard Beth explain to Orin that it was a lucky thing they had also been skiing when they heard the ruckus and came to see what had happened, but he did not look convinced. In fact, he looked rather upset that Paul had taken over my care and wouldn’t allow him near me. Normally I would have argued with my brother, but the pain radiating down my arm was excruciating and I felt slightly disoriented. Thankfully, the paramedics were quick to arrive and offer their aid.

“She needs to have that shoulder x-rayed
.  We’ll take her over to the hospital. One of you can ride with her, but the rest of you will have to meet us there,” one of the paramedics explained to my brother.

Paul insisted since he was my brother he would go with me in the ambulance. I could see Orin was not happy to let me go without him
, but Beth told him to follow her to the hospital and I was loaded into the ambulance with my brother at my side.

Once a
t the hospital, they took me to a small curtained room where the nurses helped me undress and place on a gown, then helped me into a bed and asked a lot of questions. After taking my temperature, blood pressure, and getting my personal information they left us alone to wait.

W
e waited for a very long time for the doctor to come see me and Paul began pacing the room, calling my parents over and over, cursing as their voicemail picked up time and time again. A commotion outside of the curtain that offered very little privacy from the rest of the hospital had me looking up, to see Aidan pulling it aside and striding to my side.

“Aidan?” I said
, swallowing hard, unable to believe he was standing there before me.

“Katie
, you really have to stop scaring me like this.” He glanced down at my arm, which was swollen and turning a multitude of colors, and winced. Gently, he rested his hand against my cheek, staring into my eyes, allowing me a glimpse of the agony he felt at seeing me hurt. The familiar tingle between us sparked, reminding me once again how very much I loved him, and despite wanting to yell at him and ask him how he could have abandoned me for so long, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

“What are you doing here?” I asked
, confused by how quickly he had gotten to a ski resort that was at least an hour from my home and thousands of miles from his home in Scotland.

“I was nearby when Paul called me and told me what had happened.
We will discuss her being here later,” he said to Paul. The look he gave me brother was not a pleasant one, and I knew he was going be getting a lecture later about letting me get hurt under his watch. Having Aidan angry at you was never a good thing, and to my surprise I actually felt sorry for him.

“What did the doctor have to say
?” he asked Paul.

“The doctor hasn’t been in yet,” my brother told him
, looking for all the world like he would rather be swallowed whole than tell him that news.

“They have let her sit here when she is obviously in pain?”
Aidan bit out angrily. “This is not acceptable.” He walked out, but came back a few minutes later with a doctor following close behind. The man looked dazed and I was sure Aidan had used some kind of compulsion to get his immediate attention, but I was in too much pain to raise any objection.

“Let’s take a
look and see what the damage is,” the man said. He examined my shoulder, and I could not suppress the cry of pain as he moved it slightly back and forth. Paul held an enraged Aidan back from interfering with the exam, reminding him the doctor was trying to aid me, not cause me harm.

   “We need x
-rays to confirm it, but I would suspect a broken collarbone and a possible fracture in her forearm.” He walked out of the door barking orders, and not long after an intern came into the room to take me to x-ray.

It was
busy in the radiation department and it was a good hour before they wheeled me back to the room where Aidan and Paul waited, both looking peeved at the time it had taken. A young nurse with long, blonde hair and boobs that were barely contained in her scrubs came through the curtain, pausing in surprise as she took in the two gorgeous men beside me.

“Oh, sorry
, I didn’t realize you had anyone in here with you,” she said, staring at Aidan with a flirtatious smile. He didn’t return her smile and didn’t even look in her direction as she sashayed toward the bed, swinging her hips suggestively in a much slower motion than she had entered the room with. “So, who are these big handsome men you brought with you?” she asked as she handed me a cup of pills and a bottle of water.

I rolled my eyes at her see-
through attempts to flirt with Aidan, jealousy racing through me. “Oh, that’s my brother Paul and this,” I squeezed Aidan’s hand and smiled up at him adoringly, “this is my boyfriend, Aidan.”

“Oh,” she said looking disappointed. “Well
, if you need anything just hit the call button.” After that she practically ran out of the room and I couldn’t help but grin. 

“
Boyfriend?” Aidan asked.

“Yeah, well,
she needed to be taught a lesson,” I told him with a satisfied smile.

“And what lesson is that?” he asked with a smirk.

“Just let it go,” I told himm embarrassed I had acted with such jealousy in front of him.

He leaned down close and whispered in my ear. “Just so we are clear
, I am not your boyfriend.” I felt the smile slip from my face. “That title doesn’t even begin to cover what I am too you,” he told me, his breath tickling my ear, his finger moving slowly, seductively over my palm.

I swallowed hard and looked at
my brother, who had turned away but was clenching his hands, and knew it wasn’t the time to question him about exactly what he thought he was to me. Thankfully, the doctor came through the curtain and confirmed the broken collarbone but announced that there was no fracture in my arm.

H
e went to work efficiently, securing my arm so I was unable to move it, and patted my hand. “No moving this arm, young lady, it needs time to heal. I will give you a prescription for pain and you can go home tonight, but follow up with a local orthopedic physician in the next few days.”

Aidan thanked him
for his assistance, and he left us to fill out the necessary release paperwork.

I called
for Paul and he came to my side, looking down on me worriedly when I motioned him closer. “Will you tell Orin what happened and send him home?” I asked tiredly.

“Sure
, there is nothing better I would like than to tell him to get lost.”

I frowned as he
walked out, followed closely by Aidan, but the curtain did nothing to stop me from hearing their conversation in the hall.

“Who is Orin?”
Aidan demanded.

“He’s the one who took her skiing
, the one I told you about a few weeks ago,” Paul answered, not bothering to hide his disdain for Orin in the least.

“Get rid of him
. Katie needs to rest now.” I could hear the barely concealed anger in his voice, and I made a mental note to tell him later that it was not Orin’s fault I was hurt. I didn’t need him harassing Orin for something that was a simple accident.

Aidan came back into the room and held my good hand while we wa
ited for my release papers. I didn’t want to start an argument in the hospital so I didn’t say anything about Orin, figuring it was a conversation we could have another time. The nurse came in and gave him some paperwork; then he got my things together and took me home.

The
long drive back home was tense, to say the least. Aidan did not talk much, except to ask if I was okay and toss a blanket over me when I was chilled. I feel asleep halfway home and didn’t wake again until he was tucking me into my own bed.

“
Thank you for taking care of me,” I said as he paced next to me, clearly still upset about my accident. I could feel a lecture coming just as I could feel his anger growing, but still I was glad he was there with me.

“What were you thinking? You are always in trouble
. What am I going to do with you?” He stopped pacing and came to my side looking down on me, clearly exasperated.

“Well, y
ou haven’t seen me since Halloween.  You could kiss me and say hello before you lecture me,” I answered, more than a little peeved that he had not done so already.

He leaned over
, kissing me gently. “Hello,” he said gruffly.

I frowned.